PhD Program in Law, Society and Tourism

Training activities

Training in Social Research Techniques
  • Number of hours: 25
  • Description:
    • Justification. The main objective of this module is for doctoral students to deepen their knowledge and skills necessary to carry out data analysis in their own field of research, by using the most appropriate technical and methodological tools. This knowledge is important to enrich research designs in the different lines of the doctoral program, in line with the growing trend of current research in Law, Social Sciences and Tourism.
    • Content. Course on advances in research (research design, statement of objectives, hypothesis design and operationalisation methods, structure of research for the development of a doctoral thesis) and, depending on the disciplinary profile of the thesis projects, practical workshops on different techniques (ethnographic techniques, field work, survey design, content analysis, multi-site ethnographies, discussion groups and focus groups, expert panel-Delphi, use of specific statistical programmes, geographic information systems, analysis of projected tourist image, etc.). The Academic Committee will annually assess the implementation of specific modules for application to the research areas according to the theme of the thesis projects.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first four-month period) and will be recommended from the 1st year (2nd year for part-time students).
    • Learning outcomes. Learning outcomes. Students are expected to complete the learning of the capacities and skills to develop research designs, and to be able to use the usual tools in their field of study to carry out quantitative/qualitative analysis of the data from their own research.
    • Language(s) in which they will be taught: Spanish and English
    • Competencies: CB11, CB12, CB13, CB16 and CA01, CA02, CA03
  • Control procedures: The professors and technicians in charge of the course will issue a report on the active participation and use of the course by the students, which will be sent to the tutors and the Academic Committee. The thesis director, through the application of what has been covered in the course to the data obtained in the doctoral student's research, will be the one to evaluate the acquisition of the skills and the result of the corresponding learning. The student will receive written proof of his/her participation and use of the research courses and workshops, serving as a supporting document.
  • Foreign researchers or researchers from other national universities who visit our University in relation to the different research groups and projects linked to this Doctoral Programme in Law, Society and Tourism may contribute to this activity. For many years now, an international seminar called "New Trends in Social Sciences" has been held annually, which is of general use to most of the students in the programme.
  • The Doctoral Programme will encourage, as long as funding is available, students to carry out some of the training activities in other universities, national or foreign, and to participate in activities such as seminars and conferences that are closely linked to mobility.
  • Students who are part of one of the mobility and internationalisation initiatives that we are promoting (two ETN Marie Sklodowska-Curie initiatives to be evaluated in the near future) will collaborate in these initiatives and will be able to receive specific complementary training within these programmes.
  • This section should include, on the one hand, the grants financed by the Erasmus + programme, which provides for the exchange of doctoral students under the corresponding agreements with European universities.
  • It is also worth noting that for the Law research line there are up to 17 places for exchange of PhD students, with the following universities: Heidelberg (one place); Paris Descartes (one place); Athens (up to six places); Messina (four places); Foggia (one place); Padua (one place); Bologna (two places); Wroclaw (one place).
  • On the other hand, there is also an annual call for scholarships granted by the CajaCanarias Foundation to encourage the development and scientific and technical specialization of the beneficiaries, which is aimed at doctoral students. The rights of its beneficiaries expressly include the right to stay abroad.

