Doctoral Studies (School of Engineering)

Doctoral Studies

TalTech is a research university where science, study, and innovation are closely connected and equally valued. The university offers research-oriented higher education in engineering, technology, natural and social sciences. We teach our doctoral candidates to solve complex real-life problems with scientific methods under the guidance of the best researchers in their field.

After graduating from doctoral studies, you will be able to apply scientific methods in solving problems, have good analytical and critical thinking skills, be familiar with the latest scientific achievements and understand the mechanisms of economics and society, as well as possess skills to make yourself understood outside the scientific community.

Doctoral candidates at TalTech conduct research in their supervisors' research groups as early stage researchers or solve research and development problems of a company or institution as industrial doctoral students. Those who work outside the university and are interested in doctoral studies on a research topic of their choosing are welcome to complete their doctoral studies as regular doctoral students or as external students.

Engineering Sciences

Programme Director: Mai Uibu
Room U04B-110, phone +372 5214319

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Madis Ratassepp
Room U03B-315, phone +372 6202552

Student Councellor: Tuuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Loreida Timberg
Kopli 101, Tallinn. Room MA1-173, phone +372 56648894

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

In response with worldwide necessities, we should provide solutions to very complex systems in a sustainable way from their manufacturing stage to their transport chain.

Our big challenge is contribute to the production and management by sustainable strategies for the environment but also for the businesses involved.

Our programme integrates in-depth consultation with industry and the public sector, transformative research and outstanding education.

If you want to be part of it to make this possible, our doctoral programme will give you multi- faceted competencies.

We are building solutions for:

Sustainable and environmentally conscious technologies (additive manufacturing/3D-printing, hot consolidation technologies of powder materials such as hot isostatic pressing/HIP, sinter-HIP, spark plasma sintering/SPS etc and surface engineering technologies such as CVD, PVD, hardfacing) that offer an opportunity for product development based on advanced materials (such as bio-inspired composites, luminescent ceramics, wear- and corrosion resistant tribocomposites, high entropy materials etc) and coatings.
Key components of environmentally conscious green technologies such as recycling of complex structures (products) manufactured from advanced materials including disintegration technology etc.
Acoustic materials, wave guiding and thermal-acoustic conversion, which find applications in the realm of noise control, cutting-edge acoustic engineering.
Integrating all stages from the manufacturing to operation and maintenance by the creation of digital twins for a process effective management development.
Developing stationary and mobile robot systems for industry using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Safer and smarter vehicles towards sustainable and intelligent transportation and delivery systems;
Engineering digitalized and sustainable supply chains and creating safe and sustainable future solutions for transportation planning and mobility.

Inspiring the next generation of digital and sustainable manufacturing technologies empowering to act in the green and digital transitions!

Programme Director: Rocio Estefania Rojas Hernandez
Room U06-407, phone +372 6203273

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

The specialization focuses on fundamental and applied research for enabling the development and improvement of environmental-, coastal and marine engineering.

Environmental engineering. The marine environment is increasingly exploited and in near future, offshore wind farms and aquaculture-related infrastructures will be built in the Baltic Sea. To protect the sea from overexploitation, we need to be able to measure, model and mitigate the anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment, and to assess the the impact of innovative solutions on the marine environment.
As a student in the field of coastal engineering you’ll work toward developing simulation methods and sustainable solutions to the problems threatening the health of our coastal zones. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and more frequent and severe storms all are issues coastal engineers are addressing. In Estonia, a country with a long coastline, accurate modelling and prediction of coastal processes is vital to ensure the continued use of marine and coastal areas and a high-quality environment.

Marine engineering is influenced by global technological trends, which require increasingly optimal solutions and the introduction of environmentally friendly fuels, robotic technologies and data processing. The need for clean energy is bringing more and more infrastructure to the open sea, served by modern, increasingly autonomous vessels and systems. The development of new solutions implies the use of high-level engineering methods and cooperation between different disciplines.

As a doctoral student in the environmental-, coastal and marine engineering programme, you will be able to model and develop sustainable solutions to challenges ranging from climate change to global technological trends. As a graduate, you are a highly sought-after and valued expert in the ever-expanding international blue economy sector.

Programme Director: Kristjan Tabri
Room U03B-311, phone +372 6202566

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Toomas Vaimann
Room NRG-304, phone +372 6203803

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

PhD curriculas not open for admission

Programme Director: Kristjan Tabri
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture
Room U03B-311, phone +327 620 2566

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Mai Uibu
Department of Material and Environmental Technology
Room U04B-110, phone +372 5214319

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Toomas Vaimann
Department of Electrical Power Engineering and Mechatronics
Room NRG-304, phone +372 620 3803

Student Councellor: T uuli Möldre
Room U03-204, phone +372 620 2796

Programme Director: Rocio Estefania Rojas Hernandez
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Room U06-407, phone +372 620 3273

Student Councellor: Jana Saidla
Room U03-205, phone +372 620 3533

Doctoral thesis proceedings and requirements for submitted documents

In addition to the legislation of the University, the School of Engineering is guided by these procedure rules and requirements for the completion of doctoral studies for doctoral candidate:
1. A doctoral candidate shall submit the doctoral thesis to the Director of a Department/Center for at least 3 months prior to the defence, which includes:

An overview of the nature of the research problem
Definition of the research problem
Hypotheses of the research
Description of the methodology
The course and/or evidence of solving the research problem
Summary
List of references
A thorough summary of the content of the thesis in Estonian

2. The Director shall appoint a reviewer at least 2.5 months prior to the defence.

3. The Director shall organise a peer review (including a recommended pre-defence) and pre-defence for at least 2 months prior to the defence

4. A doctoral candidate shall submit the following documents to a dean for at least 2 months prior to the defence:

a defence application, printed out from the study information system and signed by the supervisor;
Doctoral thesis prepared for publication;
a written opinion from the supervisor(s) on the work;
a peer review report on the eligibility of the thesis, which includes information on:
1) whether the volume of work by the doctoral student as a co-author of articles is sufficient for applying for a PhD degree;
2) whether the thesis is ready and the quality meets the requirement of a comprehensive research;
3) whether the different parts of the thesis form an adequate, sufficiently uniform and comprehensive compilation of the requirements for the doctoral thesis, and the structure is logical;
4) whether the conclusions of the thesis are in accordance with the definition of the problem.
Confirmation letter of the Director of the structural unit regarding the pre-defence of the doctoral thesis.
a copy of the inspection of the doctoral thesis performed by the structural unit (institute) by the plagiarism detection software Urkund.

5. At the latest within one month from the submission of the documents described in article 4, i.e. at least one month prior to the defence, the Dean shall decide whether to allow the thesis for the defence, return the non-compliant thesis, or require the thesis to be supplemented or rewritten. The Dean will forward the doctoral thesis to the Faculty Council for discussion, if necessary.

6. The time and place of defence of the doctoral thesis shall be disclosed at least one month prior to the defence on the TalTech website, with a link to the thesis summary and with reference to the availability of full text. The authorship agreements, publishing work in digital collection and forwarding the thesis to the publisher at least 1 month prior to the defence shall be concluded with the library.

7. The hard copy of the Doctoral thesis must be published at least 2 weeks before the defence of the doctoral thesis.

School of Engineering