SO, YOU WANT TO STUDY FOR THE Ph.D.?

If you are considering iBioMEP we want you to consider these questions carefully and take into consideration the comments below.
We hope that you are not discouraged but if the quantity of work matters to you, if you want a normal 09.00 to 17.00 job, then you probably will not be successful in this or any other graduate program; you probably should go elsewhere and not waste your time and our time. If not, then please consider iBioMEP.

Requirements and activities within iBioMEP:

1. Master's degree or equivalent to enroll as a student (subject to approval by your own university)
2. Registration as a Ph.D. student at your home university (subject to different requirements by your own university)
3. 60 earned credit units are required during the course of study (subject to variation from university to university)
4. Original research resulting in international peer-reviewed publications
   1. The number of publications may vary depending on the faculty and subject of the dissertation - please consult your supervisor.
5. Another option is to publish the research results as a monograph.
6. Scientific maturity - Difficult to describe but obvious to supervisors when it has been achieved, often only attained through hard continuous work and the experience that comes with it. At the time of the defense, you should know how to write scientific articles, get them published and have your own ideas about research problems and how to solve them independently.
7. Training in scientific ethics - knowing what is acceptable behavior and what to do when ethical problems arise.
8. Participating in teaching and in guiding other students in research - the best way to learn a subject very well is by teaching it to someone else.
9. Participation in courses sponsored by iBioMEP
10. Participation in courses at the home university and organized by other organizations within Finland.
11. Participation in international activities, primarily courses and workshops, research visits and conferences.
12. Annual reporting to the thesis committee and hence to iBioMEP.
13. Written dissertation, possibly including compilation of international peer reviewed publications.
    1. Review of dissertation by two independent expert reviewers.
    2. Oral public defense of the dissertation by one or two independent expert opponents.

Will you put in the extra hours needed to make forward progress on your research? Will you spend the time screening the literature for every available clue related to your research? Can you persevere when your current results fail and turn the failure into success?

If you want a typical 7-hour a day job, 5-days a week, then doctoral studies probably are not for you (and you are probably not for it). The work is tough, requires dedication, imagination, development of an inquisitive mind, but most of all it requires a lot of intense effort.

So, we at iBioMEP have tried to discourage you, if you are in any way hesitant about fulfilling the requirements for study in this graduate school. NOTE!! In the case we did not succeed as yet, we encourage all supervisors to place new students on probation during the first year, where continuation in the school will be decided at the Fall thesis committee meeting based on a review of the progress made by the student - this includes iBioMEP funded positions, which may be withdrawn. The objective is not to remove anyone from the school, but to ensure that new doctoral students perform with vigor during the first year, that supervision is adequate from the start of the student's studies, thus setting our doctoral students up for a successful 4 years within iBioMEP, and ensuring that their future career goals can be attained.

You will find that supervisors, thesis committees, doctoral students, and other members of the school will do whatever they can to assist you if you need it. You can always consult the iBioMEP office for confidential advice. We want our students to succeed and we want the quality of our school and our students to continually improve. iBioMEP will then continue as an excellent graduate school and graduates will go on to successful and satisfying careers.

Who can apply to the school? If you have a relevant M.Sc. you can apply to join iBioMEP. This school and others in Finland are encouraged by the Ministry of Education and the Academy of Finland to reduce the age of our graduates and to attract foreign students to the school. We encourage multidisciplinary research and collaboration between research groups and doctoral students within the school. Most of our researchers have active collaborations with foreign researchers, too.

Finally, the four years of graduate study within iBioMEP is a marvelous opportunity that comes to a person once in a lifetime. You receive a salary for full-time study and research. You work rather independently under supervision, beginning from a novice with little experience and proceeding towards scientific maturity where you have the experience and confidence to guide others within research projects. You will learn to effectively describe your research in good scientific English, develop skills in presenting your research in oral and poster presentations, and your imagination will be stimulated and your mind will be trained to solve problems. You will receive guidance on scientific ethics and you will understand from the beginning that we have a no-tolerance policy for plagiarism of any kind. If you have a question concerning what is an acceptable practice, ask someone who would know.

Upon completion of the degree you should be able to compete effectively for a postdoctoral position or grant, whether in Finland or abroad. You should be able to obtain that job in industry that others cannot.

These are the hopes and goals for you that all of us in the iBioMEP graduate school want. We want you to be the very best that you can be; it takes much hard work on your part, but the rewards for you should be corresponding large. You will find that you can handle the added responsibilities of postdoctoral research and guide junior researchers. It will prepare you for your first independent research post where you must take responsibility for raising funding, guiding personnel, formulating the research, etc.

Interested in hard but stimulating work?