Chapter IX. ‘Industrial Doctorate’ distinction

Industrial doctorates are those in which the student participates in an industrial research or experimental development project directly related to his/her thesis and conducted in a company or public authority that is not a university, as established in Royal Decree 99/2011, Article 15 bis.

Article 37. ‘Industrial Doctorate’ distinction.

The phrase ‘Doctorado Industrial’ [Industrial Doctorate] may be included on the back of the PhD degree providing all of the following conditions are met:

1. The doctoral student must participate in an industrial research or experimental development project being conducted in the company or public or private body in which he/she provides the service (which may not be a university).
2. The student must have signed an employment or commercial contract with a public authority or public or private sector company that is not a university. Said contract may not have a duration of less than one year full-time equivalent and must remain in force throughout the period that the student is enrolled in the doctoral programme.

Article 38. Requirements of the industrial or experimental research project.

The industrial research or experimental development project in which the doctoral student participates must meet the following conditions:

1. It must be directly related to the PhD thesis in question. The doctoral programme’s Academic Commission shall be responsible for accrediting this direct relationship, for which purpose the student must submit a report to be reviewed and accepted by the Commission at least one year before the thesis is submitted for academic registry.
   The report must be validated by the person responsible for the partner organisation and the thesis supervisor and must state the latter institution’s interest in conducting the project.
2. When the industrial research or experimental development project is carried out in collaboration between the UPV/EHU and the organisation in which the doctoral student provides a service, a collaboration agreement must exist between the parties.

Said agreement must contain at least the content of the agreement previously approved by the Postgraduate Commission and shall be the framework agreement established in the regulations. It must contain an appendix setting out the special conditions of collaboration for conducting the thesis.

This agreement shall set out the obligations of the university and the collaborating organisation and the procedure for selecting students. An appendix to the agreement shall set out the special conditions of collaboration for conducting the thesis.

The agreement must remain in force at least for such time as the student is participating in the project.

Article 39. Writing of the thesis.

1. In addition to the tutor designated by the university, a person shall be appointed by the organisation who shall be responsible for proper monitoring of the student’s activities in the organisation and for coordinating with the tutor at the university. Said person may supervise or co-supervise the thesis providing that the requirements established in the UPV/EHU’s regulations for performance of these functions are fulfilled.
2. When the employment contract between the doctoral student and the organisation is of a shorter duration than the student’s participation in the research project in development of his/her thesis, a specific collaboration agreement must be signed between the university and the organisation setting out the special conditions of the collaboration throughout the period during which the thesis is being conducted.
3. Signing of the framework agreement or where applicable, the specific agreement, shall mark the official commencement of the UPV/EHU’s collaboration with the organisation.
4. When submitting the thesis for academic registry, the doctoral student must enclose the following documents:
   1. Application for the ‘Industrial Doctorate’ distinction.
   2. Copy of the employment or commercial contract.
   3. Favourable report of the doctoral programme’s Academic Commission on the report presented.