National Workshop Spurs New Industry-PhD Partnerships for Doctoral Training

Interest in innovative doctoral programs is burgeoning, as evidenced by the enthusiasm for Lehigh University’s P3 Program. Prospective doctoral students are particularly keen on this initiative, and current Ph.D. participants have welcomed it warmly.

“We saw it was a great success,” remarked Jagota. “All the students who participated liked it and there was huge demand for it.”

Exploring Solutions for Transforming Doctoral Education

While the P3 Program has been well-received, its practical implementation has encountered challenges related to intellectual property, research timelines, and ongoing collaboration. To address these issues, Lehigh organized a National Workshop on the Formation of Industry-University Partnerships for Doctoral Training in Washington, D.C. in August 2025. This event brought together 77 leaders from industry, academia, funding bodies, and international organizations to discuss ways to revolutionize doctoral education through collaborative industry-university partnerships.

The workshop led to nine recommendations aimed at enhancing STEM doctoral training in the United States. These recommendations suggested strategic approaches to partnerships, the introduction of flexibility in Ph.D. requirements, the development of standardized agreement templates for intellectual property and publications, and consideration of alternatives to the traditional Ph.D. model.

Following these discussions, the NSF launched the pilot UIDP I-PhD Scholars Program, which incorporates elements from both the P3 Program and the workshop’s recommendations. The program’s first cohort is set to begin in Fall 2026, with plans to expand in subsequent years as the program’s capacity increases and more partners join.

Lehigh University is actively preparing to participate in the UIDP I-PhD Scholars Program by identifying faculty members interested in the initiative and aligning them with potential industry partners.

Reflecting on the recognition of the P3 Program’s success at a national level through the UIDP I-PhD Scholars Program, Jagota expressed satisfaction: “It’s very gratifying because I think it’ll really have an impact,” he said. “It’s one of the good things that we were able to do out of Lehigh.”