Starting PhD Studies

This document is intended to provide prospective PhD students as well as our newly accepted ones with the most basic information about life as a PhD student at IDI. For prospective students, the document also provides the neccessary information to understand the requirements and process related to being accepted as PhD student at the departement.

For those financing their PhD studies by being employed at the department (i.e. the vast majority), some basic information about your relationship with NTNU and the department as an employee is also provided. We also include information about the qualification procedures for prospective PhD students.

The document provides information about the following topics:

0. Qualifying for Doctoral Studies
1. Becoming and Being a Doctoral Student
2. Becoming and Being an Employee
3. Expenses During the Studies

Please note that there are also other sources of information available. A few helpful hints concerning where to go to seek information and answers to your questions:

• Use your closest colleagues first, and especially the stipendiats who are already familiar with the department and with NTNU.
• The department's reception (room 122) may show helpful and provide you with answers to many questions.
• The faculty administration also has helpful web pages describing procedures for application as well as for the final part of your doctoral studies (also in English).
• Use the NTNU intranet portal "Innsida" on a daily basis. Spend a few hours surfing web pages when new at NTNU (unfortunately this is of limited value for those not fluent in a Scandinavian language). URL: https://innsida.ntnu.no/.

For the benefit of all doctoral students at the department, please send suggestions for improving this web service to the department's administrative manager Bård Kjos. Comments are very welcome!

0 Qualifying for Doctoral Studies

To be accepted for doctoral studies at NTNU, the following three criteria must be met:

1. The applicant's grade point average (GPA) from the two final years of her/his masters degree studies (corresponding to the Norwegian "sivilingeniør" or "cand.scient." degrees) must correspond to an ECTS "B" or better. Also, the applicant's grade point average in his/her bachelor degree must correspond to an ECTS "C" or better.

   Please note that in Norway, candidates are not qualified for PhD studies after having completed only a bachelor degree (BSc/BEng). All PhD studies at IDI require the candidates to have completed their MSc/MEng degrees in computer science/computer engineering, or equvivalent, before starting their PhD studies.
   
   

2. It is also an absolute requirement that the applicant is able to document her/his ability to cover the daily living expenses for 3 full years before being accepted. In this regard, students planning to work (part time) to finance their studies are not accepted. For Norwegian applicants it may be disappointing to learn that the national student financing bank ("Lånekassa") does not support PhD studies.

   One must for these reasons either have substantial savings available - an estimate would be minimum NOK 10.000 (appr. 1250 Euro/USD) per month for 36 months - or one must have obtained a scholarship (from the university or elsewhere) to be accepted.

   Available scolarships are announced in major Norwegian newspapers, and also on our web site. If none are announced, you may safely assume none are available at the department at the moment.
   
   

3. Finally, to become a doctoral student, the department must also have a supervisor (professor/associate professor) available. To find out if you may be regarded for PhD studies, you may contact any of the department's professors directly provided your finances are ready from an external source, or provided a scholarship sponsored by the department is available. In the latter case the name of the appropriate professor to contact will accompany the announcement of the scolarship.

1 Becoming and Being a Doctoral Student

Your primary contact regarding your status as a doctoral student at IDI is your main supervisor. With respect to bureaucracy and formalities regarding your status, Consultant Anne Berit Dahl is the right person to approach.

1.1 Becoming a Doctoral Student

1.1.1 The formal application

The application form is available in Norwegian and in English, and should be filled out by the candidate and her/his supervisor. Stipendiats should observe that the offer of employment normally states that the offer is conditional, and that it is given provided the candidate is accepted as a doctoral student no later than 3 months after having started in the position.

