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Starting from January 2025, the midterm review is available for doctoral researchers who started their employment contract as a doctoral researcher on 1.1.2024 or later. All doctoral students in the national doctoral pilot are expected to take the midterm review.

Starting from 1.1.2026, the midterm review is compulsory for all doctoral students on AV2-level with an employment contract, as a doctoral researcher, regardless of their starting time. Starting from 1.1.2026, the review is recommended also for doctoral students who are not employed by ELEC.

The midterm review should take place in 12-20 months after the start of the first employment contract as a doctoral researcher and when the pre-requisites have been done (no time limit, if the student doesn’t have an employment contract at Aalto University)

Passing the review is required for salary increase and contract extension for Aalto employees. All doctoral students will get 2 ECTS once they have passed the review. 

A doctoral student can start the midterm review when the following pre-requisites are met:

All doctoral students:

• Publishing: at least 1 publication, which will be included in the doctoral thesis, needs to be submitted to a journal/conference with a peer-review process.
• Completed credits: At least 10 ECTS which will be included in the doctoral degree

In addition, doctoral students with an employment contract at Aalto and for whom the midterm review is compulsory: 

• Teaching experience is also required: for example course assistant, lecturing, and/or advising (B.Sc./M.Sc. theses) – max 5% of working time (2 h/week on average) (Marie SkÅ‚odowska Curie funded students excluded)

Passing the midterm review requires:

• Accepted midterm review report
• Accepted midterm review presentation

How will the accepted midterm review affect the renewal of the employment contract at Aalto? 

After the midterm review has been passed, your employment contract will be renewed before the expiration of the current valid contract.  

Note! The review does not affect the employment contract for those in the national doctoral pilot. They have a 3-year contract with the goal of completing their studies during that time." 

1. After discussing with the supervising professor and after the pre-requisites have been completed, the doctoral student asks the supervising professor to start the midterm review. 
   The supervising professor: 
   * Starts the preparations at least 2 months before the time of the midterm review.
   * Agrees with the student and advisor(s) on the date of the midterm review (must be within 12-20 months from the start of the first employment contract, if employed by Aalto University).
   * Invites an independet examiner for the midterm review. 
   * If the process is not started by the professor in 20 months from the start of the first employment contrac as doctoral reserachert, the student should contact HR: hr-elec@aalto.fi.
2. Student enrolls to the midterm review course in Sisu (ELEC-LV004).
3. Student produces the midterm review report (slides).
4. Supervising professor, advisor(s), and the independent examiner read and comment on the report.
5. The student updates the report if necessary.
6. The student gives the midterm review presentation.
7. After the midterm review the student, the supervising professor, the thesis advisor(s), and the independent examiner fills out the evaluation form. The supervising professor recommends passing or failing of the midterm review. The independent examiner, the supervising professor, the advisor(s), and the student sign the form.
8. The form is submitted to the ELEC doctoral programme: doctoral-sci-elec@aalto.fi.
9. The doctoral programme enters the credits to Sisu, if the midterm review has been passed.
10. The doctoral programme sends the result of the midterm review to HR of the doctoral students who have an employment contract at ELEC. 

• Achievements so far
  • Brief summary (1 slide) of start dates of work contract (if applicable) and study right, credit status (ECTS in the study register), and teaching experience
  • Publications (1 slide): published and submitted papers, works in progress
  • Research questions, objectives and hypotheses, overview of the state-of-the-art, chosen research methods, and preliminary findings
  • Reflectance of the original research plan
• Plans from now until graduation
  • Schedule for the remaining doctoral studies and research
  • List of planned studies (courses)
  • List of planned publications for the thesis
  • Aims, methods, and expected research results

• The student gives the midterm review presentation at a seminar of the research group (20 min).
  • At least the supervising professor, advisor(s), and the independent examiner attend
  • The independent examiner gives feedback on the conducted research and future plans.

The independent examiner is a professor from Aalto, but outside the department of the student and the professor. The independent examiner can also be from another university. The independent examiner is familiar with doctoral student supervision, but does not necessarily have substance knowledge of the topic. 

Travel costs are not covered.

• The student, the independent examiner, the supervising professor and the thesis advisor(s) fill out the midterm review evaluation form.
• The supervising professor recommends accepting or failing the midterm review.
• Everyone signs the form after which the signed form and a transcript, which shows the completed studies, is sent to the doctoral programme (doctoral-sci-elec@aalto.fi).
• If accepted:
  • The student gets 2 ECTS (Please check that you have enrolled to the course in Sisu, ELEC-LV004)
  • The student gets a salary raise and the employment contract is renewed (if applicable)
• If failed:
  • The student can try again within 3 months (or within the current employment contract).
  • A representative of the Doctoral Programme Committee will attend the second midterm review.
  • If failed again, the salary will not rise  and the current contract will end as stated in the employment contract, and it will not be renewed. This will not affect the study right.

After the midterm review has been passed/failed, the doctoral programme sends the result of the review to HR services. If the review is passed, the new salary enters into force starting from the first day of the next month after the passed review (acceptance date of supervising professor). If the raise cannot be included in the following month’s salary due to the payroll schedule, it will be paid retroactively in the subsequent month’s salary.

After the midterm review has been passed, your employment contract will be renewed before the expiration of the current valid contract.

There is a one-year transition period (2025) and the midterm review will be taken into use gradually depending on the starting time of the employment contract as a doctoral researcher. 

• Starting from January 2025 the review is available for doctoral researchers with an employment contract at ELEC who started on 1.1.2024 or later. After passing the midterm review the doctoral researcher´s AV-level changes from AV2 to AV4 and the salary rises from 3000 eur to 3400 eur.
• During the year 2025, doctoral researchers who started on 31.12.2023 or earlier and are on AV2 level, proceed to AV3 level with salary of 3400 eur according to the criteria valid until 30.11.2024. (Please find the salary table criteria below). Doctoral researchers who started on 31.12.2023 or earlier and are on AV3 level, can proceed to AV4 level with salary of 3437,07 eur according to the criteria valid until 30.11.2024.
• On 1.1.2026 all doctoral researchers still on AV3 level  are transferred to the AV4 level (with salary of 3400 eur) without any reviews.
• After 1.1.2026 the midterm review is compulsory all doctoral researchers and everyone is in the two-step salary model.  Regardless of the starting date, the doctoral researchers proceed to AV4 and to higher salary level only through the midterm review.

Please note! Possible general salary increases may affect the euro-denominated salary totals during the years 2025–2026.

Starting from 1.1.2026, the midterm review is recommended, but not compulsory, also for doctoral students who are not employed by ELEC. For doctoral students who are not employed by ELEC the teaching experience is not a required  prerequisite before starting the review. The midterm review is done for the follow-up, discussion and learning experience and to get 2 ECTS.