Industrial PhD candidates

Industrial PhD candidates are enrolled at the university and employed by a private company at the same time. The industrial PhD candidate and the company therefore enter into an agreement that addresses the industrial PhD candidate’s rights and obligations in relation to the company, dealing, for example, with such questions as who will possess the rights to the research data that the industrial PhD candidate produces, or to what extent the industrial PhD candidate must undertake to observe confidentiality regarding any matters he or she may discover as part of the project.

It is usually the company that draws up the draft employment contract. In practice, this often results in contracts which to a great extent transfer the industrial PhD candidate’s rights to the company, or which impose far-reaching obligations on the industrial PhD candidate to observe confidentiality. This will often put pressure on the industrial PhD candidate to the detriment of his or her cooperation with the company, and may also affect the industrial PhD candidate’s freedom of research. It is therefore important both for the industrial PhD candidates, companies and universities that the agreements concluded between industrial PhD candidates and companies are fair and balanced.

The UBVA has compiled a report on the issues which, in the UBVA’s opinion, should be considered when companies and industrial PhD candidates enter into agreements on the latter’s rights and non-disclosure obligations.

You will find the UBVA’s proposal for the formulation of such agreements at the end of the report.

You can download the report and the text of the agreement (in Danish) here.