In order to apply for a Strategic Partnership PhD scholarship, the following requirements must be fulfilled:

• Only PhD candidates may apply for a PhD scholarship. We encourage applications from both candidates affiliated with a Danish research institution and candidates affiliated with research institutions abroad.
• You must have a Master’s degree from a Danish university, or a Master’s degree or an equivalent degree from a foreign university by the time of application*.
• You must not already be enrolled as a PhD student at the time of grant notification (11 December 2024). This means that already enrolled PhD students cannot apply for or obtain funding from DDEA. We reserve the right to check with the relevant institution whether you are enrolled as a PhD student.
• Your principal supervisor can be associated with a Danish university** or a university abroad. However, if your principal supervisor is from a university abroad, your co-supervisor must be associated with a Danish university.
• For some part of your PhD scholarship, you must be employed at a Danish university or research institution. Please also consult our Funding Terms.
• You must possess high-level English language skills (oral as well as written).

* If the exam is not yet passed, the applicant should enclose a statement from the supervisor of the Master’s thesis confirming when the thesis will be handed in and when the exam will take place. The Master’s degree certificate must be forwarded to the DDEA Secretariat no later than six months after grant notification. If we have not received your Master’s degree certificate six months after grant notification or if you do not pass the Master’s exam, the PhD scholarship will be withdrawn.

** Your principal supervisor must be employed at the faculty of the Danish university or the university abroad at which you apply for enrolment, and they must conduct research as an associate professor or professor within the subject studied by you. If your principal supervisor is from abroad, your co-supervisor must be employed at the Danish research institution where you will conduct part of your research (also see our Funding Terms).

Applications must be written in English and submitted via our online application form.

Please note that you must have a user login to the DDEA Grant Website before you can submit an application. 

You can edit and review your data before the final submission. After submitting your final application, you will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application – if you do not receive this email, please contact the DDEA Secretariat at ouh.ddea@rsyd.dk to make sure that your application has been successfully submitted. Please note that the date of submission stated in the e-mail is the date when you created the application.

Applicants are required to detail the contributions of the partnership and clearly delineate the collaboration between the Danish and the international partners in their application (see item 5). Documentation for collaboration agreements should be included (see item 11).

You must upload your application in one single PDF file!

The application should include the following documents, which should be numbered as specified below: 

0. Title page: Name of applicant, project title, names and affiliations of principal supervisor and co-supervisor, and names of strategic partners.

1. Abstract in English (half A4 page)

2. Lay abstract in Danish (half A4 page) (if you do not speak Danish, please ask you supervisor to help you write this abstract)

3. Project description including:

• Specific aims
• Background and significance of the project to the research area
• Preliminary studies (if applicable)
• Research design and methods
• Time schedule for the course of study
• Literature cited

The page limit for the project description is five pages (font size 12, single spacing), including figures and tables, but excluding references. We will not consider applications with research plans exceeding the page limit.

4. Motivation letter (half A4 page), including an explanation of why you are the right candidate to complete the project and your future career plans.

5. A short description (one to two A4 pages) on how your research project relates to the four DDEA funding focus areas*: Internationalisation, interdisciplinarity, collaboration across sectors, and patient and/or public involvement (as four separate paragraphs). Importantly, the reviewers will also assess this part.

In the paragraph regarding ‘internationalisation’ you must include a description of the partnership between the two institutions involved in the project (the Danish research institution and the institution abroad), including the purpose of the partnership and why it is important for the project, a description of the commitment of each partner (e.g. lectures, access to facilities or specific technologies), how the partnership contributes to career development for you as a PhD student, and how it supports and fosters a strategic partnership in the short term and the long term. Additionally, it is essential to obtain a formal endorsement, via a signature from the relevant departments, affirming that their department/ institution is committed to participating in the strategic partnership. Documentation for collaboration agreements should be included (item 11).

6. Recommendation letter from your principal supervisor and your co-supervisor/strategic partner, including:

• Description of the research environment where you will carry out the PhD project and how this will contribute to a clear development plan for you as a PhD student.
• Confirmation that you can carry out the PhD project at the department where your principal supervisor is employed and the strategic partner institution.

7. Your Curriculum Vitae (including documentation of research experience e.g. experience with working in a research environment, pre-graduate research, participation in research conferences/meetings, studies abroad, etc.) (max. two A4 pages).

8. Your publication list including journal impact factor (no page limit).

9. Copy of your Master’s degree certificate (including grades (from both BA and Master)).

10. Short CV of your principal supervisor (max. two A4 pages). If your principal supervisor is from abroad, you should also include a CV of your (Danish) co-supervisor (max. two A4 pages).

11. Other relevant documents e.g. documentation for collaboration agreements between the two partners (email correspondance is sufficient documentation).

