What's the Value of a Doctoral Consortium? Analysing a Decade of LAK DCs as a Community of Practice

Since 2013, the Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) conference has included a Doctoral Consortium (DC), supported by the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR). Given the LAK25 conference theme of ‘expanding the horizons of learning analytics’, it is timely to reflect on how well the LAK DC is meeting its objectives of building capacity in the field and developing the next generation. We frame the DC as a structured entry into the LAK community of practice (CoP), familiarising students with the domain of learning analytics, understanding its practices, and building connections with other members. CoPs generate five types of value for their members: immediate, potential, applied, realised and reframing. This study used a survey of the 92 DC students from the first decade (2013–22), supplemented with scientometric analysis of LAK publications, to address the questions: What value do students gain from attending the LAK doctoral consortium? and Do students gain the same value from face-to-face and virtual doctoral consortia? Thematic analysis of responses (N=37, a 40% response rate) showed that students gained a wide range of immediate and potential value from the DC, which in many cases also prompted changes in practice, performance improvement or redefinition of success. However, the value reported by a third of respondents who had attended virtually was more limited. We note that, despite the value already offered, the DC could provide clearer routes both to future community engagement and to extending goals that expand the horizons of learning analytics. This paper's contributions are (i) the first systematic documentation of student perceptions of LAK DCs, (ii) identification of ways in which doctoral consortia can be developed in the future, and (iii) specific attention to how virtual DCs can offer greater value for both participants and the host community of practice. The findings related to future development and value do not apply only to LAK but can be generalised to other doctoral consortia.