The Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya has hosted the welcoming session for the new promotion of doctoral students of the DI-2026 edition, within the framework of the thirteenth call for applications for the Industrial Doctorates Plan (DI Plan). The event, held at the Department's headquarters, brought together researchers in the initial phase of their projects with the technical team of the DI Plan, the Industrial Doctorates Network and the institutional representation of the General Directorate of Knowledge Transfer and Society. The program, which has already accumulated more than 550 defended doctoral theses and nearly 812 participating companies since its origins in 2013, is consolidating itself as one of the most relevant public instruments for linking research talent, the academic environment and the business fabric in Catalonia.
The Deputy Director General of Knowledge Transfer and Society, Lourdes Puigbarraca, welcomed the new class of industrial doctoral students of the DI-2025 edition in an event held at the headquarters of the Department of Research and Universities. The session, organized by the Industrial Doctorate Plan (DI Plan), brought together the new industrial doctoral students with the technical team of the program and with members of the Industrial Doctorate Network.
In her speech, Puigbarraca framed the Industrial Doctorates within the Department’s strategic priorities, highlighting that ” the projects we recognize today strengthen the university system, connect teams and institutions, generate impactful solutions and place Catalan research on the global map “. The deputy director general also stressed that the program ” has become one of the most powerful instruments for connecting talent, research and the productive fabric of Catalonia “, and encouraged the new doctoral students to take advantage of a stage that she described as ” demanding, but extraordinary “.
Puigbarraca contextualized the event within the framework of the Department’s Action Plan, structured around three axes: the strengthening of the university system as a driver of social transformation and well-being; the consolidation of a comprehensive, cooperative and transformative model of research and innovation at the service of the country’s quality of life and competitiveness; and the promotion of the internationalization of teaching, research and transfer to project Catalonia as a European benchmark in innovation and talent.
Thirteenth edition of a consolidated public instrument
The technical director of the DI Plan, Jordi Alba, presented the cumulative balance of the program: 1,317 projects processed, nearly 812 participating companies and more than 550 doctoral theses defended since the beginning of the initiative in 2013. Alba defined Industrial Doctorates as research that is, simultaneously, strategic, collaborative and applied, and highlighted that three out of four industrial doctors continue to be linked to the company or institution once the grant has ended. In this sense, he highlighted the figure of the doctor as ” an asset for the company and a bridge for knowledge transfer between the company and the university” , while claiming a professional profile that goes far beyond the strictly academic environment.
Support technician Agnès López has explained the operational aspects of the program: the regulatory framework of the collaboration agreement between the parties, the financial allocation assigned to doctoral students, and the training requirements in transversal skills, which total 60 hours throughout the doctorate. Half of these hours are covered through an annual call organized by the Generalitat, which covers areas such as the valorization of results, transfer, entrepreneurship, leadership and project management.
The Industrial Doctorate Network, a space for community and peer support
During the session, members of the Industrial Doctorate Network —Núria Urgell, Tomàs Fernández and Gerard Franco-Panadés— presented this initiative born from the desire to respond to the specific needs of industrial doctoral students, who develop their research at the intersection between academia and business. The Network, which has 65 members and a coordinating team of 14 people, promotes networking activities, talks and connection spaces between current participants and already graduated doctors.
To close the event, Puigbarraca invited the new doctoral students to learn more about the Department’s offerings beyond the DI Plan, and specifically mentioned the R&D&I Networks program as a complementary resource of interest. He insisted that ” the doors of the department are open ” and encouraged participants to consider the institution as an active support throughout the development of their project.
The session closed with an extensive question and answer session in which the new doctoral students raised doubts about key aspects of the program: the functioning of the annual monitoring of the grant, the eligibility criteria for expenses, the requirements for obtaining the industrial mention, the compatibility of the grant with other funding, or the extension procedures – which are requested by nearly 90% of participants in previous editions.
The technical team of the DI Plan has given a detailed response to each of the questions, confirming the availability of the program’s contact channels to resolve any queries throughout the three or four years of the doctorate.
