Doctoral education pilot launches – University of Helsinki gets € 60M for new employed doctoral researchers

The 236 employed doctoral researchers to be selected for the national doctoral education pilot at the University of Helsinki are expected to complete their dissertation in three years. The pilot aims to increase the number of doctorates and develop new practices in doctoral training.

In the spring, the University of Helsinki will open an international call for applications for 236 paid position doctoral researchers as part of the national doctoral education pilot. The three-year doctoral researcher posts are funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The funding was distributed among the universities based on the Academy of Finland's November call for proposals.  In total, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture will allocate EUR 255 million to universities for doctoral education pilots.   

The University of Helsinki’s flagship area Doctoral Education Pilot in Precision Cancer Medicine (iCAN), received 122 positions. The University of Helsinki is also a partner in several other doctoral education pilots. Through these, the University of Helsinki received additional 114 positions.   

The application process will start in the spring 

The call for paid doctoral researcher positions at the University of Helsinki will open in March-April and the selection will be made in June. The first batch of doctoral researchers will start in August this year and the second batch in January 2025.   

Doctoral researchers are expected to graduate in 2027. Applications are accepted from persons who have not been awarded the right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki before November 2023 or who are in the process of applying for the right to pursue postgraduate studies. The research must be conducted on funded projects.  

Detailed application guidelines and criteria will be published on the Doctoral School’s website during March.  

The University of Helsinki Doctoral School

The University of Helsinki Doctoral School has a total of 33 doctoral programmes. The school and programmes cooperate in research and doctoral education, and the structure of doctoral education encompasses all of the University’s disciplines and doctoral researchers.

More about the Doctoral School