Administrative procedures
All IFPEN PhD candidates must be attached to the Doctoral School of a University of the thesis director and be registered. This will give the PhD candidate the benefits of being a ‘student’ and will also allow to choose a Social Security system. Social Security does not reimburse all medical expenses, so having a ‘mutuelle’ is recommended. For those who have chosen to keep the student regime of student insurance will be offered. For those who chose to spend the general arrangements for various organizations can offer mutual. In particular, the IFPEN offers complementary health. This complementary health has a duration of three years (the duration of the thesis) and cannot be renewed. The membership fee is around 30 € / month on payday debit form. Know that you are entitled to after the end of your contract for a limited time if you are looking for work. For more information, please contact the board.
You will also need to consider purchasing liability insurance. This insurance is mandatory. For this, several organizations offering insurance are available. Your accommodation includes the insurance, as well as some banking contracts (Visa). Know that IFPEN will refund 50% of the price of your subscription transportation (Rueil), and offers a mileage compensation for traveling house-IFP (Solaize).
The principle of the graduate school
Each university has its doctoral schools. You should know that all doctoral schools are different and have their own organization. The graduate school you depend on is part of the university in which you are registered for your thesis (in general this is the university of your thesis director).
For new students and since 2000 it is MANDATORY to track and validate courses or training. These courses can be courses or various research masters. It is imperative to check with the graduate school how to validate these formations.
For PhD candidates doing their thesis at IFPEN, some graduate schools accept that you follow courses at the IFP School. To know all courses that are offered and you are able to follow, you can contact the person in charge of the research at IFP School:
Jean-Pierre Roy: for the Exploration and Production Centre
Gilles Gabolde: Centre for Development and Operation of Deposit
Christine Travers: Centre for Refining, Petrochemicals, Gas
Pierre Duret: for Motor Centre and use of hydrocarbons
Nadine Bret-Rouzaut: Centre for Economics and Management
Doctoral training and doctoral college IFP School
The director of doctoral training is Andreas EHINGER and his assistant Anne DANRE-DUCLOS. The director of the doctoral training is the contact for all matters relating to the thesis (relations with doctoral schools, scientific advice ...).
In addition to the doctoral program, the doctoral college of IFP School offers a number of training courses and conferences. These activities are open to all doctoral students doing a thesis in partnership with IFPEN. By participating these activities a doctoral college diplome, proving skills in different research areas of IFPEN can be claimed. The various training courses are held in collaboration with the IFP School and are grouped under the name of '' opening training to the oil industry and engines. '' They usually last a week (35 hours) and include the following topic:
- Hunting for oil
- Gross - Refining - Products - Manufacturing Drawings
- Fuels - Lubricants - Engines
- Oil Economy
At the end of each course a certificate will be provided. These courses can also be validated by the doctoral school as a compulsory training module for obtaining the diploma.
Monthly lectures covering various research topics will be offered from December to June each year. Every student will take at least twelve lectures out of the eighteen proposed over the course of their PhD. High level speakers (often the College de France!) come to IFP: it is very important to honor them by being present at their conferences, even if sometimes the topics are far from our daily concerns.
Role of supervisor and promoter IFPEN
The thesis director and promoter of IFPEN are the privileged interlocutors of the PhD candidate. Depending on the place where the majority of thesis takes place (IFPEN or outside in a research laboratory), either the IFPEN promoter or the outside supervisor will be more involved. In either case, a good frequency of meetings with the two interlocutors is essential.
The role of the IFPEN promoter complements that of the supervisor: he works under the scientific guidance of the supervisor or in agreement with her/him and must specifically help the student to fit into the professional framework present and future.
Council and Scientific Direction IFPEN
The Scientific Council IFPEN
The scientific orientation for the doctoral research is organized around the Scientific Board. This board currently includes fifteen scientists from France and foreign countries. These people are responsible each year to label, review and discuss, the thesis topics presented by IFPEN thesis promoters. In addition, the Scientific Council evaluates the progress of the thesis during the mid-term counseling. Finally be aware that at any time and request the Scientific Council can assist in the progress of work.
Scientific Management of IFP Energies Nouvelles
This is a separate entity to IFPEN composed of IFPEN employees. Its role is to define jointly with the Scientific Council an applied research policy. Benoit NOETINGER is part of this council and is responsible for the scientific monitoring of PhD candidates. He is the coordinator between the Scientific Council, the Scientific Management and the PhD candidates. He keeps track of all doctoral students throughout their training and organizes the mid-term advice.
The evaluation of the mid-term theses normally comes after a year and a half into the thesis. The sessions are held every year around the February/March. PhD students that arrived halfway the year, also have this assessment, already after a year of the thesis. This evaluation is an ideal opportunity to engage with members of the Scientific Council while exposing them to conduct your research.
Progress Report
The progress report is a written statement of work already done in the thesis and includes future plans. This report is intended for the outside supervisors, IFPEN promoter, the members of the Scientific Council and the director of the division in which the thesis is done. The report is to be transmitted at least 15 days before the presentation of progress. The midterm juries take place between January and March. It is advisable for all doctoral students in the second year to have finished drafting their report before the Christmas holidays.
Presentation of the progress of thesis work (or mid-board)
The presentation lasts approximately 20 minutes and is followed by 30 minutes of discussion and 10 minutes of deliberation. The purpose of the presentation is to illustrate the content of the progress report, to guide future work and discuss possible solutions to scientific and technical challenges. At the end of the deliberation, the jury composed of members of the Scientific Council, the supervisor, the IFPEN promoter and Benoit NOETINGER decide if funding of the thesis should be continued.