Instructions for opponents (School of Electrical Engineering)
Evaluation process of the doctoral thesis
In the School of Electrical Engineering, an approved doctoral thesis may be a monograph or an article-based doctoral thesis. Please see details of the two forms here.
The examination of the thesis starts with the pre-examination of the thesis: two independent pre-examiners will give their statements on the thesis. Based on these statements, the doctoral programme committee will decide on granting permisson for public defence either directly or after minor or major revisions, depending on the statements.
Finally the thesis will be examined at a public examination/defence by the opponent(s). The opponent(s) shall first give an opening statement which is followed by the examination of the thesis and finally the closing statement. The opponent(s) shall announce their proposal to either pass or fail the thesis in their closing statement. Read more about the proceedings at the public examination. After the defense the opponent gives a written statement about the thesis and the defence, please see below.
A small remuneration will be paid to the opponent after the public defence is held. The University also covers the travel and accommodation costs as a result of acting as the opponent.
The final acceptance of the thesis is decided by the Doctoral Programme Committee of the School of Electrical Engineering based on the written statements by the pre-examiners and opponent(s).
Written statement
The opponent(s) is (are) requested to give a 1-2 pages written statement to the School concerning the thesis and its defence as soon as possible but no later than two (2) weeks after the public defence. A filled evaluation table of Aalto University shall be attached to the statement (please see below). The statement and evaluation table are given/sent to the custos who will deliver them to the School.
When examining the doctoral thesis, the opponent shall take into account both the doctoral thesis and the merits shown by the thesis defender in the public defence, and based on both of these, the opponent will propose whether the thesis be passed or failed.
- The opponent is to see in their statement whether the thesis fulfills the general quality requirements set for theses giving particular attention to the general quality requirements for theses at Aalto University (presented below).
- When examining a doctoral thesis, the opponent may compare it against the standard of the theses accepted in their own university.
- The opponent is asked to include in their statement a brief evaluation of the merits shown by the thesis defender in the public defence.
- The statement shall not contain any other issues than the comments presented during the defence to which the thesis defender has had a possibility to respond.
- It is recommended that the opponent uses a letter form of their own university / company / other affiliation.
- The recommended length of the statement is 1-2 pages.
General quality requirements set for theses at Aalto University
- Novelty: The doctoral thesis contains new scientific knowledge in the field it represents.
- Presentation: The doctoral thesis presents the new results clearly and scientifically and the language of the thesis is fluent.
- Contribution: The independent contribution of the doctoral student is sufficient and clearly demonstrable.
- Scientific methods: The research methods, experimental setups, measurements, and the data presented fulfil the criteria set for scientific research.
- Research ethics: The doctoral thesis conforms to the principles of responsible conduct of research and adheres to ethically sustainable principles
In addition to giving the written statement, the opponent is asked to evaluate the thesis using the evaluation table form of Aalto University (form sent with the invitation, and also available below). The table has two parts: overall evaluation and proposal of annual thesis award.
Overall evaluation
The theses at the Aalto University, School of Electrical Engineering are evaluated only as pass or fail. No numerical grade is given. A demand of failing the thesis must be made in writing and reasons must be given.
Proposing annual thesis award
In the School of Electrical Engineering about 10% of the doctoral thesis are awarded annually. The opponent is also asked to evaluate the thesis and merits of the thesis defender regarding the criteria set for the annual thesis award.
If the thesis is of particular scientific merit, particularly significant in its field of research and has outstanding international significance, the opponent should propose it to be awarded with the annual thesis award. In this case, the thesis should be among the top 10 % of its field and fulfill the following requirements:
- the thesis has particular scientific merits
- the results are exceptionally significant in the research field
- the articles in an article-based thesis have been published in international scientific series of high standard, or in exceptional cases in other equivalent publication fora subject to peer review
- the doctoral student has a significant independent contribution in obtaining the results
- the manner of representation is clear and the language and reference practice used are first-rate
- the thesis has been defended excellently in the public examination.