* The four funding focus areas of DDEA

• International collaboration: Such as study abroad; recruitment from abroad; and/or affiliation of collaborators from abroad. The collaboration can be documented by e.g. a collaboration agreement or an email from the collaborator describing the nature of the collaboration. The international collaboration must create actual value for the project and the applicant and it should therefore be incorporated in the project from the beginning.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: Such as affiliation of collaborators from other research disciplines e.g. basic science, clinical science, epidemiology, psychology; and/or integration of different research disciplines in the project. The collaboration must be described in the research plan with regard to the description of the hypothesis, methods and/or idea development. The collaboration should result in synergy between the collaborators.
• Collaboration across sectors: Such as affiliation of collaborators from other sectors e.g. industry, general practice, university hospitals; formalized agreements with collaborators from other sectors; and/or change of research/work environment in other sectors. The collaboration can be documented by joint publications based on affiliation and educational background of authors, joint and funded applications, patent applications or spin-off companies. The collaboration should result in synergy between the collaborators.
• Patient and/or public involvement (PPI): The application should include a separate paragraph that reflects on and outlines explicit plans and strategies for PPI in the study. It should be discussed how PPI can improve and contribute to this particular study and detail the benefits and relevance of the study for patients/users and society. PPI requires different approaches in various contexts, such as basic research, epidemiological research, and clinical research. Given the diverse nature of research disciplines and methodologies, the extent and manner of meaningful PPI will vary in applications from different research areas. However, it is imperative that all applications adhere to a baseline level of PPI, as outlined in our guidelines. Please see our guidelines for integrating meaningful PPI into your project proposal.

The DDEA Secretariat will process all incoming applications. Applications not fulfilling the eligibility criteria and/or technical requirements will not be considered.

All eligible applications will be submitted to the DDEA Grant Review Committee for a scientific evaluation. Evaluation of the applications will consider four evaluation criteria: 1) the applicant; 2) the project; 3) the research environment; and 4) the DDEA four funding focus areas: internationalisation, interdisciplinarity, collaboration across sectors, and patient and/or public involvement.

For further information about the evaluation procedure, selection process and evaluation criteria (including the DDEA funding focus areas), we refer to the guidelines for the DDEA grant review process and evaluation criteria for grants.

We will inform you and your principal supervisor about the decision by 11 December 2024.

Funding Terms

We will fund the PhD scholarship up to an amount of DKK 1,100,000 covering your salary for two years during the three-year PhD project period.

Please note that we do not cover overhead or operating expenses. However, the PhD scholarship also includes a travel grant of DKK 100,000 (specific funding terms will be outlined in the grant notification letter) and an opportunity to co-organise a DDEA education and networking activity (funded by DDEA).

Full financing for three years is a prerequisite for receiving a grant from DDEA. Accordingly, we grant 2/3 PhD scholarship, provided that funding for the remaining 1/3 financing (including tuition fee to the university) is assured. The documentation of the remaining 1/3 financing in terms of a grant letter or the like (e.g. signed guarantee from principal supervisor or head of department), must be submitted to the DDEA Secretariat at the latest 12 months after grant notification. Otherwise, the scholarship grant will be withdrawn.

If you receive another grant covering salary for the same project as described in your application to DDEA, we reserve the right to withdraw your PhD scholarship grant or part of it.

Enrolment as a PhD student

Enrolment must be at a university in Denmark or abroad and take place within 12 months after grant notification. Terms of enrolment are according to the rules and regulations defined by the university where you will be enrolled.

If the PhD project includes close research collaborations between two universities (one Danish university and one university abroad), it is possible to obtain a joint or double PhD degree (according to the rules in force). For further information, you should contact the institution where you will be enrolled.

Employment

Employment can take place at the university where you are enrolled or at the research institution where you will carry out the PhD project (in Denmark or abroad). However, at least some part of your employment throughout your PhD scholarship must be at a university or research institution in Denmark. The host institution will be responsible for the employment of you as a PhD student. We will have no influence on the employment other than allocating the grant to your host institution.

Commitment to DDEA

As a DDEA grant recipient, we expect you to be an ambassador for DDEA, to participate in the activities and PhD courses that we offer, and to submit an annual reporting of activities and research results deriving from the project.

For further information about the PhD scholarships, please contact Managing Director Tore Christiansen at tore.christiansen@rsyd.dk, tel. +45 2964 6764 or Head of Administration Tine Hylle at tine.hylle@rsyd.dk, tel. +45 2374 1691.

For information about user login to the DDEA Grant Website, please contact the DDEA Secretariat at ouh.ddea@rsyd.dk or tel. +45 2466 9802 (Office Assistant Mette Roed).