Industrial PhD

Would your company like to hire an Industrial PhD?

If you wish to have access to knowledge and research within your line of business that can create commercial value for your company, you should consider employing an Industrial PhD.

An Industrial PhD project is a three-year, industrially focused research project and PhD education conducted jointly by a private sector company, an Industrial PhD candidate, and a university.

It is a unique opportunity for your company to attract highly specialised labour, and to benefit from the research and knowledge at the university. Innovation Fund Denmark invests in Industrial PhD projects of high quality and with commercial relevance for the company.

The Industrial PhD candidate is employed in your company for the three-year project period and enrolled at the IT University of Copenhagen at the same time. The Industrial PhD candidate divides their working time between your company and the university and spends all working time on the project and on the education.

As of 20 March 2023, Innovation Fund Denmark finances up to DKK 17,000 per month of the Industrial PhD candidate’s salary for 3 years. In addition, your company also receives a subsidy for costs related to travel expenses in relation to the research project.

In order to apply for an Industrial PhD, your company must:

• Have a division geographically located in Denmark where the Industrial PhD candidate is to be employed
• Assign a company supervisor and a company co-supervisor to the project
• Be able to provide facilities and financial support for the project for the entire project duration

Contact Innovation Fund Denmark 

Innovation Fund Denmark administers the Industrial PhD programme. It is the company that applies Innovation Fund Denmark for an Industrial PhD, however it is expected that the project description is prepared in close collaboration with the Industrial PhD candidate (if known) and the university supervisor. You must contact Innovation Fund Denmark if you have questions about the programme in general, application deadlines, and Innovation Fund Denmark’s requirements to the company, the candidate, and the application. You can find more information on Innovation Fund Denmark’s website.

Contact ITU

We are also available for more information about the programme. If you have questions, you are welcome to contact Research Support at ITU.

Please note, that the parties themselves must do the preliminary work of finding collaborators and establishing contact between the company, the university supervisor, and the Industrial PhD candidate. Unfortunately, ITU cannot assist in pointing out specific researchers for the project. We refer you to take contact to relevant research groups at ITU.

If you are a candidate

Candidates who wish to get started on the process of becoming an Industrial PhD can read about the application process and deadlines on our ITU's website about the PhD programme.