Introduction
What is an industrial doctorate?
An industrial doctorate aims to encourage companies to participate in doctoral programmes and promote knowledge transfer from universities to the socioeconomic environment by training young researchers.
Its backbone is the industrial doctorate project, that is, a company’s or institution’s strategic research project in which a doctoral candidate carries out research in conjunction with a university or a research centre and that will be the object of a doctoral thesis.
What are the requirements for taking an industrial doctorate?
Doctoral degree certificates may include the Industrial Doctorate mention on the front if the following requirements are met:
The doctoral candidate participates in an industrial research or experimental development project carried out at a company or a public administrative body. The industrial research or experimental development project in which the doctoral candidate participates must be directly related to his or her thesis.
The doctoral candidate has an employment or commercial contract with a private- or public-sector company or a public administrative body. This relationship must be certified by means of a report approved by the University.
What do I need to know?
You may apply for an industrial doctorate within any of the UPC’s doctoral programmes and under the same conditions as a standard doctoral degree.
When you finish your thesis, if you meet all the requirements, you can apply for the Industrial Doctorate mention.
If the industrial research or experimental development project involves collaboration between the University and the company or public administrative body where the doctoral candidate provides services, the parties must enter into a framework collaboration agreement. This agreement must specify the obligations of the University and those of the company or public administrative body involved, as well as the procedure for selecting doctoral candidates.
The doctoral candidate will have a thesis tutor assigned by the University and a supervisor assigned by the company or public administrative body, who, if appropriate, may also be the candidate’s thesis supervisor, in accordance with doctoral regulations.
Who provides funding for an industrial doctorate?
Doctoral candidates are contracted by companies or public administrative bodies. Companies may provide all funding from their own resources or receive partial funding through public financial aid (for example, grants for training doctoral candidates in companies):
- Industrial Doctorates, promoted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spain)
- Industrial Doctorates Plan (DI), promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya
- European Industrial Doctorates (EID) - ITN Marie Curie calls, among others
Industrial doctorates at the UPC today:
- 272 projects funded (28% of the total funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya)
- 228 UPC researchers supervising theses
- 96 recognised research groups (SGR) involved
- 210 companies involved
- 100 doctoral theses defended