What are Industrial Doctorates?
This is a program that allows a doctoral candidate to develop their doctoral thesis within a company or entity, in collaboration with a university or research center.
For three years, students combine their academic training with practical application in a real work environment, participating in a strategic R+D+i project.
Beneficiaries
Academic environment:
- Universities of the Catalan system
- Research and Technology Centers
- Hospital Foundations
Business environment:
- Private sector companies or entities with a work center in Catalonia (or outside, in the case of DI-ESP)
- They cannot be research centers or bodies dependent on the university system.
Doctoral candidate:
- You must have access to a doctoral program and a minimum average grade of 6.5/10 in degree + master's degree
Eligible Project Types
There are two modalities depending on the structure of the consortium:
- DI-COF (co-financed): For companies with a work center in Catalonia.
- DI-ESP (specific): For more flexible cases. This mode should be selected when:
a) The doctoral candidate's dedication to the project is part-time.
b) The workplace of the business environment is outside of Catalonia.
c) The business environment is represented by a public sector entity of the Generalitat.
In addition, the program is open to all sectors of activity, provided that the project is technologically or innovation-based and the workplace is in Catalonia.
Type of aid for Industrial Doctorates
Grants, on a competitive basis, of up to 65,000€ per project.
La AGAUR (Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca) makes payments through bank transfer to the accounts indicated in the acceptance document.
No need to provide guarantees to receive the money.
Annuity payment schedule
- First payment (1st year): It is processed after the presentation and review of the acceptance documentation.
- Second payment (2nd year): It is done after the reception and review of the partial justification of the first year.
- Third payment (3rd year):
- You pay for the 70% After the partial justification of the 2nd year.
- El 30% remaining You pay once justified and accepted the entirety of the project.
Additional payment per international mention
- Additional support is granted from 2,000€ to the beneficiary entity if the doctoral student obtains the international mention of doctorate.
- The payment is made squarely, without guarantees, in a Maximum term of 3 months since the concession resolution.
Main requirements for accessing Industrial Doctorate (DI) aid
Academic environment:
- Be a beneficiary of aid to support the scientific activity of research groups (SGR).
- The person directing the thesis must be a member of a current SGR group, a researcher at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) or have obtained funding from the European Research Council (ERC).
- At least two entities must participate, one that represents the academic environment and one that represents the business environment.
Candidates:
- To be able to access a doctoral program and to accredit an average score of at least 6.5 out of 10 in studies that give access to the doctorate (degree and master's degree or other equivalent access routes, weighted according to the number of credits).
- The dedication of the selected candidate to the research project must be distributed between the business environment and the academic environment.
- The selected candidate must complete 60 hours of training in transversal competencies of business interest.
- The selected candidate You cannot have a share in the capital of the entity that represents the business environment requesting the aid.
- One and the same person cannot be included as a candidate in more than one application.
The employment contract offered to the doctorate must be for 3 years full time, at a rate of at least 22,000 euros gross/year. And, to submit the application, the project must have been published on the website of the Industrial Doctorate Plan at least five business days in advance of the closing of the call.
Eligible expenses for the Industrial Doctorate Program of the Government of Catalonia
Financing for the business environment (up to 22,800€)
It includes:
- Total cost of the doctorate student's contract.
- Cost of the person responsible for the business environment in proportion to their dedication.
- Project execution costs.
- Project certification (for tax purposes).
- Other expenses directly related to the project.
Doctoral student grant (up to 10,800€)
It covers direct expenses of the doctoral student:
- University enrollment (management, guardianship, deposit and defense of the thesis, issuance of the degree, fees, etc.).
- Mobility: travel, accommodation and food for attending conferences, stays or other events outside the usual place of work.
- Training courses, both specific and cross-cutting.
- Publication of articles related to the project.
Funding for the research group (up to 22,800€)
It includes:
- Recruitment or co-funding of predoctoral, postdoctoral or technical support staff (if there is no double funding).
- Execution of the project:
- Expendable material.
- Equipment, instruments, leasing or rental of scientific equipment (up to €50,000).
- Outsourcing (max. 50% of total aid), if they cannot be carried out by the group.
- Publications and dissemination of results.
- Intellectual Property Rights.
- Travel and mobility of research and technical staff, provided that they are related to the group's objectives (protocol or representation expenses are not included).
- Organization of scientific events (congresses, seminars): travel, diets, publications and associated websites.
- Other expenses: use of scientific-technical services, computer licenses, subscriptions, scholarships, internationalization, transfer activities, fieldwork, etc.
All expenses must be justified and linked to the objectives of the research group.
Indirect costs (Overheads) (up to 4,200€)
- General or indirect expenses derived from the execution of the project.
What documentation must be submitted?
- Academic certificates of the candidate
- Doctoral admission or enrollment document
- Minutes of the selection of nominations
- Collaboration agreement signed between the entities
This last document is key: it defines how the relationship between the company and the university is structured during the project.
2025 Call Schedule
The call will be open from February 28 to December 10, 2025, with 4 partial resolutions:
- Until April 16
- Until June 11
- Until October 8
- Until December 10
Why bet on an Industrial Doctorate?
The DI program allows companies to access advanced knowledge, accelerate their innovation and train tailor-made talent. In turn, universities and research centers strengthen their real impact on the productive fabric.
And for the doctoral student, it represents a unique way to grow professionally, with job stability and direct contact with applied innovation.
