• Starting the publication process of the dissertation 25 days before the public examination (see further instructions)
• Starting the printing process of the dissertation 23 days before the public examination
• Sending the media information as soon as the permission to print is granted but at the very latest 20 days before the public examination (see further instructions)
• Public display of the dissertation 10 days before the public examination

Custos agrees on the date of the public examination with the doctoral candidate and the opponent(s), taking into account:

• the time needed for the publication and printing process and the public display of the dissertation (at least 25 days from starting the publishing/printing process to the public examination)
• the schedules of the other supervisors as well as
• the availability of suitable premises and/or technical support for streaming (if necessary)

You should book the auditorium and check the premises beforehand so that you are familiar with the equipment etc. The public examination is held at the university premises, in accordance with the established practice. If there is a need for remote connections, make sure that the auditorium is suitable for streaming and book the technical assistance according to the instructions in the next section (Streaming the public examination).

Once the date of the public examination and the auditorium have been confirmed, add the information to DOCIS (Dissertation-tab à Public examination). After doing this, your dissertation process timeline will be updated and you will receive automatic reminders of the next steps.

Public examination in Lappeenranta:

• book the auditorium from lut.lukkaritiimi@lut.fi
• if necessary, contact helpdesk@lut.fi for support with equipment

Public examination in Lahti or Mikkeli:

• book the auditorium from the school's secretary and visit the premises with her. In Lahti you will be contacted by Helpdesk support staff so that you can check the equipment together before the public examination takes place.

Public examination in Kouvola:

• book the auditorium from the coordinator and visit the premises with her.

You should inform the following parties about the agreed date and form (on campus, hybrid, online) and the auditorium number of the public examination:

public examination in Lappeenranta:

• university porters (tilapalvelut.lappeenranta@lut.fi)
• school’s secretary (LBS.office@lut.fi, LES.office@lut.fi or LENS.office@lut.fi)
• Doctoral School (LUT.dissertation.process@lut.fi)

public examination in Lahti or Mikkeli:

• school’s secretary  (LBS.office@lut.fi, LES.office@lut.fi or LENS.office@lut.fi)
• Doctoral School (LUT.dissertation.process@lut.fi)

public examination in Kouvola:

• coordinator  (Anna-Maija.Worlin@lut.fi)
• Doctoral School (LUT.dissertation.process@lut.fi)

The university strongly recommends organizing the public examination traditionally in an auditorium, with the doctoral candidate, opponent(s), custos and the audience present. If seen necessary, it is possible to stream the public examination (=hybrid defense), but it is not compulsory. Technical support can be provided for a maximum of two simultaneous public examinations per campus, so make sure to secure the support early enough. Public examinations are not in principle recorded.

Streaming can be requested for the following reasons:

• opponent is participating online
• Double doctoral degree or Cotutelle public examinations
• the scientific value of the dissertation is considerable and the topic (internationally) interesting
• (international) preliminary examiners wish to participate online
• doctoral candidate’s relatives are not able to arrive on campus

Request technical support from the digital producers by filling in the following form: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/F91E6DBD43225A5A. You will be contacted in 2-4 working days. In Lahti and Mikkeli you should also be in touch with the school's secretary and in Kouvola the local coordinator. 

In case the opponent takes part via remote connections and the time difference to their country is big, it is possible to start the public examination at a different time than noon. However, you should make sure that the services (for example digital producers, room decorations, coffee etc.) are available early morning/late afternoon.

Zoom webinar will be used for the remote connection. Digital producers and helpdesk are responsible for the technical support and they will go through the technology to be used with you and the custos before the public examination. The digital producers will moderate the event remotely and technical support will be provided at the auditorium if necessary.

Digital producers will send the Zoom event link for the audience to the doctoral candidate and the candidate should send the link to LUT Media and add the link in DOCIS. If necessary, personal panel invitations (with separate links) will be sent to the opponent and/or the custos. The Zoom application can be downloaded from Software Center (LUT staff). Digital producers have compiled instructions for opponent(s) regarding the use of Zoom (Doctoral defense with Zoom webinar.pdf). Custos should forward the document to the opponent(s).

Opponent taking part remotely:

• The Zoom application must be installed before the event.
• The digital producers will send a separate link to the meeting by email and the candidate/custos/opponent join the meeting via this link. By joining via this link they have full rights for speaking and sharing in the event.
• You and custos have to agree on a testing event with digital producers before the event.
• The custos should invite the opponent(s) to take part in the testing as well.
• The webinar will be organized so that the candidate, custos and opponent(s) are side by side on the screen, like in traditionally organised public examinations.

In hybrid (streamed) public examinations, the remote audience does not have the possibility to take part in the discussion.

In extremely rare, special cases and only on a discretionary basis, the public examination can be arranged completely online. If you are planning an online public examination, contact LUT Doctoral School first. In online public examinations the general public will be given a chance to comment at the end of the event in order to fulfill the legal requirements. Comments will be posed in such a way that the candidate, custos and opponent(s) can hear and/or see them. During the opponent questioning, the public’s microphones are muted automatically. At the end of the event the candidate calls upon the general public according to the usual protocol and the custos may instruct them to use the “Raise hand” function in Zoom. In case any comments arise, the microphones are unmuted.

You should prepare a so called lectio praecursoria for the public examination. The lectio lasts approximately 20 minutes and it should explain the research project, the underlying problems, development trends and in the latter part of the presentation, a summary of the crucial research problems of your work and the results. The lectio praecursoria is normally given in the language understandable to the general audience; highly specialized terms should be avoided. If the language of the lectio praecursoria is Finnish, you should make a written version of it in English for foreign opponents.

If you want to make a PowerPoint  presentation, the official LUT-template can be chosen directly in PowerPoint (New -> LUT Office Templates).

The school's secretary or coordinator (Kouvola) will reserve the lunch and coffee related to the public examination. You should contact them about the required arrangements well in advance. The school is responsible for the costs. Lunch and coffee services are considered private events.

The custos, the doctoral candidate and the opponent(s) are dressed in academic attire, a tailcoat (black waistcoat) or a dark suit. You as a doctoral candidate suggest the dress code and agree on it in advance with the custos and opponent(s). A foreign academic attire is also acceptable. Ladies wear a dark dress with a closed neckline and long sleeves.

The custos and the opponent should bring their doctor’s hats if they all own one. The custos should discuss the issue concerning doctoral hats with opponents well in advance. When the custos and the opponents enter and leave the ceremony venue, they carry their doctor’s hats in their hands; during the public examination the hats are on the table.

A video presenting a typical public examination at LUT is available in English. It gives an overall picture on how the public examination is held at LUT.

After the public examination there is usually a special occasion called “Karonkka”. It is a festivity arranged to honor the opponent. You are in charge of the arrangements and costs relating to Karonkka. Karonkka is considered a private event. See instructions for arranging the Karonkka party below in Files.