Sponsorship for doctoral courses

Central to NFF’s mission is to stimulate business research and exchange of ideas across the Nordic countries. The NFF Doctoral Initiative enables doctoral students and faculty members to come together in pan-Nordic doctoral courses and workshops.

We support both face-to-face and virtual subject-based or methodology doctoral courses. Check our criteria below, and don’t be shy to ask NFF Secretary Maria for advice … på yle!

Criteria for NFF-sponsored doctoral courses

  • The course format can be face-to-face, mixed, or fully digital. The course should start within one year after being awarded NFF support. The host institution will be the certificate awarding body and must ensure that the course complies with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
  • The course must be between 4 and 8 ECTS credits
  • The number of participants is minimum 7 and maximum 20. If the number of applicants exceeds 20, doctoral students from NFF member institutions take priority
  • The course faculty must include academics affiliated with NFF member institutions from least two countries

Financial support

Conditional on meeting the above criteria, the host institution can claim:

  • €350 per course credit unit (€1,400-2,800 for courses of 4-8 ECTS credit units), plus
  • €200 per participating doctoral student belonging to a NFF member institution, plus
  • €1,500 for development of digital content and/or travel costs of participating faculty members

The financial support by NFF is paid directly to the host institution, which must be a NFF member.
(Is my institution a member? See here!)

The release of financial support is conditional on:

  • Formal academic approval of the course by the host institution’s Director of Graduate Studies or equivalent no later than 2 months before the course start
  • A report to NFF after the course has ended, including a formal course evaluation and an evaluation of the cross-country collaboration during the course

Application procedure

  1. Duration and suggested timing of the course
  2. A course syllabus stating:
    • The title and credits (ECTS) of the course
    • The aim of the course
    • Learning objectives
    • Learning material
    • Statement of learning activities and teaching methods
    • Assessment
    • Course plan, describing the schedule of every course day, and expected involvement
      by the students
    • Short description of the IT solution that the organizers intend to use for the course
  1. The names and titles of the course head and intended faculty members (NB: The course faculty shall include academics affiliated with NFF member institutions from at least two countries)
  2. The target number of participating students and a brief outline of how you plan to market the course to reach this number. The NFF LinkedIn profile, webpage and email list are available to support you in this
  1. The names and titles of the course head and intended faculty members (NB: The course faculty shall include academics affiliated with NFF member institutions from at least two countries)
  2. The target number of participating students and a brief outline of how you plan to market the course to reach this number. The NFF LinkedIn profile, webpage and email list are available to support you in this

Decision schedule

The NFF Board processes the applications at its regular meetings, next time on June 1, 2022. Applicants will be notified of the decision as soon as possible after the relevant Board meeting.
Please direct any questions to the NFF Secretary Harpa Dís.

Decision schedule

The NFF Board processes the applications at its regular meetings, next time on June 1, 2022. Applicants will be notified of the decision as soon as possible after the relevant Board meeting.
Please direct any questions to the NFF Secretary Harpa Dís.