Cultivating PhD development

The research landscape is transforming in a way that directly impacts how we envision and structure doctoral education. This transformation is evident in how the requirements and outcomes of doctoral education are continually evolving because of changing national policies and global trends, as well as the diversity of contemporary research practices. The transformation requires a rethinking of how we prepare researchers for their future. Developing suitable and sustainable solutions for educating the next generation of researchers calls for a research-informed understanding of researcher development. This chapter aims to provide an integrated synthesis of research into researcher development. To achieve this aim, we conducted a systematic umbrella review, including ten review articles addressing different dimensions of doctoral researcher development. In the meta-review, we identified the scope, the main research focuses, and the methods applied in research on researcher development over the past decade. In addition, recommendations for the development of practice and future research on researcher development are presented. This systematic review contributes to the theoretical, methodological, and practical debates regarding researcher development in doctoral education.