Industrial PhDs at DTU Aqua

What is it?

• The industrial PhD scheme of Innovation Fund Denmark aims to foster collaborations between companies and universities and in the process, it helps connect early career researchers to the private sector.
• As a company, this is a great way to explore more risky research questions or to boost your R&D team through knowledge transfer in a targeted manner.
• As a company, this is a great way to engage with world-leading researchers to explore your R&D challenges.
• As a student, this is a great way to be fully engaged with private sector R&D.

How does it work?

• An individual is employed in a private company and enrolled at university as a PhD student. The candidate works on a unique research project as part of their employment and education.
• Innovation Fund Denmark supports this project by providing a subsidy for salary (612,000 DKK for 36 months) and 100,000 DKK for travel allowance. The university receives up to 360,000 DKK (which includes overheads). The company covers the rest (40%) of the research cost. 
• At the moment a typical PhD salary+pension starts at 390,000 DKK per annum.
• The grant to the company (excluding share to the university) covers at most 50% of the project cost.
• A PhD project lasts 36 months during which time the student also has to be involved in coursework (about 6 months spread through the three years, covered by the university share)

I have an idea what do I do next?

• Get in touch with a researcher to discuss your project idea, they can help you with shaping it into a project relevant to the industrial PhD scheme.
• You can also contact the PhD School at DTU Aqua (please find contact info in the boxes). 

The fine print

• Find all details about the scheme at innovationsfonden.dk
• Find overview of application deadlines