Coordinating academic of a doctoral researcher

All doctoral researchers will be assigned supervisor or supervisors and a coordinating academic. The coordinating academic is a professor of the student’s home faculty or a docent employed by the faculty with good knowledge of the requirements and practices of Doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki.

The coordinating academic’s duties do not include actual supervision responsibilities, but one of the supervisors may be assigned to be the coordinating academic, if they fulfill the criteria. The coordinating academic will be appointed at the same time as the supervisors.

At the Faculty of Pharmacy professors and associate professors may act as the coordinating academic for a doctoral researcher. By the decision of the Faculty Council on 11th February 2025, also Docents of Faculty of Pharmacy, who are employed by the Faculty of Pharmacy with a permanent contract, can act as coordinating academics for doctoral researchers.

Duties of the coordinating academic:

Signs the application to pursue a doctoral degree in HU
When submitting the thesis to the Faculty for pre-examination she/he proposes the pre-examiners, the opponent, the Faculty member(s) (if needed) and the custos
Accepts the study modules in the doctoral study module registration form in case no other responsible person (Senior Advisor of the doctoral program) has been nominated to do this

On the page Instructions for teaching -service you can find more about the role of a coordinating academic.