When filling out the application, please read the instructions (especially the footnotes on the bottom of each page) carefully. All details for each course must be precicely specified (i.e. whether the course is on doctoral or ordinary level, the number of credits, how the course is assessed etc). Also, please observe the following details with respect to the composition of the plan:

• On page 1, the field "PhD Programme" should read "PHIKT Information and Communication Technology" with "Computer Science" and a sub-area (taken from the list of registered sub-areas) stated in parentheses, e.g. "(Computer Science - Knowledge Systems)". The project title and a more specific description of the project itself is left to page 3.
• On page 2, your formal background must be properly documented, and your GPA must be calcualted. Please note that it is not sufficiant to document that one has been awarded a Masters degree or equivalent. To be accepted, the applicant must also explicitly document that
  • her/his GPA is equivalent to a ECTS "B" or better for the master level (i.e. final 2 years), and
  • her/his GPA is equivalent to a ECTS "C" or better for the bachelor level
  Failure to document this will result in the application being rejected.
• On page 3, please observe the following restrictions on the composition of the course portfolio:
  • A minimum of 30 ECTS credits must be specified, not including the Qualifying Courses if such courses are required as a supplement of your background (this mainly applies for applicants which does not have a MSc degree in computer science as their background).
  • In addition to the 30 credits mentioned above, DT8108 Topics in Information Technology (7,5 credits) is mandatory for all doctoral students at our department. The course must be followed for one full year (spring+fall of fall+spring).
  • A minimum of 20 ECTS credits must be accounted for by courses taken from the PhD Study Catalogue.
  • Courses partly overlapping with DT8108 (e.g. HFAVS853) and courses in scientific writing (e.g. HFAVS401) may not be included in the course portfolio.
  • Courses attended before the doctoral study was started may be part of the portfolio, but only as long as they were completed less than 5 years ago, and only as long as they were not a part of the qualifying degree (MSc/MEng).

  The rules stated above is only a selection of the complete set of rules, which is found in §4.2 in the regulations. The complete text (in Norwegian) is found in the Study Handbook for the PhD Studies at NTNU.

• On page 4, it is sufficient to state that you are employed as a stipendiat at the department if this is the case. Otherwise, please state how your (full time) study will be financed.
• On page 5, your plan for fullfilling the residence requirements should be specified in detail. However, if you are employed as a stipendiat by the department, it is normally sufficient to state this. Additional comments are only necesseary if your main place of work will not be on the department's premises at Gløshaugen, Trondheim.
• Finally on page 7, please make sure your application is approved/recommended and signed by your supervisor when submitted.

Please observe: This internal committee is not the committee which will evaluate the final dissertation. The committee's pupose is rather to provide a mechanism for quality assurance throughout the study.

1.2 Being a Doctoral Student

Please observe: Changes involving withdrawing from one or more exams, must be applied for no later than November 1 and April 15 the semester in which the exam was originally planned. Students failing to do withdraw in time will have the exam counting as a "Fail" if he/she does not attend.

1.2.2 Progress and reports

After two years, the candidate is required to deliver a more excessive report on his/her progress - a "thesis proposal" of appr. 10 pages. This report will in general have the same structure as the research plan submitted in connection with the application (ref section 1.1.2), but will in addition also include a descrition of what the candidate has achieved at this point and a revised plan for completing his/her studies. The plan, including the candidate's oral presentation of the staus thus far, will be reviewed by the internal committee. Based on this review, a statement is made on whether the candidate's progression is sufficient or not. The committee may reject the plan temporarily, requiring a revised plan to be produced with no more delay than 2 months. If this revised plan is also rejected, a recommendation can be made to the department that the candidate's PhD-studies are aborted.

1.2.3 Registering for exams

PhD students are automatically registered for exams according to the semesters indicated on page 2 of their applications. It should be noted that one must apply for a formal change in plans (ref. section 1.2.1) to be able to skip (postpone) an exam scheduled for a particular semester.

1.2.4 DION

Doctoral students at NTNU have their own organization to take care of their interests - much the same as a "trade union": DION.

2 Becoming and Being an Employee

Your primary contact for matters concerning your relationship with IDI as an employee (more on what matters this includes furter down) is Senior Consultant Norun Brembo.

One important exeption, though: Practical matters concerning salary and taxes are dealt with by Consultant Anne Sørvik.

