The defence of a doctoral dissertation is unforgettable to every PhD. Yrjö Kaukiainen completed his doctorate in 1970, and the subject of his dissertation was Finnish peasant sailing at the beginning of the nineteenth century. With a twinkle in his eye, Professor Kaukiainen says that today the spirit of doctoral defences is freer, in fact downright convivial, compared to those times.

“There was little general discussion and much focus on detail. The opponent worked as the supervisor.”

Professor Kaukiainen criticises the practice, as the supervisor was in a way opposing himself. His thesis was supervised and opposed by Eino Jutikkala, who well prepared the doctoral candidate beforehand. In the discussion prior to the thesis defence the dissertation was explored in detail; however, the professor left a few surprise questions up his sleeve that were only discussed during the actual defence.

Doctoral defences were long, often lasting four hours, so a coffee break was needed. Then the traditional responsibility of the Custos (the chairman of the doctoral defence) was to offer coffee to the candidate and the opponent.

“As a point of interest, I could mention that we used the new gowns that the faculty had acquired instead of the traditional tails. When Pentti Renvall, who had just become Chancellor of the University, met the three of us on the staircase of the Porthania building, he remarked that we looked like something out of the Middle Ages.