How does the European Union define the professional careers for doctorate holders? Which models of transversal skills do we have at present for doctoral candidates? Are these transversal skills universal for all professional paths for doctorate holders or do they need to be tailored for every particular professional career? Does the European definition of professional careers for doctorate holders fit with the transversal skills models that we count with at present? We propose here to open a reflection about which transversal skills have to be developed for doctoral candidates to fuel their future professional careers.

Joan Josep Carvajal (Group for the Professionalization of the Doctorate, Postgraduate and Doctoral School - Universitat Rovira i Virgili). PhD in Chemistry (2003) from University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Spain, and vice-dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of the URV. He is founding member of the Group for the Professionalization of the Doctoral Supervision at URV, part of the Doctoral and Post-graduate School, and member of the organizing committee of the Tarragona Think Tank on PhD Supervisory Training.