Convenings

Executive Doctoral Events

The Council convenes doctorate holders, institutions and decision-makers in structured sessions built for deliberation rather than promotion. Sessions operate under clear rules of attribution, and outcomes are published as Council statements or proceedings.

The convening calendar

Annual Doctoral Leadership Assembly

Once per year · in person300 delegates · plenary and working groups

The principal convening of the Council. Fellows, Member Institutions and invited public and industry participants review the year's statements, set the deliberation agenda and admit new Fellows.

Executive Doctoral Roundtables

Quarterly · regional25–40 participants · closed session

Closed-door sessions pairing doctoral faculty with executives and senior officials on a single contested question — technology adoption, energy transition, health systems or AI governance.

Doctoral Schools Forum

Twice yearly · hosted by a Member Institution60–100 delegates · institutional

A working forum for deans, directors of doctoral schools and supervisors on programme design, supervision quality and international mobility of candidates.

Methodology Sessions

Monthly · onlineOpen to Fellows and nominated candidates

Short, technical sessions on research design, measurement, replication and the disclosure of computational and AI-assisted methods.

Dates, locations and hosts for each cycle are confirmed with Member Institutions and communicated directly to Fellows. Write to the Secretariat for the current calendar.

Host a convening

Member Institutions may host a Council convening on their campus. The Council designs the programme and convenes participants; the host provides the venue and local coordination.

  • Host institution named in the convening title and programme
  • Opening address by the host institution's leadership
  • Delegate places for faculty and doctoral candidates
  • Co-authored proceedings published under Council attribution
  • Regional visibility across the Council's international network

Rules of participation

Sessions are convened for deliberation. Commercial presentation, product promotion and political campaigning are not permitted in Council sessions.

Closed sessions operate under non-attribution: participants may use the substance of the discussion but may not attribute statements to named individuals without written consent.

Every participant declares relevant interests before a session. Declarations are recorded by the Secretariat and available to other participants on request.

Proceedings and resulting statements identify the methodology used and the level of confidence in each finding.

Our neutrality standard

Attend or host a Council convening

Request delegate places for your institution, propose a host campus, or ask the Secretariat for the current calendar of convenings.

All enquiries are handled directly by the Council Secretariat at contact@doctoralcouncil.org