AI/Computer/IT at the industry

Strengthen your company’s development journey with an externally-employed doctoral student in AI/Computer/IT

March 2020 saw the launch of the industry graduate school DIA (Data Intensive Applications). In stage one, seven companies – Volvo CE, Virtual Manufacturing, Electrolux Professional, Softwerk, Combitech, HL Design, and SKF – take part with a total of nine doctoral students. It is now possible for others to apply for a second admission with a maximum of eleven new doctoral students.

An externally-employed doctoral student at the industry graduate school is employed by a company and admitted as doctoral student at Linnaeus University. This can be either a person who is already employed by you, or that you want to invest in a new recruitment. You will pay the doctoral student’s salary and for some of the supervision time. Your company will receive a SEK 240,000 grant per year from the Knowledge Foundation.

We formulate the focus for the research specialisation together – it should be in line with your internal development. The overall theme must have a link to data intensive applications and be long-term to ensure a common thread for the doctoral student.

Your application for funding for the graduate school should be submitted to the Knowledge Foundation by 8 September at the latest and decisions will be made in December 2022. Recruitment of doctoral student can be initiated in the first quarter of 2023 and continue throughout the year. The doctoral student will then begin his/her doctoral studies starting from the second quarter of 2023.

It is, of course, possible to join also later but in that case you will miss out on the grant from the Knowledge Foundation and will have to pay the full salary yourselves. If you are interested, we (Welf Löwe, director of DIA, and Diana Unander, coordinator) would like to meet you for an open discussion shortly. We are quite flexible and can adapt to your schedule.

Facts about what this involves more concretely

The doctoral student will be admitted for doctoral studies at Linnaeus University. We provide supervision time, range of courses offered, common meetings, etc.

Distribution of time – 20% study time, 60% development focus (research and business-related), 20% free time at your disposal. The doctoral student will spend the majority of his/her time on location at your workplace.

The doctoral student has an individual study plan that is updated in detail on an annual basis (possible twice a year if needed).

The steering group for the industry graduate school DIA

  • Per-Olof Danielsson, Head of Virtual Product Development, Volvo Construction Equipment, chair
  • Dorothee Millon, Field Quality Manager, Electrolux Professional,
  • Torbjörn Danielsson, CEO and Business development, Virtual Manufacturing,
  • Senadin Alisic, Strategy Advisor and Industry PhD student, Combitech Sweden,
  • Jesper Andersson, Dean, Faculty of Technology, Linnaeus University
  • Lars Håkansson, Head of Department, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Linnaeus University
  • Niklas Malmros, CEO, Sigma Technology Solutions, (adjunct)
  • Margrethe Hallberg, Digitalization Coordinator for Product Introductions, Scania, (adjunct)