项目介绍

2025年5月15日

Are you passionate about startups, science-based innovation, and entrepreneurship? Do you want to contribute new insights into how deep tech ventures scale and succeed? In collaboration with the BioInnovation Institute Foundation (BII), the DTU Centre for Technology Entrepreneurship (DTU Entrepreneurship) is offering an exciting opportunity for a 3-year fully funded PhD project to investigate critical success factors for early-stage deep tech ventures.

Responsibilities and qualifications
This PhD project is a joint initiative between DTU Entrepreneurship and BII. It aims to advance our understanding of critical factors enabling deep tech ventures to succeed and scale.

Deep tech ventures, rooted in scientific discovery and advanced engineering, are key drivers of innovation in fields such as health, climate, and energy. However, they face unique challenges due to long development cycles, high capital intensity, and complex commercialization paths. Building a stronger understanding of these ventures is essential to uncover what enables them to succeed, scale, and deliver impact to society. By identifying critical success factors, we can support better decision-making among founders, investors, and policy-makers, and help accelerate the transition from breakthrough science to real-world solutions.

The precise objectives of the PhD position are to be determined in dialogue between the candidate, DTU Entrepreneurship and BII. Examples of research themes that could be explored in the project include: characteristics of early-stage deep tech startups that affect their subsequent venture journeys; the role of university ecosystems in supporting early development of deep tech ventures; and the role and effectiveness of incubators and support mechanisms on startup development.

Your primary tasks will be to:

• Design and conduct research projects in collaboration with the supervisory team
• Examine and analyse data on startups supported by BII
• Collect and analyse additional quantitative and qualitative data from Denmark and internationally
• Write academic papers aimed at high-impact journals
• Participate in international academic conferences and workshops
• Disseminate research results and teach as part of the overall PhD education

The PhD candidate will be employed at DTU Entrepreneurship and work closely with BII. The candidate will have access to data on startups supported by BII and be expected to gather additional quantitative and qualitative data. 

The main supervisor will be Associate Professor Maria Theresa Norn. The team of supervisors also includes Associate Professor Lars Alkærsig and, from BII, CTO Markus J. Herrgård and CEO Jens Nielsen.

You must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master’s degree.

The ideal candidate has an educational background in the social sciences, insight into entrepreneurship and skills in both quantitative and qualitative methods. Applicants must be fluent in English.

Approval and Enrolment 
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU’s rules for the PhD education. 

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. 

The period of employment is 3 years. The position is a full-time position. The starting date is 1 October 2025 (or according to mutual agreement).

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Maria Theresa Norn, DTU Entrepreneurship, email tnorn@dtu.dk.

You can read more about the Centre for Technology Entrepreneurship (DTU Entrepreneurship) at www.entrepreneurship.dtu.dk.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU. 

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 31 July 2025 (23:59 Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link “Apply now”, fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• Sample of written work by the candidate (for instance a Master’s thesis) 
• A short research proposal (no more than 3 pages) presenting the applicant’s suggestions for 1-2 research questions within the scope of the project, as well as initial reflections on relevant theoretical frameworks and methods with which to pursue the proposed questions.

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master’s degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Entrepreneurship is amongst the international leading entities in technology entrepreneurship and helps develop an entrepreneurial culture across DTU. As part of a dynamic and evolving ecosystem, we combine practice-oriented education and research in entrepreneurship with real start-up opportunities from all DTU departments. With rigorous research at its core, the Centre builds the entrepreneurial capabilities of students, industry leaders, academics and policymakers to address unsolved problems, and together create new knowledge, methodologies and initiatives. We enable ethically minded entrepreneurs to build solutions that benefit people, society and the world. The Centre experiments with new entrepreneurial methodologies and activities to push boundaries within research and education. 

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.