What is an Industrial PhD program?

An Industrial PhD Program is a specific model for research, innovation, continuing education, and knowledge transfer. The model bridges the gap between academic research and industrial practice. For doctoral candidates, there is the opportunity to design research in close cooperation with a company and an academic institution. This creates an ideal platform to develop both scientific and practical competencies.

The program requires a triangular cooperation between the doctoral candidate, the university, and the corporate partner. Both doctoral candidates are enrolled at the academic institution and employed by the company. Such programs are highly established in other European countries and are particularly popular at the interface of business and IT. Great Britain (UK Industrial CASE), Denmark (Industrial PhD Scheme)

During an Industrial PhD program, doctoral candidates are employed in companies and are accompanied in parallel by an academic supervisor at the university. The research focuses on topics of strategic importance to the company. This strengthens companies' innovative power and ensures the practical relevance of the research.

The dual approach ensures that research projects are both practical and academically relevant. As a result, doctoral candidates can directly apply the findings and evaluate the research's impact in corporate practice.

In contrast to classical doctoral programs, Industrial PhD programs include fixed employment with the corporate partners. This leads to financial stability throughout the doctorate. Integration into companies leads to valuable networks and improves career prospects.

Furthermore, both doctoral candidates and corporate partners benefit from the collaboration with experts from various fields, which promotes knowledge exchange and the development of new perspectives.

An Industrial PhD is ideal for talents who want to conduct applied research while advancing their careers in industry. For corporate partners, diverse benefits can be derived in talent acquisition, the retention of high potentials, and the promotion of innovations. The close cooperation between research institutions and companies fosters fruitful exchanges that benefit both science and the economy.