Visiting scientists and interns
Visiting scientists:
When DTU hosts a visiting scientist, it is, as a general rule, a requirement that the visiting scientist’s home institution signs DTU’s Visiting Scientist Agreement (VSA), which sets out the framework for visiting scientists’ stay at DTU.
A VSA is required when a visiting scientist is granted access to DTU’s systems or facilities in connection with a stay at DTU.
A visiting research stay may last up to six months. However, the Head of Department may, in special cases, approve stays of up to twelve months.
The VSA must be signed and filed prior to the start of the stay.
DTU’s VSA can be downloaded here.
Guest or visitor
Please note the distinction between guests and visitors at DTU.
- A guest (often referred to as a visiting scientist) is granted access to DTU’s systems or facilities, will often stay at DTU for an extended period, and will normally receive an access card allowing the guest to access non-public areas at DTU independently. The guest’s home institution must sign a VSA. Please note that a researcher employed by a company is not allowed to stay at DTU as a guest.
- A visitor stays at DTU for a short, limited period, without access to DTU’s systems or facilities, and must always be accompanied by DTU staff when accessing DTU’s non-public areas. No VSA is required for visitors at DTU.
Read more about the definitions of a guest and a visitor here.
Decision tree for guests and visitors at DTU
A decision tree has been developed to support the assessment of which type of agreement is appropriate in the specific situation. The decision tree illustrates that, in some cases, it may be sufficient to use a different type of agreement than the VSA, and that a VSA is not required for visitors at DTU.
The decision tree can be viewed here.
What does the VSA regulate?
The VSA sets out the framework for visiting scientists’ stay at DTU.
If a separate agreement has been entered into between DTU and the visiting scientist’s home institution, for example a collaboration agreement relating to a specific research project, the VSA will be supplementary to that agreement.
In the event of conflicting terms between the VSA and a separate agreement relating to matters such as intellectual property rights, confidentiality, or publication, the terms of the separate agreement will prevail.
The VSA also contains terms regarding liability and insurance, which are necessary to protect DTU from liability in relation to visiting scientists, since DTU is self-insured.
The VSA cannot be used for company employees
Individuals employed by companies may not stay at DTU as guests.
Employees of companies cannot be considered guest researchers at DTU, and the VSA therefore does not apply to this group. If an employee from a company visits DTU as part of a specific research collaboration, a collaboration agreement must be in place.
Regardless of whether the visit forms part of a research collaboration, employees of companies may only access DTU as visitors.
PhD students at DTU who are employed by private companies may stay at DTU as part of their PhD programme. In such cases, it is a requirement that the company has entered into one of DTU’s PhD agreements with DTU, and the VSA is not relevant. This also applies to independent PhD students.
Handling of the VSA at the departments
DTU’s Executive Board has decided that the VSA must be managed at the departments. The host department is responsible for initiating and completing the following process when hosting a visiting scientist.
1) Risk assessment of the guest
Before the process can begin, a risk assessment of the visiting scientist must be carried out to assess whether a stay at DTU is appropriate. DTU’s guidelines on risk assessment of guests can be found here. This step is mandatory and must be carried out as early as possible to avoid potential delays.
2) Conclusion of the VSA
Once the risk assessment has been approved by the Head of Department, a VSA must be concluded if the visiting scientist falls within DTU’s definition of a visiting scientist. The VSA must be signed and filed before the visiting scientist arrives at DTU.
3) End of the stay
When the visiting scientist’s stay at DTU ends, the host department must ensure that all activities have effectively ceased. The host department must subsequently ensure that the visiting scientist’s access to DTU’s systems and facilities is terminated.
Visiting students
Students from other universities may undertake an internship at DTU for shorter periods by agreement between a DTU department and their home university, outside the established exchange programmes, such as Erasmus. The student is considered an intern at DTU rather than a student enrolled at DTU. Interns will typically participate in project work within the department under the supervision of one of DTU’s scientists, without necessarily being enrolled in courses at DTU, and are therefore not necessarily registered in STADS.
As DTU grants options to rights in many research project agreements, it is important that rights generated by a visiting student as part of one of DTU’s research projects are regulated so that they accrue to DTU. It is therefore necessary to enter into an agreement with both the home university and the intern regarding the placement before the intern arrives at DTU. The agreement is also concluded with the intern because, unlike a visiting scientist, the intern is not employed by the home university. The Visiting Student Agreement can be downloaded here.
DTU’s Executive Board has decided that entering into an Internship Agreement is a prerequisite for an intern to undertake a placement at DTU.
DTU’s Internship Agreement is non-negotiable, and the department must ensure that the Internship Agreement has been signed and duly filed before the placement begins.
Further questions
If you have any questions regarding visiting scientists or the VSA, please contact vsa-afri@dtu.dk. This mailbox should only be used for general enquiries about the VSA process itself, suggestions for improvement, or special circumstances. It cannot be used to obtain legal assistance in relation to specific visiting scientist agreements, as the terms of the VSA are non-negotiable and must be managed locally by the departments.