Industrial PhD supervisor exploring the potential of business collaboration 

Poul Erik Nielsen works at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism. Based on his research into international media, he has collaborated with an NGO called International Media Support (IMS) on several occasions. Their work focuses on the freedom of the press in a global context. This collaboration paved the way for one of Nielsen’s students to start an industrial PhD at the organisation after writing their thesis. 

As a supervisor, Nielsen knows that the success of this kind of PhD process depends on various factors. The first of these involves applying for (and subsequently planning) a process during which the student and the organisation can define the relevant research questions as well as the goal of the dissertation. It’s essential to ensure that the defined goals are transparent and agreed on by all parties concerned. This depends on having good knowledge of the organisation involved and/or planning a process which is characterised by mutual trust between the parties. The company and PhD student may have different interests when it comes to the production of knowledge. There may be differences in terms of content, but they may also disagree about how and when research results should be published. So it is vital to reach a clear collaboration agreement, and the supervisor sometimes has a major role to play in facilitating dialogue between the parties. 

Poul Erik Nielsen’s good advice and points of focus for industrial PhD supervisors:   

• It is vital that supervisors focus on balancing the expectations of the student and company concerned: The industrial PhD scheme is a new initiative in the humanities, so the company involved may not have had a PhD student before, and the task of balancing expectations and agreeing on objectives may be more demanding for the student, university and company alike.   
• It is an advantage to have detailed knowledge of the company/organisation to ensure that they have an understanding of academic practice and working processes in advance. 
• If you do not have this knowledge, it is even more important to create processes in which a sense of trust can be established between the parties as well as understanding the interface between academic processes and commercial interests. 
• The organisation/company needs to be aware of the principles of academic integrity, and the student needs time to work academically as well as making a positive contribution to the work of the organisation.