The PhD House Canvas

Phase I: The Foundation (Onboarding & Administration)

Every journey begins at the Foundation. This level encompasses the mandatory administrative and conceptual tasks required to officially anchor you as a PhD student at the University of Fribourg. You must secure this base before heavily investing in your pillars:

• Mindset & Philosophy: Read and reflect on the book Fuzzy Thinking by Bart Kosko. This essential, accessible reading will help you grasp the core principles of fuzzy logic.
• Administrative Milestones: Align your overarching thesis goal with your supervisor, write and present your Dissertation Proposal based on faculty guidelines, sign your initial PhD Thesis Supervision Agreement, and secure your official acceptance by the university.
• Institutional Visibility: Create and submit your "First Submission Project Page" for the Human-IST RISE website to ensure your research is visible from day one.
• Accompanying Jury: Support jury (consisting of the supervisor, co-supervisor, and 1-2 experts) must be designated ideally at the beginning, and at the latest within the first 12 months.
• Intermediate Evaluation: Must happen at the latest 18 months after admission and involves an oral presentation of your thesis project to the Accompanying Jury.

Phase II: The Three Pillars (Levels 1 to 3)

Once your foundation is firmly in place, you will simultaneously construct the three load-bearing pillars of your PhD.

• Pillar 1: Education (Teaching & Mentoring): To hone your academic profile and deepen your understanding of Design Science Research (DSR), you will actively participate in Prof. Dr. Portmann’s teaching ecosystem.
• Pillar 2: Research (Scientific Output): This is the scientific core of your PhD.
• Pillar 3: Personal Development & Administration: Your PhD is a period of immense personal growth. This pillar ensures you build an active network and strong methodological skills.

Phase III: The Red Beam (Transition & Focus)

At the top of the three pillars lies the Red Beam. Reaching this point signifies the complete release of all three pillars with full focus on completion. Before you can begin building the Roof, you must draft your Supervision Agreement on finishing the Thesis to plan the exact finalization steps of your dissertation.

Phase IV: The Roof (Finalization Phase: Level 4)

The Roof represents the final 6 to 12 months of your journey. With your undivided attention, you will finalize your major research sub-projects, create your Table of Contents and write the Monograph, define the Examination Jury / Doctoral Commission, submit your Application for the Opening of the Doctoral Procedure, register for Defense with Required Documents, defend your dissertation, complete the Public Presentation, and submit / publish the final thesis.

Pillar 1: Education (Teaching & Mentoring)

• Assisting in Master Lectures: Fuzzy Sets and Systems I & II, Computing with Words.
• Assisting in Master Seminars: Life Engineering, Urban Computing, Social Computing.
• Thesis: Supervising Bachelor and Master theses will further clarify the expectations placed upon you as a researcher.

Pillar 2: Research (Scientific Output)

• The Gateway Brick: To prevent the "blank page syndrome" and provide a structured entry into research, your very first task will be to conduct a Systematic Literature Review for Taxonomy Building. This highly useful artifact will serve as the gateway to your first publication.
• Scientific Progression: You will conduct major subprojects, aiming for at least three peer reviewed conference or journal papers.
• Continuous Output: You will co-author papers with colleagues, contribute to book chapters, release practical artifacts/prototypes or datasets.
• Regular Project Updates: And continuously update your project page on the Human-IST RISE website.

Pillar 3: Personal Development & Administration

Your PhD is a period of immense personal growth. This pillar ensures you build an active network and strong methodological skills. It tracks your continuous progress reporting, active involvement at the Human-IST Institute, attendance at PhD and Summer Schools (e.g., at the European Society for Fuzzy Logic & Technology), completion of methodology/content courses, and the Thesis Defense Preparation Workshop.

Another key milestone is the Progress Report (Fortschrittsbericht / Rapport d’avancement) in your 3rd year, which is not just an institute interview; it officially involves the Accompanying Jury, and a written protocol must be signed and sent to the Dean's office.

Final roof bricks

• Finalize your major research sub-projects.
• Create your Table of Contents and write the Monograph (integrating your sub-projects).
• Define Examination Jury / Doctoral Commission.
• Submit your Application for the Opening of the Doctoral Procedure.
• Register for Defense with Required Documents: Defense registration has to contain: thesis, CV, declaration of independent work, proof of exam fee.
• The Defense of your Dissertation.
• Public Presentation: After successfully defending the thesis behind closed doors (Art. 31), the candidate must present their results to a wider audience in a public presentation (usually within 1 month after the defense).
• Final Submission / Publish Thesis: The doctoral title is not officially granted until the candidate submits the final, corrected thesis and four bound mandatory copies to the Dean's office (within 6 months of the defense). Only then is the diploma issued allowing you to carry the "Dr." title.

Ready to start building?

1. Study your copy of Fuzzy Thinking by Bart Kosko (provided by Prof. Dr. Edy Portmann) and start laying your foundation.
2. Download the blank PhD House canvas and the Supervision Agreement template from this Minisite.
3. Update your PhD House and get ready for the next Progression Workshop.

We look forward to seeing your architectural masterpiece take shape.

Future download placeholders

• Blank PhD House CanvasPlaceholder only. Add the final public SWITCHdrive link later.
• Supervision Agreement TemplatePlaceholder only. Add the final public SWITCHdrive link later.
• PhD House Read MePlaceholder only. Add the final public SWITCHdrive link later.