Forum Scientium

Introduction

Forum Scientium (FS) is a multidisciplinary doctoral programme of natural sciences, engineering, and biomedicine established in 1996 by Linköping University. It is financed by Linköping University, the supervisors, and by external funding. The external funding came during the first eight years from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and from 2008 - 2012 from the Swedish Research Council.

One aim of Forum Scientium is to establish a multidisciplinary network between PhD-students from different research areas within Linköping University. The network stimulates creativity and a common use of ideas, knowledge, and equipment.

Another important task for Forum Scientium is to increase and broaden the competence of the PhD students, and to prepare them for a professional career. This is achieved by arranging courses and events of high quality designed both to increase the proficiency of the student within his/her own research area, and to transcend disciplinary boundaries and equip the student with skills attractive to future employers within industry or academia.

The Former members (92 PhDs and 12 Licentiates) give a most valuable connection to the career after the PhD-exam. They contribute with tips on new positions and aid with the arrangement of study visits.

Forum Scientium currently has around 65 PhD-students. The PhD students are admitted at both the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering and Science.

During the years 2000 till 2011 altogether 31 visiting PhD-students have been members of Forum Scientium. This has been organized within three different Marie Curie programmes.

Within Forum Scientium, exceptionally good PhDs can apply for a Transformer Award to get funding for continuing their research at Linköping University for a period of maximum 12 months. The award aims at promoting the future career for the awardees and to stimulate the multidisciplinarity within Forum Scientium. It should also be of benefit for the active PhD students within Forum Scientium. During the transformer period Forum Scientium provides 35% of the costs for salary for 12 months. The number of Transformers has varied between 5 and 10.

For a complete list of current members and their research projects, transformers, former members, news, etc, please visit the Forum Scientium home page.

Activities

Forum Scientium is responsible for arranging a wide variety of activities, such as seminars, study visits, and conferences. These events are either exclusive for Forum Scientium members, or open to other PhD-students.

Once every fourth week a Forum Scientium seminar is held. At these seminars four members of Forum Scientium present their research, followed by a social get-together where the presentations and other topics can be discussed under informal circumstances.

Forum Scientium organizes two conferences each year; Forum Forum and the Summer Conference. Forum Forum is a one day conference aiming at strengthening the local network between influential academic researchers or companies and the research groups represented by the members of Forum Scientium. The Summer Conference is held one week in August each year and features poster sessions, talks, workshops and various other activities for the PhD students.

Several times a year Forum Scientium organizes study trips to different locations both in Sweden and abroad. Previous year's study trips have been made both to companies within the biotechnology industry and to various universities and selected research groups.

Several activities aim at helping the PhD-students to organize and carry through their research project. During the first 9 months, a Project Preparatory Paper is written which serves both as a literature study and as a chance for the student to plan his project, and to set up goals. Yearly individual follow-ups, progress reports and a half-time assessment helps the students monitor their progress and plan for a successful completion of their project. After the half-time assessment a final dissertation plan is made.

Each Forum Scientium member has a 'backpack' of 15.000 SEK per year which can be used for the doctoral studies, e.g. conferences, summer schools, external courses and course literature.

How to become a member of Forum Scientium

The procedure is:

- You have to apply for an open PhD position at LiU announced at http://www.liu.se/en/job/, and get the position.

- You and your supervisor have to find out if Forum Scientium will be of benefit for you. One good way to learn something on which kind of research that is discussed within Forum Scientium is by reading some of the abstracts given at www.liu.se/forskning/scientium/abstracts

- You and your supervisor will ask for and receive information about Forum Scientium from the Programme Director and ask the Programme Director if anything is unclear.

- If you both think that a membership should be of benefit for you, you write a project plan (approximately one A4). From the project plan it should be clear that multidisciplinary contacts outside your own research group will be of benefit for you and your research group. Also included should be existing, planned or wanted twinning with other groups within Forum Scientium (does not have to be PhD-students). The project plan should be sent to the Programme Director (stekl@ifm.liu.se).

- The project plan will be reviewed by the Forum Scientium Student Council, the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Board and the Programme Director.

For more information about Forum Scientium please contact the programme director Stefan Klintström.

Page responsible: jonathan.rakar@liu.se
Last updated: Sun Feb 13 11:30:19 CET 2011