Reviewed by the PhD Programme Council at a meeting held on 14 April 2010. Amended following input from the units and discussions at the meetings of Deans.
A. A future research position in the higher education sector will include research, teaching and administration. As part of their required duties, doctoral research fellows should be given tasks that give them varied experience within these areas.
B. Organized research training has a nominal period of 100% research over a three-year period. At the Faculty of Educational Sciences, the nominal period of study of the educational component (research courses) is one semester’s work (30 credits), and the nominal duration of the work with the thesis is 2.5 years.
C. The required duties of a doctoral research fellow employed for a period of four years are stipulated as 25% of 1 695 hours of work per year, i.e. 424 hours per year. This should be broken down into duties within the three areas, see point A. This includes participation in research projects, teaching and examination work, supervision and administration (e.g. project administration, committee work, research group administration, information work). The research fellow's required duties may include tasks within and outside their own field of research. The required duties are covered by agreement with the fellow's place of service, and this information must be entered into his/her work plan.
D. The required duties of doctoral research fellows employed for four years are stipulated at 25% per year. The research fellow and unit head must reach agreement on how to divide the required duties during the four-year period. It is important to ensure that the work progresses well. During the first year, the fellow and his/her supervisor should devise a plan for the work associated with research courses, participation in seminars and the thesis.
E. The unit head should ensure that the doctoral research fellow's required duties cover the same field for a period of several years. The required duties should not be divided between too many tasks. Reference is made to the faculty’s guidelines for quality assurance of the organized research training, point 9, III.
F. A doctoral research fellow who will be supervising a Master’s degree student for the first time or who will be performing examination work should do this together with a permanent member of the academic staff. Steps should be taken to ensure that the research fellow receives input on the teaching they have provided (lecture series or seminars).
G. Upon appointment, a meeting should be held between the department head, the doctoral research fellow and the supervisors to discuss expectations regarding the work situation of the fellow, including required duties. The unit is responsible for ensuring that the duties assigned are as relevant as possible. Reference is made to the faculty’s guidelines for quality assurance of the organized research training, point 9, III.
H. Annual follow-up meetings will be held between the doctoral research fellow and the department head/head of research/research education coordinator (normally as a performance review and as part of the follow-up of the research fellow's progress report). The supervisors and the research education coordinator share responsibility for ensuring that the fellow does not work more hours during the admission period than allowed for, and must ensure that the required duties are reasonable in relation to the workload and the fellow's areas of expertise. Reference is made to the faculty’s guidelines for quality assurance of the organized research training, point 9, III.
I. Upon appointment, doctoral research fellows are given an overview of the factors applied to different tasks at the unit. Contact your unit about this.