Individual research plan in the light of the higher education and science act – theory and practice

Abstract

A new model of doctoral education – doctoral schools – started functioning in Poland in 2019. Within this model, many new solutions have been provided to increase the quality of PhD education. One of them is the elaboration of an individual research plan by a doctoral student in agreement with his doctoral supervisor. Afterwards, the plan is presented to the institution running a doctoral school. The plan plays an important role in the process of educating doctoral students. Not only does it define the activities aimed at preparing a doctoral dissertation, but it also serves as a mechanism for monitoring the work of the PhD student, since the implementation of the plan will be subject to mid-term evaluation. Unfortunately, the practice of applying the new regulations on the individual research plan reveals a number of discrepancies in their interpretation. Therefore, discussing this issue may contribute to the clarification of existing doubts and facilitate reflection on the shape of the adopted solutions.