A Triple Helix Model of Doctoral Education: A Case Study of an Industrial Doctorate

Abstract

The knowledge economy requires a revolution in doctoral education. This article generalizes a triple helix model of doctoral education based on the existing literature. Further, it conducts a case study of a Center for Doctoral Training sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the United Kingdom. This research adopts document and observation studies as instruments to examine the roles of university, industry, and government, and their interactions, in doctoral education. Through document and observation analyses, it finds that universities provide disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and professional training to doctoral students; industry offers research and training opportunities, research grants, and placements; and governments stimulate the cooperation between universities and industry through support policies and grants. Universities, industry, and governments benefit from these interactions, and these benefits reinforce their interactions. In the meantime, university autonomy is compromised by the involvement of industry and governments in doctoral education, although the rigor of the doctorates is not compromised because universities dominate the assessment. The curriculum, supervision, matching of research projects from industry with the research interests of doctoral students, and research outcomes, which are in the boundary spaces of the triple helix model of doctoral education, should be further developed for the development of industrial doctorates.