Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SEED (Systems and Engineering Science Doctorate)
Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-08-31
LUT University is developing doctoral education with the MSCA COFUND Systems and Engineering Science Doctorate (SEED) programme for the duration of 60 months with 10 Doctoral Candidates (DC). The programme builds on a versatile scholar programme, a systematic secondment scheme and detailed communication, dissemination and exploitation measures. The systematic secondment scheme builds on each DC having an academic secondment in a European or international university of high standing and excellence and a non-academic secondment in industry in Finland. The fields of study and research are software engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering & management (IEM), computational engineering and technical physics. LUT is the main beneficiary and we have several excellent associated partner organizations committed to hosting the DCs during their secondments.
During the SEED programme we will develop more systematic and transparent selection processes for DCs, promote equal opportunities, and improve the quality of supervision and management of doctoral education. This all leads to a doctoral training programme of higher quality career guidance and more systematic skill development increasing the career prospects of the DCs in both academic and non-academic environments.
During the SEED programme we will develop more systematic and transparent selection processes for DCs, promote equal opportunities, and improve the quality of supervision and management of doctoral education. This all leads to a doctoral training programme of higher quality career guidance and more systematic skill development increasing the career prospects of the DCs in both academic and non-academic environments.
The SEED programme launched two application rounds to recruit doctoral candidates. Each qualified application was reviewed by multiple independent experts through a two-stage evaluation process. All evaluation activities were conducted remotely. In total, 10 out of 13 doctoral positions were successfully filled.
To ensure transparency, fairness, and compliance with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, particular attention was paid to quality assurance throughout the evaluation and selection process. In practice, each application was independently assessed by multiple experts to ensure transparency and objectivity. In both calls, the evaluation followed the same structured and balanced approach.
After having all doctoral candidates on board, we organised the kick-off meeting. The kick-off meeting was held in hybrid mode. The SEED programme was introduced during the meeting by the scientific manager. Then, doctoral researchers and their supervisors were introduced, and the supervisory board was formed. This provided a good networking opportunity for everyone to become familiar with each other, their research fields, and topics, which could enhance future collaboration among the research team. Additionally, essential initial information and guidelines regarding the programme and next steps were shared. After the kick-off meeting, the first SEED scholar event and training school on Ethics was organized. All in all, the kick-off event and the first SEED scholar event enhanced shared understanding of the programme’s goals and expectations, and provided an opportunity for early networking and collaboration among all doctoral candidates and supervisors.
All doctoral candidates of SEED have developed a personal career development plan (PCDP) to provide an overview of both short-term and long-term professional and personal objectives, along with the strategies to achieve them. It outlines the skills and knowledge they consider necessary to reach these goals — including research techniques, technical expertise, management abilities, dissemination and communication skills, networking, and other relevant competencies. Additionally, it specifies the means and tools for acquiring these skills, such as training, research activities, and dissemination efforts, while identifying key milestones and outputs (e.g. research results and publications) to monitor their progress and demonstrate impact.
Regarding the doctoral courses, most of the DCs have completed the majority of their credits. As the project progresses and DCs advance their research and projects, some results are gradually becoming ready; therefore, some DCs have already developed publications that have been accepted or published. Additionally, other papers are in progress.
The aim is that each DC will have two secondment periods in their project, 10-12 months in academic partner organization and 4-6 months in non-academic partner organization. The academic and industry secondments offer a very unique training platform for the DCs. The secondments are considered as an important part of the training by research, offering experience on interdisciplinary and intersectoral environments. Many of the academic and company secondments are now in progress.
To ensure transparency, fairness, and compliance with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, particular attention was paid to quality assurance throughout the evaluation and selection process. In practice, each application was independently assessed by multiple experts to ensure transparency and objectivity. In both calls, the evaluation followed the same structured and balanced approach.
After having all doctoral candidates on board, we organised the kick-off meeting. The kick-off meeting was held in hybrid mode. The SEED programme was introduced during the meeting by the scientific manager. Then, doctoral researchers and their supervisors were introduced, and the supervisory board was formed. This provided a good networking opportunity for everyone to become familiar with each other, their research fields, and topics, which could enhance future collaboration among the research team. Additionally, essential initial information and guidelines regarding the programme and next steps were shared. After the kick-off meeting, the first SEED scholar event and training school on Ethics was organized. All in all, the kick-off event and the first SEED scholar event enhanced shared understanding of the programme’s goals and expectations, and provided an opportunity for early networking and collaboration among all doctoral candidates and supervisors.
All doctoral candidates of SEED have developed a personal career development plan (PCDP) to provide an overview of both short-term and long-term professional and personal objectives, along with the strategies to achieve them. It outlines the skills and knowledge they consider necessary to reach these goals — including research techniques, technical expertise, management abilities, dissemination and communication skills, networking, and other relevant competencies. Additionally, it specifies the means and tools for acquiring these skills, such as training, research activities, and dissemination efforts, while identifying key milestones and outputs (e.g. research results and publications) to monitor their progress and demonstrate impact.
Regarding the doctoral courses, most of the DCs have completed the majority of their credits. As the project progresses and DCs advance their research and projects, some results are gradually becoming ready; therefore, some DCs have already developed publications that have been accepted or published. Additionally, other papers are in progress.
The aim is that each DC will have two secondment periods in their project, 10-12 months in academic partner organization and 4-6 months in non-academic partner organization. The academic and industry secondments offer a very unique training platform for the DCs. The secondments are considered as an important part of the training by research, offering experience on interdisciplinary and intersectoral environments. Many of the academic and company secondments are now in progress.
The SEED programme has been creating and providing a high-quality, dynamic, and multidisciplinary research environment for the selected DCs. This programme combines scientific training with the opportunity to undertake a secondment at another academic organisation, as well as at a non-academic company, fostering collaboration between academia and industry and expanding networking opportunities. This allows DCs to gain a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of their research. Participation in secondments could enhance the DCs' career readiness, research and communication skills, networking, and their perception of practical research, which can contribute to better future career prospects.
At the organisational level, SEED has integrated best practices from MSCA into LUT University’s doctoral education framework. Transparent recruitment procedures, multi-supervisor teams, and collaborations enhance the consistency and quality of doctoral training. The experience gained from implementing SEED can contribute to the improvement of supervision guidelines, evaluation procedures, mobility practices and doctoral management structures at LUT.
The SEED programme also impacts research excellence regionally and across Europe by fostering collaboration between universities and industry. This helps strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem, as Finnish companies participate in the project through advanced research and training activities.
At the organisational level, SEED has integrated best practices from MSCA into LUT University’s doctoral education framework. Transparent recruitment procedures, multi-supervisor teams, and collaborations enhance the consistency and quality of doctoral training. The experience gained from implementing SEED can contribute to the improvement of supervision guidelines, evaluation procedures, mobility practices and doctoral management structures at LUT.
The SEED programme also impacts research excellence regionally and across Europe by fostering collaboration between universities and industry. This helps strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem, as Finnish companies participate in the project through advanced research and training activities.