Workshop on Information Search, Writing and Scientific Communication
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description:
    • Justification. The objective of these courses is for students to acquire a solid understanding and the skills necessary for proper management of the processes of searching, organizing, evaluating, and using academic and scientific information. Furthermore, the doctoral candidate is expected to deepen their knowledge and advanced use of information sources, as well as their use of tools that foster a critical attitude and enable a qualitative evaluation of sources, with the goal of incorporating the most relevant and reliable information into their research work. Furthermore, the goal is for students to develop the necessary skills to communicate their research results most successfully through scientific communication channels, paying special attention to high-impact scientific journals.
    • Content. The Library and Documentation Service of the University of La Laguna, the Vice-Rectorate for Institutional Quality and Educational Innovation, and the Doctoral Program will organize three monographic sessions during the first four months of each academic year on the 2.0 search for documentary sources, the organization and writing of scientific articles, and the accreditation criteria by the Evaluation Agencies. Although the specific content and speakers may vary in each edition, practical workshops on searching and managing scientific information will be carried out with the support of the Library from the Guajara Campus of the ULL and the Vice-Rectorate for Quality
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first four-month period) and will be recommended from the 2nd year (3rd year for part-time students).
    • Learning outcomes. Students are expected to acquire the skills and abilities to conduct meaningful, relevant, and discriminating bibliographic searches related to their research field. Students should also be able to adequately present research results in various formats. While the activity is recommended for all students, participation in specific modules will be calibrated based on their specific ability to perform each task, their experience, and the novelty of the teachings offered.
    • Language(s) in which classes will be taught: Spanish and English.
    • Competencies: CB11, CB12, CB13, CB14, CB15 and CA02, CA04, CA05, CA06
  • Monitoring procedures: The teachers and technicians in charge of the course will issue a report on the active participation and use of the course by the students, which they will send to the tutors and the Academic Committee, becoming part of the student's dossier. The student will receive written proof of his/her attendance and use of the workshops, serving as a supporting document.
  • Mobility: Not applicable in general. Where appropriate, we will seek the collaboration of national and foreign researchers with experience in this field who visit our University, and we will emphasise the need to delve deeper into these issues for people who undertake stays outside our University. If the ETN Marie Sklodowska-Curie initiatives currently in the process of being developed are successful, we will try to ensure that students on mobility attend training activities equivalent to this one at the host Universities, in order to complete their training in the most diverse way.

Entrepreneurship and Employability Workshop
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description:
    • Justification: This activity facilitates the transition to the labor market for students of the Doctoral Program, developed with the support of the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI) of the University of La Laguna, and the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna (FGULL)
    • Content. It contains optional practical workshops aimed at motivating and attracting entrepreneurs, creating companies and drawing up business plans, as well as activities for transferring research results to the applied field and protecting intellectual property. These workshops will be held as a forum in which professionals and experts from different sectors will inform students about the professional and entrepreneurial alternatives offered by the doctorate.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first four-month period) and will be recommended from the 3rd year (4th year for part-time students).
    • Learning outcomes. The aim is for students to complete the learning of the skills required to develop an entrepreneurial project; to provide them with direct contact with companies and institutions; to identify emerging professions and sectors related to their field of research; and to become familiar with the professional profiles required by the current labour market.
    • Language(s) in which they will be taught: Spanish.
    • Competencies: CB14, CB15, CB16 and CA03, CA04, CA05, CA06.
  • Monitoring procedures: The course managers will issue a report on the active participation and use of the course by the students, which will be sent to the tutors and the Academic Committee, and will become part of the student's dossier. The student will receive written proof of his/her attendance, which will serve as a supporting document.
  • Mobility: Visiting professors and researchers from other universities who participate in research projects in the areas most closely related to entrepreneurship will be encouraged to develop activities with PhD students. If adequate funding is obtained, student mobility will be encouraged so that they can share experiences from other universities in this field.

Seminars and Conferences of the Program
  • Number of hours: 20
  • Description:
    • Justification. This is an activity organised by the PhD programme in Law, Society and Tourism in coordination with the Master's Degree in Planning and Management in Tourism, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Social and Communication Sciences, the University School of Business and the Institute of Political and Social Sciences of the University of La Laguna. Seminars and conferences by programme professors and guest professors will be organised periodically, both on current research in the areas of knowledge of the PhD programme, as well as on possible theoretical, methodological or case innovations that may open or suggest new lines of research.
    • Content. This activity involves two complementary activities. On the one hand, lectures given by invited professors and professionals to present lines of work, advances in research and professional experiences in the different areas of interest in the Doctoral Program. On the other hand, a bi-monthly research seminar will be held organized by the lines or research groups in which the doctoral students will present either the results of their own work or a recently published research article related to their research topic; this is then discussed by all the members of the group.
    • Time planning. It will be annual (first and second semester) and will be recommended from the first year onwards for both full-time and part-time students. Regardless of the admission profile, attendance will be requested from all students enrolled in the Doctoral Program. Full-time students are expected to attend at least 80% of the seminars and part-time students at least 50%, coinciding with their stay at the University of La Laguna.
    • Learning outcomes. Being able to ask questions, express opinions and compare analyses with the results of their own research or those of other researchers. If necessary, participating in forums related to the lectures they have attended. Being able to discuss and exchange experiences and results and express conclusions, orally and in writing, related to the research carried out by themselves or by other members of the group.
    • Language(s) in which classes will be taught: Spanish and English.
    • Competencies: CB11, CB15, CB16 and CA04, CA05, CA06
  • Monitoring procedure: The Academic Committee of the PhD program in Law, Society and Tourism will supervise the attendance and use of the events by the doctoral students, requesting, where appropriate, reflective thematic essays on the dissertation attended. These essays will become part of the dossier on the doctoral student's activities in the Doctoral Program. The student will receive written proof of his/her attendance at the conferences or seminars held in each course, serving as a supporting document. This document will be issued by the coordinator and/or the secretary of the program.
  • Mobility: These seminars will take advantage of the arrival of guest professors, lecturers, visiting professors, etc. to offer a multiplicity of perspectives to the PhD students on the theme of the program. In the case that funding is available, student exchanges to other universities, or their attendance at seminars relevant to their research, will be promoted.

