1. General guidelines
The state's personnel regulations and AHO's personnel regulations apply to research fellows with an employment contract, and they thus have full rights and obligations as other employees. The Head of Institute is the research fellow's immediate superior.
2. Compulsory work
Research fellows are normally appointed for a period of 3 years. In the case of a four-year appointment, one year of compulsory teaching, etc. is included (25% of the total appointment time). The Head of Institute is responsible for the content and scope of the compulsory work. An agreement must be drawn up between the Head of Institute and the research fellow that explains this. The compulsory work follows AHO's Guidelines for the distribution of working hours for employees in teaching and research positions.
3. Annum
The research fellow has access to an annum (currently NOK 25,000 per year) for materials, books, travel or similar in connection with research work and its publication. Use of the annum must be agreed with the supervisor. In principle, annum cannot be used for capital goods such as PCs, printers, mobile phones, cameras or similar. If annum is to be used on capital goods, this must be approved by AHO and ordered through AHO's ordering system. Capital goods are the school's property and are returned when the scholarship holder leaves their position.
The research fellow have annum at their disposal as long as they are employed at AHO. Annum can be transferred from one year to another. Unused annum lapses at the end of the contract and any excess must be repaid at the end of the contract.
Upon application, AHO may allow the remaining annum to be used for language editing even if employment has ceased, but this will be assessed individually in each case.
4. Attendance
Research fellows are normally obliged to be present at AHO. Other workplaces for shorter or longer periods must be agreed with the Head of Institute
5. Leaves of absence and extensions - interruptions in the fellowship period
In general, a regular dialog with the supervisor and Head of Institute is required. The research fellow must submit annual progress reports on the progress of the project. Like other employees, scholarship holders must also apply for, or alternatively report, absence.
5.1 Interruptions due to statutory absences
In the event of statutory absence during the research fellowship period, the admission period is extended corresponding to the duration of the absence. The extension may not include holidays and intermittent work.
This will apply, for example:
- Documented sick leave (self-reporting and sick leave)
- Military service
- Maternity leave
- Breastfeeding leave
An extension under this provision is granted for a period corresponding to the length of the documented absence, measured in consecutive calendar days. The absence is not converted into workdays, and the extension is not extended to account for weekends, holidays, or other non-working hours.
Reference is also made to the Regulations relating to the Universities and University Colleges Act (University and University College Regulations).
5.2 Formal application process
The research fellow must register and apply for all absence in SAP/DFØ.
An application for an extension of the employment contract must be submitted to the Head of Institute and HR contact no earlier than 6 months before the contract expires, but no later than 3 months before the contract expires.
The HR contact is responsible for informing the PhD coordinator and the head of the PhD program about extended employment that also provides extended admission to the PhD program.
6. Interruption for other reasons
Section 3-17 of the University and College Regulations regulates leave of absence for scholarship holders. This is leave that is not statutory, but where the period of employment is extended after the leave has ended.
Institutions may grant leave of absence for short-term substitute positions in teaching and research positions and for overseas scholarships and similar, when this can be done without reducing the progress of the postdoctoral project, doctoral degree program, or specialist training by more than six months. The period of employment shall be extended accordingly. (translated from Norwegian)
AHO has developed a common practice for this type of leave, which is as follows:
- Leave is only granted if the scholarship holder is to take up a temporary position lasting six months or less. A temporary position lasting more than six months will result in a reduction in progress of more than six months and will therefore not justify leave. The scholarship holder must then either resign from their position in order to take up the temporary position or choose to decline the temporary position.
- The temporary position may be either internal (AHO) or external with other employers, but it must be for a maximum of six months in order to be granted.
- The assessment of whether the temporary position is to be considered a teaching or research position is an academic assessment that must be made by the institute. It is not done administratively.
- If the institute chooses to grant leave that meets the above requirements, it must assume the financial risk if the extension of the employment relationship extends into a new budget year. No compensation is given for non-statutory leave in the allocation of funds for a new budget year.
To apply for a leave of absence from your PhD position, you must fill out the application form for unpaid leave for PhD candidates pursuant to §3-17.
Download the application form (.docx)
The application must first be submitted to the main supervisor before being sent to the HR department, which will check the formalities. Finally, it goes to the head of institute who will make a decision on the matter.
7. Application for a pure extension of the admission period to the PhD program, without prior interruption/leave of absence
The right to study in the PhD programme expires when the Research Fellowship employment contract ends. The study rights expire regardless of any other employment contracts entered into with AHO. For doctoral candidates with external funding, the study rights expire on the end date specified in the admission agreement.
It is possible to apply for extended admission to the PhD programme. Such applications may be granted if good reasons support the request. Applications for extension must be submitted through a fully completed application form in Nettskjema: Nettskjema Extended Admission Application
The Nettskjema application must include:
– an account of what has been completed/published and what remains of the doctoral work, and
– a confirmation from the main supervisor supporting the application.
A processing time of up to one month must be expected.
To ensure a coordinated process for all candidates, the following procedures apply:
Path 1:
Path 1 applies to candidates with an active research fellowship employment contract that expires during the calendar year, and to externally funded candidates with an active agreement on admission to the PhD Programme that expires during the calendar year. Candidates from either of these categories must first apply for an extension only until the end of the current year. A complete application must be submitted no later than one month before the end of the employment contract.
If the candidate wishes to extend the study rights beyond the end of the year, a new and updated application with a revised progress description must be submitted no later than 1 December.
Path 2:
Path 2 applies to candidates who no longer have an active research fellowship employment contract and externally financed candidates who are beyond the end date of their agreement on admission to the PhD Programme. A complete application must be submitted at the end of the calendar year, no later than 1 December.
This arrangement ensures that all candidates are processed within the same annual application cycle.
Applications are processed by the Research Administration, and the Head of the PhD Programme determines whether an extension is granted. The PhD Coordinator registers the extension.
If no application is submitted, or if the application is not approved, the study rights will lapse and access to AHO systems will be discontinued. It will still be possible to apply for permission to submit the dissertation.
8. Secondary employment
The Norwegian government's rules for side jobs also apply to PhD candidates. However, it is assumed that research fellows should normally concentrate fully on the doctoral program.