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Starting from 1.1.2026, the midterm review is recommended for all doctoral students and it can be started once the prerequisites have been fulfilled. 

For those with employment contracts at ELEC, the obligation of the midterm review in 2025 depends on the starting date of employment as a doctoral researcher. The midterm review is for doctoral researchers whose employment contract began on or after January 1, 2024 who are in the national doctoral pilot program. From January 1, 2026 the midterm review is mandatory for all doctoral researchers with an employment contract as a doctoral researcher, regardless of their start date, if they are at doctoral student level 1 (AV2). For doctoral students with an employment contract at ELEC, please see detailed information in section If you have a working contract at ELEC below. 

Publishing: 

• Article based thesis: 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.
• Monograph: a draft of the monograph doctoral thesis containing about one third of the final thesis. You need to submit to the independent examiner a statement from your supervising professor, stating that the results you have would be enough for a scientific publication.

Completed credits: At least 10 ECTS which will be included in the doctoral degree (the credits are already in Sisu and will be included in the doctoral degree)

1. After discussing with the supervising professor and after the prerequisites 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 
   * Invites an independent examiner for the midterm review.
2. The student enrolls to the midterm review course in Sisu (ELEC-L0950).
3. The student produces the midterm review slides.
4. The supervising professor, the advisor(s), and the independent examiner read and comment on the report.
5. The student updates the slides 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.

• Achievements so far
  • Brief summary (1 slide) including: the start date of study right and if applicable, also start date of the work contract; credit status (ECTS in the study register), and teaching experience (if applicable)
  • 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, the 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.

Passing the midterm review requires:

• Accepted midterm review slides and presentation in addition to the pre-requisites.

• 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 for the course ELEC-L0950 in Sisu)

If failed: the student can do the midterm review later again.

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 obligatory for all doctoral researchers with employment contract as a doctoral researcher, regardless of their starting date, if they are on the doctoral student level 1 (AV2).

A salary rise and contract extension can be given 12-20 months after the start of the first employment contract as a doctoral researcher, once the requirements have been fulfilled. 

1. Passing the midterm review*
2. Teaching experience: course assistant, lecturing, and/or advising (B.Sc./M.Sc. theses) – max 5 % of working time (2 h/week in average) (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) funded students excluded)

*If the midterm review process is not started by the professor in 20 months from the start of the first employment contract as doctoral researcher, the doctoral researcher should contact HR: hr-elec@aalto.fi.

1. Do the midterm review course as instructed above and get some teaching experience (see requirements above).
2. Send the accepted midterm review form, including the teaching experience report, to the doctoral programme: doctoral-sci-elec@aalto.fi
3. The doctoral programme registers the credits and sends the information regarding the salary rise and contract extension to HR.

After the midterm review has been passed and the teaching experience acquired (withing 12-20 months from the first working contract as a doctoral researcher):

• you will get a salary rise
  • The new salary enters into force starting from the first day of the next month after the passed review and acquired teaching experience (acceptance date of supervising professor). If the rise 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.
• your employment contract will be renewed before the expiration of the current valid contract.
  • Note! The employment contract for those in the national doctoral pilot will not be renewed, since they have a 3-year contract with the goal of completing their studies during that time. 

• If the midterm review is failed:
  • The student can do the midterm review again 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.
• If the teaching experience is missing:
  • If there is no teaching before the contract ends, but the midterm review is otherwise passed, a contract extension may be granted.
  • No salary rise is given before all the requirements have been fulfilled.
  • The teaching requirement does not concern Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie Action (MSCA) funded students.

The two-step salary model with higher salaries was deployed starting from 1.12.2024.

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 for 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 and have affected the euro-denominated salary totals during the years 2025–2026.