Doctoral education pilot launches - nearly a hundred new doctoral positions for the University of Oulu

According to the ministry, 800 of the doctoral researchers will focus on flagship fields and 200 on other fields. The Digital Waters flagship project, coordinated by the University of Oulu, was granted 15 300 000 euros to educate 60 doctoral researchers. In addition, the University of Oulu is a partner in several other flagship pilots as well as pilots in other fields. The total funding for the University of Oulu to educate new doctoral researchers amounts to 24, 990, 000 euros.

The Ministry of Education and Culture is providing funding for 15 pilots for field-specific doctoral education. Nine of these are in flagship fields and six in other fields.

The pilots will be implemented by consortia designed by universities. Research institutes and businesses are also involved in the broad collaboration. The pilots were selected based on an international review carried out by the Research Council of Finland. According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, the selections emphasized quality and societal impact. There were more high-quality applications than could be funded.

The aim of the doctoral education pilot is to increase the number of doctorates in Finland, and to reform doctoral education and strengthen its social impact.

"Pilot funding is a significant investment in doctoral education and now it's important that the universities commit to the development work because it is under their responsibilities. Unifi, the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities, has taken up the challenge of developing doctoral education by establishing groups to support the development of doctoral education," says Annu Perttunen, Director of the University of Oulu Graduate School.

Universities receive additional funding for training a thousand new doctoral graduates (Ministery of Education and Culture)