2.1 Becoming an Employee

2.1.2 Residence and Work Permit

To become an official employee, a residence and work permit must be issued. This is done at the Foreign Office at the police station. Bring your passport to the police station immediately upon arrival in Norway to have it stamped.

2.1.1 A Place to Stay

Living is expensive in Norway, and there are no government organised housing. The university also has to few appartments to offer permanent housing for all doctoral students. Hence, you must expect that the university only will be able to provide housing for a short time upon arrival. You should therefore start checking out ads in the local paper ("Adresseavisen") and find an appartment for your needs and your wallet as soon as possible after arriving in Trondheim.

2.1.3 Salary, Taxes and Bank Affairs

Before foreign employees can receive their salary from NTNU, they must have a bank account in a Norwegian bank. You must also have a certificate ("Skattekort") from the Income Tax Authorities ("Likningskontoret"), stating how much tax you are required to pay.

To open a bank account and to have a tax certificate issued, you must first have been assigned your personal identification number ("personnummer"). This number is issued by the Population Registration Authority ("Folkeregistret"). This authority, however, only accepts applications after your passport has been stamped by the Foreing Office upon arrival in Norway. Please also note: You must expect up to 2 months processing time for having this identification number issued! Be prepared, therefore, to finance your stay in Norway for up to 2 months on your own, without having received your first salary, when starting doctoral studies. Calculate with approxiamtely NOK 10.000 per month (appr. USD 1200 or EUR 1200) to cover your rent, food and other expenses.

2.1.4 Office and Work Space

You will of course have your own work place, although normally not your own private office. The most usual arrangement will be that you share office with one other stipendiat, but desks in office landscapes with 2-4 colleagues may also be used occationally. A few practical details:

• ID card and keys are provided by Senior Consultant Norun Brembo.
• User account and password is provided by the Tecnical and Systems Administration Group. Fill out the appropriate form, which is available at the department's desk on the 1st floor (room 122).

2.2 Being an Employee

2.2.1 Accessories

You will in general find what you need of accessories such as pens, pencils, staples, ring leaf files, folders, hole puncers etc. at the store in room 224 (located in the southern stairway of the building). Paper is normally stored in the copy/print/fax-rooms located on 1st and 2nd floors (rooms 154 and 254).

2.2.2 Teaching Duties

Normally, stipendiats are offerd a 4 year period of employment regardless of the fact that the doctoral study is a 3 year program. This extra time of employment is required to be returned to the department in form of teaching services - normally in the form of being responsible for exercises and laboratory work connected to the department's undergraduate and graduate courses.

One man-labour year at NTNU equals 1735 hours, implying that the teaching load for one semester, when this load is spread out evenly over all 8 semesters, is 217 hours. Candidates are, however, encouraged to fulfill their teaching duties during their first 3 years of employemnt, to ensure they can concentrate 100% on their thesis the last year of the period.

2.2.3 Vacations

In Norway, you are actually required to have 5 weeks of vacation each year. The Norwegian system has the following principle enforced for this:

1. During one year, a portion of your salary is set aside for next year's vacation. You "earn" approximately 2 days of vacation every month, for a total of 26 days for a full year's work.
2. Next year, up to 5 weeks of vacation with salary is allowed. You may, in one year, take more vacation than you have "earned" the previous year (this is particularly of interest the first year of employemnt, as one hasn't had time then to "earn" any vacation the previous year), but this excess vacation will then be vacation without a salary.
3. The year you leave IDI, you can to some extent choose whether to have the vacation you have "earned" the previous year payed in cash, or to actually end your employment period with a vacation. Unless special cicumstances indicate otherwise, the rule is that you may have your excess days of vacation payed in cash if you period of employment ends before June 1, and that you will be required to carry out your vacation as if you were to continue woring at the department if you quit after August 1.

