Half-time review or licentiate degree

In brief, the main differences are as follows:

• Unlike the licentiate examination, the halftime review is not an examination. Instead, its purpose is to assess whether the doctoral student is making satisfactory progress towards completing the PhD within the expected timeframe.
• The halftime review must be completed no later than 25 months after the start of the doctoral studies, whereas the licentiate examination is normally held after 30 months (in both cases, corresponding to full-time study).
• For the licentiate examination, you are required to write a licentiate thesis presenting your research results and related work. For the halftime review, you instead prepare a shorter report providing an overview of your research project and the results achieved so far.
• In both cases, you are required to give a seminar of approximately 40 minutes.
• At the halftime seminar, an advisory group consisting of two faculty members together with either the Director of Doctoral Studies or the Subject Representative will ask questions about your research and your doctoral studies, and will subsequently provide both oral and written feedback. For a licentiate examination, your thesis is reviewed in advance by an appointed faculty member, and during the examination an opponent will ask questions, primarily concerning your research.
• If any concerns are identified during the halftime review, the advisory group will establish a follow-up plan. A follow-up meeting will also be scheduled.

Further details about the licentiate examination can be found here.
Further details about the halftime review can be found here.