On 25^th November, DARA welcomed PhD representatives from five partner universities – the University of Copenhagen, Aalborg University, Aarhus University, the Technical University of Denmark, and the University of Southern Denmark – for a day focused on collaboration and a development of a ‘Community of Practice’.

The Community of Practice will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing between PhD schools within the natural, technical, and medical sciences, and act as a channel of dialogue between DARA and PhD communities across Danish research institutions. This approach will help ensure DARA’s activities are firmly grounded in the PhD communities and enable close collaboration on relevant initiatives while avoiding duplication of existing offerings.

Through a series of interactive workshops, participants explored and identified the core attributes and guiding principles of the Community of Practice. Key themes included partnership and sharing of best practices, knowledge exchange, open-mindedness, interdisciplinarity and fostering a strong sense of community across universities and PhD schools.

The discussions also addressed the current PhD landscape, identifying which activities and aspects are best delivered by the PhD schools, which would fall within DARA’s remit, and where there is potentialfor joint partnerships. Opportunities for collaboration between PhD schools, DARA, and external partners – both in industry and internationally – were highlighted.

The day concluded with an agreement on next steps, including continued dialogue in 2026 on how to further develop the Community of Practice.

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