In addition to the mechanisms for recognizing/counting tutoring/supervision work mentioned above, the University of La Laguna has established systems to encourage the incorporation of early-career researchers or faculty members whose research results do not qualify them as thesis supervisors, as these have not been validated by research merit assessments. In this regard, Article 10, Section 4 of the Official Doctoral Studies Regulations establishes that: "Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous section, a new researcher or a professor or researcher with a minimum of research experience who does not meet the requirements established to be a thesis supervisor may assume the duties of co-supervisor. In all cases, they must have a civil service or contractual relationship with the university or organization collaborating in the development of the program. There may be no more than one co-supervisor of this profile."

The goal is for these researchers/professors to acquire the appropriate level of qualifications to be able to join the program as directors when they meet the requirements established by the ULL in its Regulations.

Also, in the latest amendment of the Regulations for the Hiring of Assistant Professors, Collaborating Professors, Contract Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors at the University of La Laguna It is included in the corresponding scales, within the research activity block, as an assessment criterion having directed doctoral theses.

The requirements established by the Official Doctoral Teaching Regulations of La Laguna to be able to act as a doctoral thesis director are established in its article 10:

• Thesis supervisors must be PhDs and have at least one section of research merits recognised in accordance with RD 1086/1989. In the event that they do not have access to the assessment of these sections (associate professors, assistant professors and contracted researchers) they must have equivalent merits (accreditation of 5 relevant contributions according to CNEAI criteria). Alternatively, professors with three research merits recognised in accordance with the provisions of Decree 140/2002, of 7 October (BOC nº139, of 18 October) and having directed one thesis or co-directed two may also be doctoral thesis supervisors. In any case, both tutors and supervisors must be part of one of the lines that make up this programme.

The supervision of a doctoral thesis may be shared by two researchers. The inclusion of a co-supervisor must be authorized by the program's Academic Committee and is subject to academic reasons such as interdisciplinary research topics or joint supervision with researchers from other national or international centers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a junior researcher with a minimum of research experience who does not meet the requirements to be a supervisor may serve as co-supervisor. In any case, the co-supervisor must have a contractual relationship with the ULL or the center collaborating in the development of the program.

A professor may not supervise or co-supervise more than four doctoral theses simultaneously. This limit may be increased if the supervised theses result in more than two publications in journals included in the top two quartiles of the field's impact index according to the Journal Citation Reports, or if one of the supervised theses is co-supervised with researchers from other national or international centers. Conversely, if one of the supervised theses is defended over a period of more than four years, or has not resulted in any publications within one year of its defense, the limit will be reduced.

One of the priority short- and medium-term objectives of this program is to promote interaction between our doctoral students and researchers at leading centers. In section 1.4, we list the joint and non-joint projects we currently maintain with centers and researchers along various lines. These collaborations have resulted in several doctoral theses with European and international accolades in recent years, and we expect them to increase in the future. The regulations for the doctoral degree with international accolade (Art. 15 of Royal Decree 99/2011 and Art. 28 of the REODULL) require the participation of international experts in monitoring, preparing reports, and conducting evaluation committees.

• The REODULL (Article 20) recognizes the following rights and duties of doctoral students: common rights and duties of university students and specific rights and duties of doctoral students established in the University Student Statute approved by Royal Decree 1791/2010, of December 30; rights and duties that, in their capacity as students at the ULL, are recognized and result from the ULL statutes insofar as they are applicable to postgraduate students. In particular, they are subject to the following duties: to complete the training activities established in the doctoral program, to submit the work completed to the director in the format and within the timeframe previously agreed upon, to consult with the director before undertaking any additional activity to their training, to comply with occupational safety regulations, to include the ULL in all communications and publications in which the results of the research carried out are disseminated, and to comply with the ethical standards established by the university. The Commitment Document will include the unconditional acceptance by the doctoral candidate and director of the respective rights and obligations set forth in the REODULL, and will address aspects relating to intellectual property rights and the dispute resolution procedure, in accordance with the provisions of Article 22.
• In the context of the Doctoral School being launched at the ULL, a guide to good practices for supervising doctoral theses is being developed. Until its final publication, this doctoral program adheres to the European Charter for Research and Code of Conduct for Research Recruitment, embracing the principles of intellectual freedom, ethical practice, professional responsibility, transparent and efficient financial management of funds, shared responsibility of institutions in the appropriate dissemination of results and efforts in continuing education, and the role of established researchers in promoting younger researchers. Furthermore, the University assumes responsibility for ensuring that research projects comply with the methodological, ethical, and legal requirements applicable to animal research, the use of genetically modified organisms or agents, and human research, in accordance with Law 14/2007, of July 3, and Royal Decree 1716/2011, of November 18, regarding biomedical research and the processing of biological samples of human origin.
• Likewise, the ULL will guarantee the principles and rights regarding pluralism, ideological and religious freedom, non-discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, or sex, and equal opportunities, with special attention to people with disabilities (section 3.2.6 of this report), as well as confidentiality in the custody and processing of personal data of doctoral students in its possession.