Three essays on conflict and ethnic tensions
On Tuesday 22 October 2024 Monica Beeder will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
Shouldn't PhD candidates have the same job protection as others in the higher education sector?
If a case of academic misconduct for a PhD candidate can lead to expulsion, it is essentially a dismissal process. In that case, job protection goes out the window.
In an article in Khrono, Olaug Husabø questions whether PhD candidates are treated more leniently than other students, and whether it is "inappropriate" for cases of misconduct to be handled as personnel matters.
My employment at the Norwegian School of Economics presupposes that I am part of the school's doctoral program. If I were no longer part of the program, I would no longer be employed—in practice, I would be fired.
If a case of academic misconduct for a PhD candidate can lead to expulsion, it is essentially a dismissal process. So where does the job protection for PhD candidates go?
I agree with Husabø that it is important for there to be equality before the law. The problem is that the argument for treating misconduct cases as dismissal cases creates even greater inequality before the law. This would result in differential treatment between PhD candidates and other employees.
PhD candidates have a dual role at a college or university. They are employed as researchers, but at the same time, they are students. These are, in many ways, conflicting roles—they are neither fully students nor fully employed on the same terms as permanent staff. Most PhD candidates and postdocs are in temporary positions, and therefore have a weaker standing than other academic staff, for example, in the composition of boards and committees.
– Helped us understand differences in prosperity
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics goes to a trio who have studied differences in prosperity between nations. `An excellent award for those of us who are doing research on poverty and inequality,´ says Kjetil Bjorvatn.