A newly graduated doctoral student who comes straight from academia may experience large cultural differences between the different research environments. The conditions for conducting research also differ significantly. Industrial doctoral students, on the other hand are reared directly in the industrial environment throughout their doctoral studies.
“This is a very positive form of exchange for all involved, especially today, when new knowledge is needed for the transition in most industries and development is so fast. Through industrial doctoral students, we add value to education as well as research and collaboration,” says Jan-Eric Ståhl, Professor of Production and Materials Engineering at Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering, LTH.
Over 30 years ago Jan-Eric Ståhl, created and formalised the concept of the industrial doctoral student, with support from the then government agency The Swedish National Board for Technical Development. Two of the first companies to try this kind of collaboration between academia and industry were Sandvik Coromant and Volvo Olofströmsverken.
Advantages for both young academics and the experienced professionals
Young students who choose to become externally employed are usually employed at a higher education institution and they seek out practical cases in industry to test their theoretical models. An industrial doctoral student can also be an individual who, based on their employment in industry, combines their practical experiences with theoretical specialisation and develops new knowledge that can be applied. The reasons for choosing as great a challenge as several years of research studies after many years of professional life vary.
“Young researchers have a long working life ahead of them, during which they themselves can make use of their time spent on research, its process, and results. Those who have come some way in life before embarking on research studies do not, of course, have as many working years left after defending their theses, but their knowledge contribution and their theses may have a greater depth precisely due to their previous experience,” argues Jan-Eric Ståhl.
Experiences from industrial doctoral students later in their career
Alf Andersson, Volvo Cars:
“Even before I became an industrial doctoral student, I had quite a lot of contact with the university, and I was involved in courses and supervising students. When I conducted my own research studies, I had time to understand various underlying mechanisms and to experimentally evaluate the fundamentals in my area – from test bed to implementation in a physical process and out onto the market.”
Per Hedvall, Sandvik:
“As I was thinking about what to do after my retirement I caught sight of a brochure advocating the opportunity to make use of older people’s professional knowledge as senior doctoral students. It sounded like a fantastic way to capitalise on my long experience. Not only that, I also had the time and financial independence to do it. “
Adam Agic, SECO Tools:
“I enjoy working with knowledge transfer and looking at things in a more analytical way. I was asked whether I would be interested in becoming an industrial doctoral student and I saw it as an opportunity for increased knowledge, both for myself and my whole team. The timing was good, I think it is an advantage to be a little bit older and have experience to build on.”
What were the main challenges?
Alf Andersson:
“It is of course a challenge to divide one’s time between a workplace and research studies but at the same time it was interesting to understand the practical work on a deeper level. The challenge I was to investigate then was how to simulate the moulding process to design the tools right from the start. Today, almost 20 years later, it is an integral part of the process of developing new tools.
Per Hedvall:
“At the beginning of my doctoral studies I was still part of the company, and I divided my time between studies and a place at the university. I realised after a while that you need to focus and give a lot of time to research. It is demanding. The pandemic turned into a big challenge for me, and it meant that my thesis had to take a little while longer.”
Adnan Agic:
“I was looking forward to delving into more theoretical reasoning and I embarked on my doctoral studies with great enthusiasm. It helped, but I still was not prepared for the amount of work that was required. Along the way I learned a lot, about problem formulation, , writing and publishing and about various roles in a research project. Of course, it is also a challenge to still have a responsibility within the company and you have to find a good balance.”
What has been the most rewarding aspect of the doctoral thesis?
Alf Andersson:
“Several aspects, in addition to everything that I have learnt myself. It gave me the opportunity to work with other actors such as Vinnova, and to give input on research funding. It also opened a door to the international scene, where I gained insight into how others do research in the same field in other countries.”
Per Hedvall:
“Stone has been the essence of my life. I have had a long and rich working life and getting to tie together that expertise and the experience of work I have behind me, as well as making a contribution that is valuable and cost effective for the company and the industry feels very good. For the most part, in industry we must stop when we get results that are ‘good enough. In academia, it is about excellence and perfection, which means you can take questions further. This is immensely rewarding.”
Adnan Agic:
“It is stimulating in many different ways. I have developed my writing skills, my analytical capacity and new ways of working. Now I am self-confident in a whole new way, and I feel that I can take on any kind of problem. If I do not know the answers myself, I know who to turn to. That is valuable. So, to a large extent, it was a personal boost, but with the responsibility of research also comes humility. It is important to share, and to pass on knowledge.”
How has your expertise been applied?
Alf Andersson:
“Through long-term collaboration with Lund University around automobile technology. And we need more young students and more digital expertise in the industry. Today, we can work with virtual worlds and other tools as complements to creating physical test environments. It is more optimised, it saves time, and making errors costs less, which is a major difference.”
Per Hedvall:
“Through various models and calculations, I succeeded in demonstrating how it is possible to work out what it is going to cost per tonne when choosing to develop various products or using different methods. The model turned out very well, and full-scale trials show that it works. So a group at Sandvik is now taking it on and developing it so that customers can choose the alternative that works best. Since entire industry gains access to one’s thesis it has presumably been of use in other organisations too. The University has incorporated parts of it into its teaching and that has added value for the academic world too.”
Adnan Agic:
“The research questions that I explored in my thesis concerned how we can design and use products in more effective ways and avoid unfavourable ways of working that lead to rapid development of damage and wear to the cutting rig. We have a lot of practical know-how in the company, but being able to influence how things are done using different methodology – that was valuable. I am now working as an expert on research and development, and I apply what I learned during my doctoral studies. The process of knowledge transfer is still ongoing, and I assist our project managers, both as an engineer and as a sounding board."
