DTU PhD foundation and strategy
Mission statement
The DTU PhD Foundation for the PhD programme provides a value-based guide and supplement to the PhD rules and regulations.
The foundation is to support the PhD schools in making decisions and be selfgoverning in accordance with general DTU culture and policy.
DTU's PhD foundation is naturally based on DTU's strategy of delivering value-creating technology for people and has a particular focus on the benchmark: Europe's best engineering education –throughout working life.
DTU's PhD Programme is a central and strategically vital endeavour for the university, inherently linking education and research. Teaching and scientific dissemination are integral parts of the PhD Programme.
The ambition for the individual PhD is high. The DTU PhDs are on the path to become future leaders of technology. Prioritizing the development of each PhD is crucial, as it cultivates future researchers poised for careers in academia or industry.
DTU is an international technical elite university that advocates academic freedom, scientific independence and exemplary professionalism. The credibility of DTU depends on its employees, their behaviour and their role as ambassadors for DTU. DTU expects all its employees, including all PhDs, to act according to DTU values, established scientific community practices and high academic standards, including the Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
As a university, we must establish a framework that empowers PhD students to excel in scientific and technical research methods and to deepen their understanding. We need to foster an environment that nurtures individual creativity, allowing room for experimentation and failure, with learning and innovation as the top priorities. DTU's PhD schools must ensure a high international standard of education for PhD students. Each individual PhD student and the academic project is an integral component of the research environment.
Self-management is a pivotal aspect of DTU’s work culture. DTU’s self-management approach is based on the belief that all PhDs are qualified to take responsibility for their own tasks and work proactively. At DTU, self-management is characterized by the delegation of tasks and responsibilities. That delegation is based on the PhD’s experience with similar tasks as well as on mutual trust and respect between the PhD and the principal supervisor.
The PhD strategy 2025-2030
The PhD strategy has the aim of operationalising DTU’s strategy in terms of linking DTU strategic objectives to relevant objectives for the PhD Programme. The identified themes for the PhD strategy are Research environments, Dialogue & administration, and Framework for PhD education. Each of the themes have overall objectives with supporting initiatives, identified to support the achievement of the objectives.
Research environment - objectives
DTU aims to be a leader in technological development through education, research, innovation, and research-based consultancy. In this mission, PhD students are crucial, bringing their diverse backgrounds to help drive forward-thinking solutions for the future.
It is the ambition that all PhD projects are closely integrated with one or more of the university's international research environments.
PhD students engage in a constructive supervision process that supports both their professional and personal development. The DTU goal is for PhDs to emerge mentally balanced upon completing their PhD projects.
Focus areas
- PhD schools are expected to ensure that PhD students are well integrated into research environments, enhancing access to discussions and sparring that contribute to their professional growth and career development beyond standard PhD supervision.
- The university prioritizes the continuous professional development of PhD supervisors, offering ongoing education through HR programmes and initiatives at PhD schools.
- PhD schools foster an environment that promotes a sustainable working life by providing buddy and onboarding programmes with clear expectation alignment. PhD schools focus on reducing loneliness by encouraging open dialogue about well-being and offering co-working spaces and supporting social events.
- Every PhD School prioritizes supporting a safe space for dialogue about DEI initiatives, including everyday sexism, to acknowledge problems and then learn how to deal with them.
Dialogue & administration – objectives
The DTU Leadership Foundation states that human resources are DTU’s most valuable assets. All employees have access to an inclusive and engaged dialogue with their manager. The right to a dialogue with your manager also applies to PhDs. This approach reflects DTU’s belief in the potential of every individual. The manager and the PhD supervisors must balance the need for guidance and management related to the individual PhD.
The individual PhDs themselves can obtain leadership skills by playing an active role in DTU’s organization; e.g. by participating in and providing input to the PhD committees, joint consultation committees (LSU) etc.
DTU has an ambition to continuously simplify and streamline both processes and systems. The goal is to create an overview at the administrative level, PhD school and individual level, with more time for dialogue and research as a result.
Focus areas
- Corporate HR is responsible for leading a project focusing on PhD processes and systems that support stakeholder involvement across the university and ensure alignment of expectations and implementation across DTU.
- Corporate HR initiates together with representatives from PhD schools that the PhD plan and half-year reports are reviewed with a focus on alignment of expectations, methods, equipment, external stays, etc.
- PhD schools are expected to support the supervisors in using the PhD dialogue tool for ongoing alignment of expectations.
Framework for the PhD education – objectives
DTU's PhD programme aims to educate outstanding researchers capable of identifying, analysing, investigating, and solving future challenges. This is achieved by allowing PhD students to take increasing responsibility for their research projects.
The scope of a PhD project should be adaptable, accommodating the diverse approaches and needs of the individual PhD student. Accordingly, the PhD plan should be created in collaboration between the supervisor and the PhD student.
The PhD programme have a primary focus at personal competence development for each PhD student. The focus is on the PhD student’s needs to develop competencies that support a future career in research and ensures that the PhD student meets the project deliverables.
Communication of knowledge is a central part of the PhD education. At DTU, all PhD students are trained in the various communication forms of teaching, popular science communication and scientific communication.
Focus areas
- When project investigators apply for external funding for a PhD project, the planning of the project must be flexible enough to allow time for the PhD student to experiment, pursue an idea and perhaps not reach a result or even fail.
- DTU PhD students contribute to the task of Teaching Assistants across DTU. There is a need for further focus on establishing DTU guidelines for the Teaching assistant task.
- DTU's central standards and requirements are to be analysed and adjusted where necessary to create room for more flexibility (Compulsory courses, external stays, teaching commitments).
- In continuation of establishing DTU’s PhD foundation and strategy, the quality system for the PhD programme is to be reviewed and further developed where necessary.
DTU’s PhD Foundation & Strategy document is approved by the DTU Provost and the Dean of Sustainability. The content is created in cooperation with representatives from PhD Schools and the DTU PhD Association.