Norsk versjon - Pliktarbeid

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Regulations concerning doctoral research fellows’ required duties and appointment conditions at NTNU (in Norwegian only) was repealed on 1 January 2025 and replaced by NTNU's guidelines for recruitment positions from the same date.

Career-enhancing work replaces duty work

All doctoral research fellows are entitled to a three-year position for the doctoral education. It is desirable that doctoral research fellows can receive other career-enhancing work/duty work that can provide relevant experience for a future career. It is stated in the advertisement text and your employment contract whether career-enhancing work/duty work is included in your position and how much time has been allocated to this. If you would like to have career-enhancing work, you can take it up with your personnel manager and investigate if it is possible. This presupposes that the Department has suitable tasks and, not least, funding to be able to offer such work. In that case, the position can be extended from a few weeks and up to a maximum fixed-term period of four years.

Further information about career-enhancing work/duty work can be found here: Career development for PhD candidates - Knowledge base - NTNU

Work beyond the agreed career-enhancing work/duty work of up to six months

Doctoral research fellows and postdocs are sometimes asked to carry out work for the Department beyond the agreed career-enhancing work/duty work. This may also apply to doctoral research fellows who do not have such work in their position. In principle, you have no obligation to say yes to this type of request, and it is recommended that you discuss with your supervisor whether it is appropriate in relation to time spent, progress in the doctoral project and future career.

Leave of absence may be granted for absence due to short-term temporary positions in teaching and research positions and for doctoral fellowships abroad and the like when this can be done without reducing progress by a maximum of six months. Such an application must be assessed on an individual basis by the Dean. The following documentation must be attached to the application:

• Confirmation from the supervisor that the leave is academically justifiable
• An adjusted plan for completion of the doctoral education/postdoctoral project
• Confirmation from the Head of Department that this is acceptable in terms of staffing and finances

Legal and contractual right to leave and extension

Employees in recruitment positions who are absent pursuant to statutes or collective agreement are entitled to an extension of the period of employment as of the first day of absence. This also includes absence because of one's own illness. There is no longer a requirement that the absence must amount to at least two consecutive weeks. The change only applies to absences that have occurred after 1 July 2023.

An extension may also be granted for absences of less than two weeks that took place before 1 July 2023, such as absences due to pregnancy, maternity leave or care responsibilities for which an extension has not been granted previously (cf. Section 6 of the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act).

In special cases, doctoral research fellows may also be granted an extension beyond statutory and contractual leave of up to three months after longer absences related to demands on personal health (e.g. pregnancy, childbirth and infant care). Any extension for such reasons must be recommended by the supervisor and the Department and approved by the Faculty.

Further guidance for PhD candidates on illness and leave can be found here: Illness and leave of absence - PhD - Knowledge base - NTNU

For questions about extension, please contact your local HR.

Right to extension for elected offices and committee work

Experience from boards, councils and committee work provides insight into university policy and corporate governance and provides valuable experience for a further career within and outside academia. NTNU appreciates the effort by providing compensation for elected positions and committee work.

Employees in a recruitment position who are elected members of elected bodies or who are appointed members of standing committees where no fees are paid, are entitled to a two-week extension of their employment. For particularly time-consuming positions (e.g. extended management team with frequent meetings) or combinations of positions (e.g. member of the Faculty board and the research committee), an extension beyond two weeks may be granted based on documentation (combinations of offices). Extensions are agreed with and financed by the level that holds the position or committee work.

It is recommended that elected members and deputy members of elected bodies at the Faculty and Department cooperate and, if possible, divide the tasks between them so that the deputy member can also be compensated. The compensation scheme must be known to the candidates in advance. For those who must travel to participate in the meetings, remuneration shall be granted in accordance with the travel regulations of the civil service.

Employees in recruitment positions who have been elected to the NTNU board can, if they wish, convert the board fee to finance a paid extension of the fixed-term period.

DION board positions and board positions in the doctoral research fellowship organisation in Norway (SiN) are compensated in the same way as for elected positions without fees at the Faculties, i.e. normally two weeks for members and four weeks for the chair of the board. If a member/leader represents the temporary academic staff in committees or development work at institutional level (e.g. NTNU's research committee or special projects), a further two-week extension may be granted. [The new guidelines are applicable to the DION board members elected for 2026. For 2025, the memorandum from the Director of Organisation, 9 January 2015, on compensation for DION board members applies.]

Useful links for PhD-candidates with teaching duties

• Plan and execute the teaching (currently only in Norwegian)
• Uniped Module - Teaching, lecturing and dialogue – courses offered for scientific staff incluring PhD candidates with teaching duties