Employability of PHDs in SMEs and main perspectives

Abstract

In the last decades, there was a national investment in training and education, and especially in programs to increase the number of PhDs in Portugal, so the country could match the science and innovation indicators of its counterparts in Europe. However, the employability of PhDs in companies operating in Portugal remains very low, blocking the transfer of knowledge and innovation from the academia to the society. This research aims to strengthen the knowledge about the PhD’s low employment in businesses; to map the gap between the skills that the PhD candidates offer and the ones that the companies need; and also to identify the good practices that can foster the employability of PhDs.