Please note: You may not choose not to have vacation (e.g. with the excuse "I was to busy working on my thesis, so I didn't have time for vacation this year"), and then request the days you had "earned" the previous year to be payed in cash. If you choose not to have vacation, the benefit of a vacation with salary that year is generally lost. There is one exception to this rule, though: You may apply, before November 15 every year, to have up to 14 days (appr. 3 weeks) of vacation (which you didn't have time to spend) transferred to the next year - for a total of 5+3=8 weeks of vacation with salary that following year. It is not possible, however, to accumulate the number of days (i.e. to transfer a total of 28 days the next year, if you have been busy for two years in a row). If you transfer vacation from one year to the following, you are required to spend this excess vacation during the first 5 months of the year. Vacation which isn't spent during this period, will be lost.

2.2.4 Leaves

You may have shorter or longer periods of leave - with or without salary - depending on the circumstances. Of the common types of leave we can mention:

• Leave due to other (temporary) employment - e.g. if you are offered a few months of employment on another research project than the one your doctoral studies are part of, or as a university lecturer.
• Leave due to pregnancy and birth (applies to both mother and father).
• Leave due to urgent situations in your nearest family.
• Etc.

3 Expenses During the Studies

Your primary contact in the department administration concerning expenses mentioned here (i.e. the person receiving invoices, bills etc. and providing you with information on your economical status) is Secretary Birgit Sørgård.

3.1 General Expenses

Each employee has a fixed amount available for general expenses every year ("Personal Annuum" or just "PA"). The amount varies between gropus of employees, and for stipendiats, the amount is NOK 25.000 per year (proportionally reduced when arriving late or quitting early in one year). The PA may be used for any scientific puposes, including buying books or additional computer equipment, software of your own choise, paying fees and travel expenses related to conferences, workshops, meetings etc.

Please note: This general allowance only applies to stipendiats employed at the department. Doctoral students financing their studies by other means (private savings, employment at an external institution/company, loan, etc) will not be eligible.

At the Gnist Tapir bookstore, you may buy books and office/computer equipment you need for your studies/project without paying cash when you leave. Simply present your ID-card at the cashier desk and request the invoice to be sent to the department. Please note that the expenses will be drawn from your PA, or from the project's expenses account, if one is provided (this only applies for externally financed projects).

When buying equipent or books elsewhere, and when buying tickets or paying conference fees, the normal procedure is that the vendor either sends the invoice to the department, or that you personally pay (cash or using your private credit card) for whatever goods you buy, and then brings the receipt and have the amount refunded (it will be added to your salary the next day of payment).

3.2 Computer Equipment

Each new eployee will, upon arrival, normally be equipped with a brand new work station, which then is expected to last for the whole period of employment. You may choose for yourself whether to have a stationary or a portable computer. The computer is the department's property, and you may of course not bring it with you upon departure, when your employment period ends.

Expensive and specialised equipment for research purposes may be applied for every year - normally once per semester. The department's Committee of Infrastructure and Research Equipment will announce this occationally on web, via e-mail etc. Applications should be coordinated within each research group, and should be accompanied by a recommendation from your supervisor. It should be noted that personal computer equipment (e.g. portable PCs, PDAs and their related add-on extras) will not be covered by these grants. Such expenses must be covered from your PA.

Computer equipment and software is normally ordered and installed by our Technical and Systems Administration group. All requests (the technical staff will gladly advice you) and orders should be sent via e-mail to innkjop@idi.ntnu.no. When buying equipment, your primary contact persons are Senior Engineer Anders Christensen and Chief Engineer Arne Dag Fidjestøl.

3.3 Conferences and Travels

In addition to using your PA for conference travels, you may apply for extra travel fundings. The department's Committee of Research decides once per semester who receives fundings, based on the applications received.

Normally you will have your costs covered by the Committee of Research if you contribute with a paper or with an invited talk at an international conference. Contributions to poster sessions do normally not qualify. Also, merly participating on a conference does not qualify, neither does contributions at national conferences - these are both expected to be covered using your PA.

Costs are also normally covered if you are member of the program committee or have a similar function at a conference, and one can also expect to have expenses for participation at a conference covered (contrary to what was just stated) as a bonus for having an article accepted in an international, refereed journal.