The Founding of ORPHEUS
Need for Harmonisation
In April 2004, a European Conference on Harmonisation of PhD Programmes in Biomedicine and Health Sciences was held in Zagreb. The conference highlighted significant differences in PhD programmes across Europe—some countries had no clinical PhD programmes, while others had multiple.
As a result, delegates from 25 universities across 16 European countries agreed on the need for harmonisation. This led to the acceptance of ‘The Declaration of the European Conference on Harmonisation of PhD Programmes in Medicine and Health Sciences’, also known as the ‘Zagreb Declaration’—the first European consensus on PhD programme standards.
The Zagreb Declaration closely aligned with the ‘10 Salzburg Principles’ established at the Bologna Seminar in 2005, reinforcing the importance of structured PhD education in Europe.
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The Second Conference and the Birth of ORPHEUS
A year later, in 2005, a second conference was held in Zagreb with delegates from 33 universities across 21 European countries.
At the conclusion of the event, Professor Zdravko Lackovic (Zagreb) proposed the formation of a European organisation to support PhD studies in biomedicine and public health.
Professors Seppo Meri (Helsinki) and Michael J. Mulvany (Aarhus) collaborated to propose a name for the organisation:
ORPHEUS – ORganization of PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the EUropean System.
The initiative received strong support from delegates, including Professor Joachim Seitz (Hamburg), who congratulated the newly elected ORPHEUS Executive Committee.
Official Establishment of ORPHEUS
The Constituent Assembly of ORPHEUS was held on November 12, 2006, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where the organisation’s statutes were officially adopted.
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ORPHEUS was legally registered in Zagreb on February 9, 2007.
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On April 3, 2009, ORPHEUS became an associate member of the Council of Doctoral Education – European University Association (CDE-EUA).
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Collaboration with Key Organisations
On October 15, 2008, a meeting was held in Copenhagen between ORPHEUS (President Zdravko Lackovic), the Association of Medical Schools in Europe (AMSE) (President David Gordon), and the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) (Past-President Hans Karle).
The three organisations agreed to create a joint document outlining essential and desirable standards for PhD degrees in medical faculties and schools across Europe. This agreement was formally accepted by all three organisations the following year.
Development of PhD Education Standards
At the Aarhus Conference in 2009, a preliminary consensus document, “Towards Standards for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences,” was accepted.
A Task Force, chaired by Michael J. Mulvany, was formed with representatives from ORPHEUS, AMSE, and WFME to draft formal “Standards for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences.”
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The Task Force met in Zagreb from October 25-27, 2010.
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Further refinements were made primarily via email exchanges.
By the end of 2012, the finalised standards were published by Aarhus University Press, becoming widely recognised across Europe.