What are the general characteristics and requirements?
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Doctoral theses are developed within the framework of a collaboration agreement between a university (and, where appropriate, a research centre, a technology centre or a hospital foundation) and a company or several companies.
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Doctoral candidates must have a thesis supervisor from the University or research centre and a supervisor appointed by the company.
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Doctoral candidates must be selected jointly by the signatory parties of the collaboration agreement and must be accepted and admitted to the corresponding university doctoral programme.
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The minimum average mark in candidates’ academic records for the degree that qualifies them for the doctoral programme must be at least 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
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The thesis supervisor must be part of an active recognised research group (SGR) of the Government of Catalonia, a researcher in the ICREA programme or the recipient of funding from the European Research Council (ERC).
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Doctoral students must work on the research project within the company and the University.
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Doctoral students must participate in training programmes in cross-disciplinary skills related to leading, coordinating and managing R&D&I projects; the transfer of research results; the development of start-ups; and intellectual and industrial property, among other relevant subjects.
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The Government of Catalonia provides doctoral students with an annual mobility fund for a maximum period of three years for attending seminars and conferences related to the research project and visiting other offices of the company, other universities or research centres outside Catalonia. When a project is developed in a company based outside Catalonia, the fund can also be used for travelling to Catalonia.
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All the theses defended in the framework of the Industrial Doctorates Plan will receive the Industrial Doctorate mention. The companies and academic supervisors will also receive recognition for their participation in the Plan.
What types of financial aid are available?
There are two types, based on the execution of the project:
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Co-funded industrial doctorate projects.
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Industrial doctorate projects with specific financial aid.
Summary table:
Cofunding |
Specific funding | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Framework |
Collaboration agreement between the signatories (publication of results, intellectual and industrial property rights, funding, etc.). |
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Academic sphere |
Catalan public and private universities and research centres. Thesis director: SGR or ICREA researcher or an European Research Council (ERC) gran holder. |
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Wokplace |
Catalonia |
Catalonia and the European Union |
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Type of companies |
Public and private companies. Not-for-profit associations and foundations, public bodies (local, regional or national level). |
Research institutions and subsidiary companies thereof, and the ministries, offices and regional services of the Government of Catalonia are not elegible. Private academic entities from research institutions (centres adscritis) are not eligible. |
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Funding for 3 years |
Business sphere (21.600) Academic sphere (25.488) PhD student (8.472) |
PhD student (8.472) |
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Employment of PhD student |
Company
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Company or academic partners
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Minimum average wage |
22.000 euros per year
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Duration |
3 years |
≥3 years |
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Dedication to R&D project |
Exclusively
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Exclusively or part-time
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Working hours distribution |
To be agreed between the academic and business spheres
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What requirements must projects meet to qualify for co-funding?
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Doctoral students must work full-time on the research project.
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The duration of the collaboration agreement between the University and the company must be at least three years.
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Companies must employ doctoral candidates and pay them a gross salary of at least €22,000 euros per year plus the corresponding employer’s costs. The salary may be linear or progressive depending on the company’s payscale policy. In any case, the company must guarantee a gross salary of at least €66,000 euros over the three years of the contract.
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The workplace of the company must be located in Catalonia.
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The thesis must be completed within three years. Under no circumstances will the Government of Catalonia provide funding for a period longer than three years.
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The Government of Catalonia will provide funding for the items included under the question about the financial conditions of the research project.
What requirements must projects meet to qualify for specific financial aid?
This funding type is applicable in the following cases:
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The company cannot cover the costs of employing the doctoral candidate and the University accepts that the company will only cover the corresponding employer’s costs.
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The doctoral student cannot work full-time on the project and the doctoral thesis. Therefore, the duration of the agreement between the University and the company and of the doctoral project will be longer than three years.
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The workplace of the company is located outside Catalonia.
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Other cases different from those mentioned above and that may be considered by the selection committee, as long as they are duly justified.