Call for applications: NordForsk Private Public Partnership (PPP) PhD Programme

NordForsk, the Nordic research board operating under the Nordic Council of Ministers, launches a call for Private Public Partnership (PPP) PhD Projects.

19.06.2008 - Ed.

The aim of the NordForsk PPP PhD programme is to contribute to the opening up of the Nordic Research and Innovation Area, NORIA, by

• enhancing trans-Nordic knowledge exchange and collaboration between industry and academia in order to form a basis for lasting research collaboration
• offering PhD-students the possibility to get training in both sectors and to obtain a comprehensive set of complementary skills, such as entrepreneurship and management of intellectual property rights (IPR)
• offering enterprises the possibility to enhance the application of new research-based knowledge in innovation processes through strengthened research competence and collaboration with relevant academic communities.

A PPP PhD project is a research project carried out in collaboration between an enterprise, a PhD student and a university. The main applicant is the enterprise where the PhD student will be employed. The PhD student should have at least one supervisor from the enterprise and one from the university at which the student will be enrolled.

The enterprise must be geographically located in a Nordic country, and must have the qualifications and financial means to ensure that the PhD project can be completed. The university must be located in a Nordic country different from the country in which the enterprise is located. The PhD student is required to divide the time between the enterprise and the university, spending at least 25% of the time at the partner where the PhD student is not regularly staying. There are no nationality requirements for PhD student or supervisors. The programme is open to applications within all sectors and all scientific fields.

Funding

NordForsk will fund at least 10 PhD posts. Funding is allocated for 3-4 years, depending on the national university PhD programme requirements. NordForsk covers up to 50% of the PhD student's salary (maximum NOK 400 000 NordForsk funding) as well as costs related to travelling and participation in PhD courses etc. The other 50% of the salary costs are to be covered by the enterprise.

Projects should be starting during 2009. Grant holders will be expected to dedicate their entire working time to the proposed research project during the period of the grant. The PPP PhD student will be employed full time by the enterprise on standard employee terms and conditions during the project period. Salary is agreed upon between the PhD student and the enterprise, but must as a minimum be equivalent to the normal standard wages for a PhD student in the respective Nordic country.

Deadline for proposal submission

Deadline for proposal submission is November 28th 2008 at 16:00 Norwegian time. Guidelines for Applicants and Application Form are available at www.nordforsk.org. The Application Form should be submitted together with an Expression of Interest by the university partner. Both documents should be sent as PDF files in one e-mail to soknad@nordforsk.org.

For further information, please contact:

Senior advisor Simone Heinz
Phone: +47 90 84 53 82
E-mail: simone.heinz@nordforsk.org

Senior advisor Harald Botha
Phone: +47 97 54 61 68
E-mail: harald.botha@nordforsk.org

Related documents

PPP: Guidelines for applicants

PPP Application Form