Reserving the auditorium for the defence
The public defence must be arranged so that the doctoral candidate, the custos, and the opponent are all present on the Joensuu or Kuopio campus. The vice dean may grant an exception to this rule for a justified reason.
The following academic affairs secretaries can help you reserve the defence auditorium:
• Anne Ikonen, Joensuu
• Anne Sarkkinen, Joensuu
• Jaana Mäkinen, Kuopio
• Laura Pulkka, Kuopio
• Laura Räisänen, Kuopio
Livestreaming the public defence
It is recommended that the public defence is livestreamed from the university auditorium. Please note that livestreaming requires the consent of all parties (the doctoral candidate, the opponent, and the custos).
The following auditoriums are equipped for livestreaming:
• Joensuu: AU100, E100, M100, M101, M103, N100, C2, AT100, F100, F101
• Kuopio: MS300, MS301, MS302, MD100, SN200, SN201, CA100, C101, CA102
Order the livestream through the UEF e-services portal (link opens in a new tab): Presentation technology and AV devices > Livestreaming for public defences.
A recording is always made of the livestream. If you would like to keep the recording, please notify UEF Technical Support. Otherwise, the recording will be deleted within ten days of the defence.
UEF Technical Support does not support other streaming technologies. When deciding on the date and time of your defence, please note that technical support is available on weekdays between 8:00 and 16:00.
Remote or partially remote defence
In exceptional cases and for compelling reasons, the university may arrange a partially remote defence, in which the opponent participates via a remote connection. The need for a fully remote defence must be justified to the vice dean.
If your defence is arranged fully or partially remotely, contact Technical Support well in advance.
Communicating about your defence
UEF Communications and Media Relations will publicise your defence on the university website, on social media, and to the media. Complete the electronic dissertation form (opens in a new tab; UEF login required) no later than two weeks before the public defence.
The UEF Communications and Media Relations will publicise your doctoral research on the university website (link opens in new tab), on social media and to the media.
Your task is to fill in the online form for doctoral defence communications (link opens in new tab).
You can fill in the form once the time and place of your doctoral defence have been confirmed and you have received permission from your faculty to defend your dissertation. Fill in the online form at least two weeks before your doctoral defence.
The form asks for all the necessary information that the communications specialists need to publish the defence event and press release on uef.fi.
Language selection on the form
The form includes a language selection. Choose the language as follows:
- Finnish-speaking doctoral candidate: Always fill in the form in Finnish and, if you wish, also in English. A weekly digest of Finnish-language press releases is compiled and distributed to domestic media. The English-language press release will be published on the university website.
- English-speaking doctoral candidate: If you also need a press release in Finnish, ask your doctoral research supervisor or your unit's staff for help with filling in the Finnish-language form.
If the language of your doctoral defence is English, indicate this on the form.
Doctoral defence in the university events calendar
For the events calendar on the university website, the form asks for basic information about you, the opponent, the custos and the doctoral defence.
If you would like your doctoral defence to be livestreamed, submit a service request to the university's technical support via UEF e-Services. You can find more information about livestreaming further down on this page.
Press release
The form asks for basic information about the topic of your doctoral research, your key findings and your methods. Based on your answers, the communications specialists will prepare a short press release for the website. The standard press release follows a question-and-answer format. For topics that are particularly timely for the media, more comprehensive press releases may be prepared on a case-by-case basis.
UEF Communications and Media Relations distributes a press release about upcoming doctoral defences to the media usually once a week. The distribution covers Eastern Finnish media outlets as well as key national media, such as STT (Finnish News Agency), Yle, MTV3 and Helsingin Sanomat. Specialist publications and journalists with an interest in specific fields may also be added to the distribution list.
The form also asks for your contact details in case media representatives wish to request an interview.
Please note that media outlets independently decide whether to cover doctoral defences. Their editorial choices are influenced by factors such as the number of defences, the newsworthiness of the topic and the daily news agenda.
A photo of you can be distributed to the media along with the press release. The photo is optional.
If you would like your photo to accompany the press release, have your photo taken no later than two weeks before your doctoral defence.
In addition to the press release, your photo will be used in the conferment ceremony register. For this reason, dress as closely as possible to the conferment ceremony dress code:
- a plain, dark, long-sleeved outfit, tailcoat or dark suit
- avoid large or eye-catching jewellery (this also applies to the doctoral defence).
Booking a photo session
Book your photo session directly with the contracted photography studio. The session is free of charge for you — UEF Communications and Media Relations covers the cost, and the photographer will automatically deliver the finished photos.
- Joensuu: Valokuvaamo Salla Seeslahti, Kirkkokatu 21, tel. +358 50 549 2943, sallaseeslahti.com (open Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00). An online booking calendar is available on their website.
- Kuopio: Studio EveLiisa, Kasarmikatu 10, tel. +358 50 358 5433, info(at)studioeveliisa.fi (open Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00 and by appointment)
If you use a studio other than the contracted one, request instructions by email: vaitos(at)uef.fi.
If you are unable to visit a studio, you can send a studio-quality photo to vaitos(at)uef.fi. The photo must be at least 20 × 25 cm in size with a resolution of 300 dpi. Personal digital photos or small passport photos are rarely of sufficient quality for print.
The communications specialist in your faculty is responsible for your doctoral defence press release.
Support for communications and presentation skills
Explore the support materials for doctoral candidates’ communications in eLearn Moodle (opens in a new tab; UEF login required). With the help of videos, instructions, and examples, you can:
• prepare your lectio praecursoria (opening presentation)
• practise interacting with the opponent
• prepare for media interviews
• prepare your post-doctoral party speech (in Finnish: karonkka).
Well before your defence day, explore the resource bank Support for communication in public defence on Moodle (link opens in new tab) (UEF login required).
The resource bank offers you ideas, support and encouragement for communication and interaction on your defence day.
Supervisors, custos and research communities (as well as UEF staff invited by another university to act as opponents) are also welcome to make use of these materials.
Through videos (in both Finnish and English), instructions and examples, you can
- prepare your lectio praecursoria
- practise interacting with the opponent during the defence
- illustrate your main arguments verbally and non-verbally
- channel your performance anxiety into positive energy
- prepare for media interviews
- pick up tips for giving speeches at the post-doctoral party (in Finnish: karonkka)
The materials published on Moodle do not replace faculty-specific instructions, nor do they cover administrative tasks related to graduation. For these matters, always contact your doctoral programme or faculty.
Congratulations on your achievements so far!
For more information: University Lecturer Ira Virtanen (link opens in new tab)
Further information
Salla Lappalainen
Catering for the public defence
The faculty covers the costs of catering related to the public defence as follows:
Refreshments and coffee before the defence
The faculty’s Executive Assistant will order on your behalf:
• refreshments available during the public defence
• coffee before the defence for the opponent, you, the custos, and the supervisors.
The faculty covers these costs in full.
Post-defence coffee reception
The faculty contributes up to €400 (VAT 0%) towards a coffee reception held after the public defence. The Executive Assistant will order the catering from the contracted service provider and will contact you regarding the details of the order. You will be included in the email correspondence regarding the order.
If the costs of the coffee reception exceed €400, you pay the additional amount directly to the restaurant. The restaurant prefers card payment.
Further information
Jenna Hovinen
