2. Application procedure and general conditions
The first step when commencing an Industrial PhD project is to submit an application to the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI). The application is drafted jointly by a company, a university and a candidate.
The first step when commencing an Industrial PhD project is to submit an application to the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI). The application is drafted jointly by a company, a university and a candidate. The company is the formal applicant, since it is the company which upon approval of the project employs the candidate and acts as the host company for the project.
When the application is received by DASTI, it is assessed by the Industrial PhD Programme Committee (the Programme Committee), which is a professional advisory committee consisting of members from the private sector and public research institutions. An application for an Industrial PhD can obtain either approval, conditional approval or rejection. DASTI will publicise titles and participants of all approved and conditionally approved projects at www.erhvervsphd.dk within 45 working days after the application deadline. If an application receives a conditional approval or is rejected, DASTI will send a letter to the applying company detailing the conditions for approval or the reasons for rejection.
If an application is approved, the company and the university will receive a letter of commitment from DASTI. The letter of commitment contains the formal requirements for the parties during the Industrial PhD project and constitutes the contract with DASTI.
The candidate is employed in a Danish division of the company for the duration of the project. The company pays the candidate’s salary and receives a wage subsidy from DASTI. The university receives a subsidy to cover supervision and other expenses related to the enrolment of the candidate. As a starting point, the student must divide his or her time equally between the company and university. Accordingly, the student is supervised by at least two supervisors: a university supervisor from the university and a company supervisor from the company. In addition, one or more third-party supervisors may also be attached to the project. The university appoints all supervisors (cf. the Executive Order on PhD Programmes, Part 11, § 26), although the company supervisor is appointed at the recommendation of the company. The university supervisor, the company supervisor and any third-party supervisor must be evident from and sign the application.
In addition to applications with a single named candidate per application, a company can apply for approval of up to five projects per application round without named candidates. Final approval is given on the condition that the company subsequently finds a qualified candidate, e.g. through job advertisements.
The following sections will elaborate the different steps in applying for and carrying out an Industrial PhD project.
