Funding shortages knock back Balkan PhD students

Doctoral students in the Western Balkans suffer from funding shortages and a lack of resources, which prevents them from doing higher quality work, according to a study by the European Commission.

The funding shortages make it difficult for doctoral students to do original research and force many of them to work in other jobs, thus delaying their education and reducing the quality of their theses, the study found. There are also limited resources for PhD supervision and administration at Western Balkan higher education institutions, which puts a further strain on students, the study’s final report said.