Innledning

The target group is candidates with a Master’s degree in a relevant area, typically Process Technology, Energy Technology, Environmental Technology, Systems Engineering, Control Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, or Mathematics – depending on the research topic.

To be eligible for admission to the PhD programme, the applicant must normally have a Master’s degree or comparable educational qualifications that have been approved by the dean as the basis for admission. The candidate must have an average grade of B or better from the Master’s degree to be qualified for the PhD programme.

Målgruppe og opptakskrav

The target group is candidates with a Master’s degree in a relevant area, typically Process Technology, Energy Technology, Environmental Technology, Systems Engineering, Control Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, or Mathematics – depending on the research topic.

To be eligible for admission to the PhD programme, the applicant must normally have a Master’s degree or comparable educational qualifications that have been approved by the dean as the basis for admission. The candidate must have an average grade of B or better from the Master’s degree to be qualified for the PhD programme.

Mål for studieprogrammet

The aim of the programme is for the student to acquire knowledge, skills and general competence within the field of process, energy, and/or automation engineering, as detailed in the separate section on learning outcomes.

The successful candidate will typically find employment in companies, universities, or research institutes working on design, operation, control, and measurements of industrial processes; energy production, management, and distribution; systems development; safety issues; flow assurance; water treatment; and gas pollution abatement.

Læringsutbytte

A candidate who has completed the programme should have a learning outcome in the form of aquired knowledge, skills, and general competence, as described in the subsections below.

Knowledge

The candidate:

• is forefronting research within the process, energy and automation area;
• is mastering advanced theory and scientific methods within the area;
• has the knowledge required to contribute to develop new knowledge, methods, and technology.

Skills

The candidate:

• can identify, plan and conduct research and development independently at an international level;
• can handle complex research problems;
• is able to challenge established knowledge and practices.

General competence

The candidate:

• is able to recognize ethical issues and perform research with high scientific integrity;
• is able to manage complex interdisciplinary tasks and projects;
• is able to communicate R&D results in recognised international channels;
• can assess, take initiatives and drive innovation processes.

Studieprogrammets innhold, oppbygging og sammensetning

The PhD program primarily concerns active research work under supervision.

The PhD program comprises:

• implementation of independent research work in active cooperation with supervisors and other researchers;
• an approved training component;
• participation in active research groups, nationally and internationally;
• academic dissemination that is closely related to the ongoing PhD work.

Internasjonalisering

Student exchange

In some cases, part of the research work may be carried out at external institutions.

Arbeids- og læringsformer

The programme is taught in English (many international students are enrolled in the programme). Different teaching and learning methods are used, including lectures, supervision, exercises, laboratory work, self-study and assignments. The choice of methods depends on the specific learning outcome goals; details are given in the course descriptions.

Forholdet mellom teori/praksis

Most courses in the programme focus on theory (see details in the course descriptions). Practical work or laboratory work is typically part of the research task of the candidate.

Vurderingsformer

The PhD is awarded on the basis of

• an approved scientific dissertation and a satisfactory public defence;
• an approved trial lecture on a given topic;
• approved completion of the training program.

All three elements are assessed.

Assessment of the thesis and the thesis defence

The thesis must be an independent scientific work that meets international standards within the subject area. The dissertation must promote the development of new scientific knowledge and achieve a level of scientific merit that indicates that it can be published as part of the scientific literature in the subject area.

The thesis is assessed by a committee of experts who are in the forefront of the relevant research area. The committee will decide whether the thesis is worthy of defence, and document this in a written statement. Given that the outcome of that evaluation is positive, the candidate will give a trial lecture and defend his/her thesis in a public disputation.

In the candidate’s defence of the thesis, the committee members act as opponents to the candidate. The committee will:

• place the work in a broader perspective, point out the major contributions of the thesis, compare the scientific level of the thesis with PhD degrees in other countries, and give other evaluations;
• ask the candidate more specific questions about the work and give the candidate the opportunity to comment/reply in a kind of dialogue; finally
• give a written assessment of the dissertation, concluding with a pass/fail statement.

Assessment of the trial lecture

The trial lecture is given on the day of the thesis defence, after a preparation period of two weeks. The purpose of the trial lecture is for the candidate to demonstrate an ability to present research-based knowledge to an audience. The topic of the trial lecture should be related to the candidate’s research area, but should be different from issues that are central in the thesis. The committee gives a written assessment of the trial lecture, and concludes with a pass/fail statement.

Assessment of training courses

Different assessment methods are used for the training courses, including:

• written tests (mid-term tests and tests at the end of the semester);
• project reports;
• essays;
• oral presentations; and
• oral examinations.

Different combinations of assessment methods are used for different training courses. To pass a course, a minimum grade of B is required.

Det tas forbehold om mindre justeringer i planen.