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For Industrial PhD students

An Industrial PhD student is employed in the company and enrolled at the university.
 

Regulations and Guidelines

The Industrial PhD student shares his/her working time equally between the company and the university and spends all the working time on the Industrial PhD project.

Industrial PhD students are subject to the same regulations and guidelines as other PhD students enrolled at GSTS, including the Ministerial Order and GSTS’s Rules and regulations.

In addition, Innovation Fund Denmark may have certain requirements that the Industrial PhD student has to meet. This includes among others participating in a mandatory course in connection with the Industrial PhD programme. This provides 5 ECTS of the minimum 28 and maximum 31 ECTS credits required as part of the PhD study. The Industrial PhD student, the university supervisor and the company supervisor also have to attend Innovation Fund Denmark’s kick-off meeting. Find more information on Innovation Fund Denmark’s guidelines, requirements and the kick-off meeting here.

Please note that Innovation Fund Denmark conducts a follow-up on the project focusing on the collaboration, results and effects. This is conducted 1½ year into the industrial PhD project and again when the project ends.

Employment, Salary and Leave

The Industrial PhD student is enrolled at GSTS and employed by the company. Due to GSTS regulations, the Industrial PhD student is expected to divide his/her time equally between the company and the university.

Since the company employs the Industrial PhD student, the Industrial PhD student can negotiate the salary with the company.

The Industrial PhD student is subject to company regulations for employees (e.g. in connection with maternity/paternity/parental leave, and sickness), but the company must request leave for the Industrial PhD student from Innovation Fund Denmark, and Innovation Fund Denmark has to approve the request prior to commencement of the leave. More details about the procedures are available on Innovation Fund Denmark’s website.

At the same time as making a request to Innovation Fund Denmark, the Industrial PhD student must inform his/her PhD partner about the period of leave so the PhD partner can prepare an official letter and change the dates for the study period. When Innovation Fund Denmark has approved the request, they notify both the company and the university supervisor through their online system E-grant.

Please note that GSTS only grants a study time extension due to illness if the student has been ill for a minimum of thirty full-time and consecutive days altogether. Note also that a period of leave other than maternity/paternity, parental or sick leave must be approved by the university supervisor (main supervisor), the head of programme and the head of PhD school before the PhD partner can prepare the official letter and change the dates for the study period.

Work/Dissemination Obligations

Work obligations are generally included in the collective agreement for PhD students employed at the university. As the Industrial PhD students are employed in a company, this does not apply to them. However, they must still comply with the dissemination requirements described in the Ministerial Order. See GSTS’s Rules and regulations chapter 6.1.7 for examples of dissemination.

Research Environment Change

In principle, all PhD students should participate in active research environments, including stays at other, mainly foreign, research institutions, private research enterprises etc. This also applies to Industrial PhD students. Note that the company where the Industrial PhD student is employed does not count as a research environment change.

Find more info on the topic going abroad here.

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Any questions about confidentiality must be resolved before the progress report and the PhD thesis respectively is submitted. Please contact GSTS, if necessary.

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