Luke and the University of Eastern Finland to start unique cooperation in doctoral education
The pilot of seven research institutes and the University of Eastern Finland includes 28 open doctoral researcher positions.
The unique cooperation experiment between state research institutes and the University of Eastern Finland builds a new approach to national doctoral education. The first call for applications to the four-year doctoral student positions, shared by research institutes and UEF, opened today.
Natural Resources Intitute (Luke) participates in the extensive cooperation experiment with 6 shared doctoral researcher positions. Other state research institutes participating in the experiment are the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Institute for Occupational Health (TTL) and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).
In the experiment, UEF and the research institutes seek for doctoral researchers to their shared doctoral student positions. Full-time work on a doctoral dissertation and related supervision takes place at UEF, whilst the research institute enhances the researchers’ research skills in addition to their doctoral dissertation. The Doctoral Researcher will sign an employment contract with both parties.
– The University of Eastern Finland prepared the piloting of the doctoral education cooperation with research institutes during spring 2023. We want to expand the career paths of researchers and to enhance the attractiveness of research careers through cooperation, says Academic Rector Tapio Määttä.
– Luke is making a targeted investment in doctoral training with universities. We need new methodological expertise, for example in research on digitalisation of forestry and automation of forest operations. At Luke, doctoral researchers dive directly into project work, where they can try out what they have learned in national and international research projects," says Antti Asikainen, Executive Vice President, Research at Luke.
The centralised call for applications to the doctoral researcher positions will end on 14 August. The applicants must be eligible for doctoral education in accordance with the admissions criteria of the doctoral programmes. Persons employed by the research institutes and UEF's doctoral students may also apply for the posts. The first doctoral researchers of the pilot are to start in their duties in November 2023; in some posts, in January 2024.
Calls for applications at https://www.uef.fi/en/open-positions
Further information:
Antti Asikainen, Executive Vice President, Research, antti.asikainen@luke.fi, tel. +358295323250
Mikko Kurttila, Programme Director, Principal Scientist, mikko.kurttila@luke.fi, tel. +358295323262
Tapio Määttä, Academic Rector, University of Eastern Finland, tapio.maatta@uef.fi, tel. +358 50 575 1589
