Information for companies
What is an EngD?
An EngD (Engineering Doctorate) is a post-master programme at the 3rd cycle of university education that integrates academical training with hands-on industry design. The goal is to develop a design project that offers innovative solutions for real problems that companies face.
What does your company get out of the EngD programme?
EngD trainees are technological designers who can develop innovative design solutions to real engineering challenges that your company is facing.
EngD trainees develop design projects that last, on average, 12 months. During this time, the trainee designs innovative solutions in close collaboration with the company (e.g., as an intern). This project will be carried out under the supervision of both engineers from industry and university staff.
Besides obtaining a technological solution, you as a company get to know the trainee very well. At the end of the project, you are in the perfect position to decide whether to offer him/her a position within your company. Based on the experience with EngD trainees at other Universities, most trainees stay with the company and become a valuable new asset.
Types of employment
Trainees can be employed by the university or on payroll by the companies where the design project takes place. In either case, the trainee receives a monthly salary, and the participating companies cover the tuition fee.
Examples of EngD projects
You can find of examples of recent EngD projects and additional information about EngDs on the Stan Ackermans Institute (SAI) website.
Goal of the programme
The EngD programme on Autonomous Systems is founded in close collaboration with high-tech industries. Essentially, it is a strategic programme of the university as part of education innovation, and a bridge between fundamental research activities at the University of Groningen and industrial R&D programmes at high-tech companies in the Netherlands. It is part of the Dutch Sector Plan in Science and Technology II (in Dutch, Sectorplan Bèta en Techniek II).
In this context, the EngD programme will spearhead R&D initiatives with its partners of the Innovation Cluster Drachten (ICD). Eventually, the programme will extend its scope to work jointly with other related European Digital Innovation Hubs as well.
This is a great opportunity to carry out technical development projects you might not otherwise be able to prioritise.
At Ventura Systems, we develop door systems for public transport buses used by manufacturers around the world. When we were introduced to the EngD programme via ICD and the university, we weren’t immediately sure if our use case would qualify. But after a clear explanation of how our project fit within the programme, we saw real potential. Given our focus on requirements engineering, we defined a project and were able to move forward thanks to the subsidy.
The collaboration with the university has been smooth, with regular contact and clear communication. Our trainee is highly capable and works independently, which helps the process run efficiently. Together with the university supervisor, we review the outcomes and build from there.
The project focuses on analysing the quality of our product requirements using AI, something we previously did mostly manually. With more than a thousand requirements, that is a time-consuming task. While we encountered some initial IT-related delays, we’re now starting to see concrete results, and we expect the impact to become more visible in the second year.
The approach fits well with our innovation goals. It helps us improve requirement quality in less time, using a solution developed entirely in-house, meaning our sensitive data stays protected, which is an important advantage over commercial tools.
For companies considering the EngD programme: this is a great opportunity to carry out technical development projects you might not otherwise be able to prioritise. With university support and subsidy, you gain access to high-level academic knowledge. That said, you do need to invest time and have a clear sense of what you want to achieve. If you do, the programme can deliver real value.
Contact & more information
Do not hesitate to contact us for more information. Simply e-mail us at autonomous.systems rug.nl and we'lll get back to you as soon as possible.
| Last modified: | 01 July 2025 2.21 p.m. |