EDEY Regulation

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EDEY Regulation

Uploaded by

shayan

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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Regulation of the doctoral program in

Energy (EDEY)

Please note that only the French version is legally binding.

Date of entry into force: 22nd June, 2022

The EDEY doctoral program Committee,

taking into account art. 3 al. 3 and 6 al. 2 of the Ordinance on the Doctorate conferred
by EPFL of January 26, 19981 and art. 2 al. 4 ch. 3 of the Directive concerning doctoral
studies at EPFL of November 21, 20052,

decrees:

1. Field of Applicaton

The regulation concerning the doctoral program in Energy (hereinafter: EDEY program)
sets forth the rules relating to the study plan of the EDEY program as well as the
candidacy exam for the formal admission to prepare for the doctoral thesis in the EDEY
program of the EPFL. Furthermore, it reiterates and details the application of certain
essential rules concerning the doctorate at EPFL.

2. Study Plan

2.1 The study plan of the EDEY program requires 12 ECTS credits (European Credit
Transfer and Accumulation System).

2.2 At least 4 ECTS of these 12 ECTS credits must be obtained during the first year
of the doctoral studies.

2.3 8 ECTS credits may be obtained by successfully passing either Master or doctoral
courses at EPFL approved by the thesis Director. For external courses, the request
must be approved by the thesis Director and then the EDEY program Director
according to the conditions set by the EDEY program. The equivalence of the
credits is set on a case-by-case basis.

2.4 Up to 4 ECTS credits – but not those required for the first year – can be chosen
by the doctoral candidate from all EPFL doctoral course books (including
transferable skills courses) without the approval of neither the program
Committee nor the thesis Director (Doctoral commission decision, Cdoct 107, May
2015).

1 RS 414.133.2
2 EPFL LEX 2.4.1

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3. Candidacy Exam

3.1 To be formally admitted to start a doctoral thesis at EPFL, the doctoral candidate
must successfully pass the candidacy exam at the end of the 1st year of doctoral
studies (art. 6 and 8 al. 1 let. a of the Ordinance on the Doctorate and 8 al. 1 and
2 of the Directive concerning doctoral studies at EPFL).
The candidate writes a research plan and submits it to the members of the jury a
week prior the date of the exam. The exam consists of an oral presentation of
approximatively thirty minutes by the candidate, followed by questions from the
jury. The candidate must demonstrate the originality of the thesis subject, the
objectives and methods envisaged, as well as the hypothesis and related scientific
arguments, including the general context of the thesis subject, state of the art of
research in the area, position of the doctoral candidate’s work within the research
area, plan and methodology for the research project, as well as the timeframe for
its completion.

3.2 The jury of the candidacy exam is composed of:

• a President being part of the EDEY Committee
• the candidate’s thesis Director and co-Director (when applicable)
• a Professor, MER or member of EPFL teaching body who is not part of the
same laboratory as the candidate’s thesis Director (expert 1)
• facultative: in addition, an expert internal or external to EPFL can be part of
the jury (expert 2).
Upon request and with the explicit (written) agreement of the candidate, the
Director of the doctoral program may authorize participation in the candidacy
exam by videoconference for a single member of the jury. Videoconferencing is
not allowed for the candidate.
The presence of an audience is not allowed.

3.3 After jury deliberations, the President of the jury verbally informs the candidate of
the result of the candidacy exam. Possible jury recommendations are
communicated in writing to the candidate. Thereafter, the candidate receives a
decision from EPFL formally admitting or refusing the start of a doctoral thesis
(art. 8 al. 2 of the Ordinance on the Doctorate at EPFL).

4. Annual Report

During the thesis work, the doctoral candidate has the obligation to submit an annual
progress report each year, starting one year after the candidacy exam. The candidate
submits a summary of the work progress, as well as a point-by-point self-evaluation. In
parallel, the thesis Director (and co-Director when applicable) complete an analogous
assessment of the work progress. After a joint discussion the report is cosigned by the
candidate and the thesis Director (and co-Director when applicable). The candidate then
also discusses the progress and wider context with the mentor and they confirm to have
met in the annual report, without reporting the content of the discussion which is
confidential. Finally, the program Director will add his·her signature to the report. The
candidate ensures that the above process is finalized within one month (art. 10 al. 3 and
al. 4 of the Ordinance on the Doctorate at the EPFL).

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5. Mentoring

5.1 Within the 1st month after enrolment, the doctoral program assigns a mentor from
its pool to each doctoral candidate. The candidates may change mentor with the
agreement of the program Director. Request to change a mentor can be made
only after at least one meeting with assigned mentor has happened.

5.2 The mentor remains anonymous with respect to the thesis Director to ensure
confidentiality (it is up to the candidate to keep this anonymity or not). The
mentor offers guidance to candidates regarding academic or career choices, as
well as the resolution of any difficulties met within the context of their training, in
particular regarding the preparation of their thesis or cases of conflict.

5.3 The candidates can contact their mentor whenever they deem it necessary. The
candidate and the mentor confer at least once a year as part of the annual report.
Exchanges between candidates and their mentor should remain confidential unless
both parties agree to disclose to the program Director.

5.4 It is recommended that the candidate’s mentor does not participate in nor
presides over the jury for either the candidacy or the oral exam.

6. Final Provisions

The present regulation shall take effect on June 22nd, 2022 and replaces any prior EDEY
program regulation.