Workgroup report: Capacity building in the era of globalisation

In the wake of the global financial crisis 2007-8, research capacity and innovation is increasingly perceived as key drivers of economic growth (Hartley, Pearce, and Taylor, 2017, p.361). Building capacity in research and innovation requires quality doctoral education that provides the human capital for knowledge economy and society. Policy initiatives in many counties have been oriented towards rapidly increasing the number of doctorate holders with a short turnaround time. In Chile, graduate programs form the bulk of human capital for scientific advancement (Besnier, 2012). Australia's most recent review of doctoral education regarded its Higher Degree by Research (HDR) training system as critical to its future economic strength. Doctoral education "provides a highly qualified research workforce, enabling research and innovation across the academic, industry, government and not-forprofit sectors, as well as contributing substantially to Australia's and the world's body of knowledge" (ACOLA, 2016, vii). In Asia1, many governments consider developing graduate education as a strategy to enhance the national research capabilities, and thereby economic competitiveness (UNESCO-UIS, 2014). Many Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and China require doctoral students to publish before graduation to improve the high rankings of universities (UNESCO-UIS, 2014).