According to § 7 of the PhD order, PhD students are expected to gain experience in teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination.
All knowledge dissemination activities must be approved by the PhD study board. These activities may include teaching, public outreach, giving lectures, organizing events, or other ways of sharing knowledge with the broader community.
The Faculty PhD Committee has established that the extent of knowledge dissemination should be at least 300 working hours. These hours are part of the total working hours required for employed PhD students, which is typically 840 hours.
Knowledge dissemination hours are registered locally at each department through a system like SmartReg. The registration must be approved by the Head of the department or the chairman of the local PhD study board. PhD students must complete the required 300 hours of knowledge dissemination at least 3 months before the PhD thesis is to be submitted. This allows students to fulfill this requirement well in advance of their thesis submission.
Overall, knowledge dissemination is an integral part of a PhD program, ensuring that students not only advance their research but also develop skills in communicating and sharing their findings with a broader audience. It's a valuable component of doctoral education that contributes to a student's professional growth and development.
Rules for calculating knowledge dissemination hours
The allocation of knowledge dissemination hours based on the format and location of the presentations and posters is as follows:
- Posters and short presentations (less than 40 minutes): Each instance of a poster or a short presentation held outside the academic institution is counted for 30 knowledge dissemination hours
- External longer presentations (at least 40 minutes): longer presentations (at least 40 minutes) held externally count for 50 knowledge dissemination hours
- Internal presentations: Presentations held within the academic institution (internally) are counted for 5 knowledge dissemination hours
If the PhD student repeats the same presentation, the allocation of hours decreases as follows:
- The 2nd time: 50% of the hours received for the first presentation
- The 3rd time: 25% of the hours received for the first presentation
- The 4th time: 10% of the hours received for the first presentation
This system encourages diversity in knowledge dissemination activities and rewards students for presenting their work externally to a wider audience. It also takes into account the potential for diminishing returns when giving the same presentation multiple times.
PhD students should keep a record of their knowledge dissemination activities and hours to ensure proper documentation and reporting for approval by the PhD study board.
Activities that can be credited as knowledge dissemination
- External presentations and posters
- Articles conveying scientific information to the general public
- In certain cases, scientific articles
- Production of books
- Internal presentations
Activities that can be credited as knowledge dissemination and as work commitment
- Teaching for the Department
- Supervision of fellow students/technical staff
- Dissemination tasks (each department has a list of dissemination tasks)
Activities that can be credited as work commitment
In accordance with the PhD Order, teaching and knowledge dissemination activities for PhD students should be relevant to the student's field of study but should not be directly linked to their specific research project. These activities may include:
- Work duties for the department - PhD students can be assigned tasks or responsibilities by the Head of the Department that are performed for the department
- Work duties for the research group - the PhD student can be assigned tasks by the Head of the Department that are carried out for the specific research group to which they are affiliated
The amount of time dedicated to teaching and knowledge dissemination is calculated based on the principles for determining working hours for PhD students.
For PhD students enrolled in the Industrial PhD program, it's possible to agree upon teaching and knowledge dissemination activities with the collaboration partner.
These plans for teaching experience and knowledge dissemination should be outlined in the PhD plan. While it may not always be possible to provide a detailed plan right from the start, it is understood that these plans can evolve over time. The principal supervisor and the PhD student are expected to work together to periodically update and adjust the plan based on the student's progress and changing opportunities for teaching and knowledge dissemination. This flexibility allows for adaptability in the student's development.