The paper summarizes the experience gained so far from the training of doctoral students at the University of Ruse. An innovative web-based system, developed to support doctoral education, is presented. The system has been tested in real-world conditions during a period of more than five years, with full-time and part-time students enrolled in different professional fields at the University of Ruse. Innovative environments, methods and technologies used for doctoral training in pandemic conditions are discussed. Positive results were reported from the conducted experimental research and surveys.