In 2023, universities of applied sciences (UAS) will start their own doctoral programme: the Professional Doctorate (PD). In doing so, UAS introduces a new professional education with which it wants to push back the boundaries in professional practice. Candidates will be trained to become highly qualified professionals who learn to intervene in complex issues such as energy transition or healthcare. This is stated in a plan that the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences has presented to former Minister Van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science in 2021. Maurice Limmen, chair of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences: “The professional doctorate is an investment in the connection between higher professional education and the labour market. It increases the impact of practice-based research and contributes to the further professionalisation of HBO lecturers.”
Source: Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging Hogescholen)