DTU’s Executive Board has decided to fund 28 new strategic PhD projects. The grant from DTU is seed funding to establish new research areas, activities and collaborations that can eventually attract further funding for development.
“I am pleased that we have found funding for the strategic PhD projects,” says provost Rasmus Larsen. “The mid-term evaluation of DTU’s strategy recommended, among other things, that we must define unique positions of strength in sustainability and digitalisation in 2024. We are approaching this task from different angles, and with the strategic PhD projects, the departments now have the means to develop new, innovative research and to combine DTU’s research fields in new ways.”
Interdisciplinarity is a focal point
During the spring, the departments have worked on project proposals and submitted them for evaluation. The criteria for the final project grant included a focus on digitalisation and/or sustainability and that the project supervisors should come from different departments or centres to ensure interdisciplinary collaboration.
Before the summer holidays, a selection committee for each strategic area evaluated all project proposals received and selected the final projects.
Recruitment
The new PhD positions will be filled during 2024 and recruitment process has started. DTU wants to hire the most talented people from Denmark and abroad and therefore the positions are also advertised internationally. Vacancies are continuously posted at DTU’s website.
The projects
The project grants are distributed across eight strategic areas:
Center for Absolute Sustainability
Strategic research collaborations within energy research