PhD Trajectories: Where Do We Want to Go?

This presentation, delivered at the Coimbra Group Doctoral Studies Working Group Meeting on 24 November 2025, outlines key issues surrounding PhD education, with particular attention to the publication pressure experienced by PhD candidates and the mental-health effects of current doctoral trajectories. It also introduces the initiative described in the blog post “Beyond the Dissertation: Reshaping PhD Trajectories at Leiden University,” in which we advocate for broader recognition and formal reward of a wider range of activities undertaken during the PhD. You can access the blog post here: https://www.leidenmadtrics.nl/articles/beyond-the-dissertation-reshaping-phd-trajectories-at-leiden-university