Research stays at other centers
  • Number of hours: 360 hours
  • Description: A stay of at least three months, to be completed in one or two visits, at another prestigious national or foreign center. The selection of the destination center and the most appropriate length of stay must be agreed upon with the thesis supervisor.
  • Time planning: Full-time students: during the second or third year Part-time students: during the third or fourth year.
  • Justification: Strengthening of basic specific competencies CB13, CB15, and capabilities CA04 and CA05.
  • Learning outcomes: Be able to integrate into a foreign research group and collaborate on its lines of research. Resolve specific questions raised in their research. Learn new techniques and be able to apply them to their doctoral thesis. Initiate contacts for future collaborations.
  • Language: Spanish/English
  • Nature: Optional, depending on the availability of resources for this action.
  • Control procedure: Pre-stay report, including: 1. Justification for the opportunity of the stay in the context of the thesis work, 2. The host group's experience in the subject, 3. Statement of the specific issues to be resolved, 4. Work plan, 5. Source of funding for the stay. Once the stay has been completed: 1. Report from the person in charge of the host group on the benefits of the stay, 2. Reasoned personal report on the objectives achieved and unachieved with respect to the proposed plan, 3. Presentation of the progress that the stay has made for the thesis at a research group seminar. The report must be included in the personalized activity log.
  • Mobility: Voluntary activity subject to budget availability. The funding planned for this activity comes from the university's own mobility funds, specific allocations from agreements and projects, and external calls at local, national, and international levels (see section 7.2: Estimated external resources and travel grants for conferences and stays at other centers). It is estimated that 25% of full-time students and 15% of part-time students may benefit from this activity. Without prejudice to the establishment of new collaborations based on objectives, section 1.4 lists some groups with which we currently collaborate and centers with which we have agreements (annexes) that include doctoral student mobility (see also section 5.2.4: Program Organization. Estimated doctoral student stays at other centers). The Internal Quality Assurance System will be responsible for the procedures for the correct development of mobility (see section 8.1.3).

Participation in Congresses and Conferences
  • Number of hours: 20 hours
  • Description:
    • Justification. Active participation in conferences and seminars is an important part of the dissemination of research results, promoting that the students of the Doctoral Program are able to participate in scientific discussions that take place at a national or international level in their field of knowledge and to disseminate the results of their research activity to all types of audiences.
    • Content. Active participation in national or international scientific conferences or meetings will be optional, but students will be recommended to attend at least two scientific events during the period of development of their Doctoral Thesis. The Doctoral Program will promote the presentation of research results through oral communications or, failing that, in poster format. As part of this activity, the search for active sources of financing by the doctoral student will be encouraged, providing information on the most common sources and giving instructions on how to search for less commonly used sources of financing.
    • Timeline. Starting from the second year (first and second semester). All PhD students from the second year onwards for full-time PhD students, or from the third year for part-time PhD students, are expected to present their research at these conferences through posters or oral presentations.
    • Learning outcomes: Demonstrate communication and discussion skills. Exchange results and compare opinions and judgements with other researchers.
    • Language(s) in which the courses will be taught: Spanish or another language that is relevant for participation.
  • Control procedures: The Doctoral program will maintain, through its website, a system of announcements of National and International Conferences with electronic communication to all students. Participation in conferences and seminars will be planned with the collaboration of the Tutor or Director of the Thesis who will select, together with the doctoral student, the most appropriate national and international conferences and may accompany the student in the process of preparing and revising the papers to be presented.
  • Mobility: The PhD program will maintain, through its website, a system of announcements of National and International Conferences with electronic communication to all students. Participation in conferences and seminars will be planned with the collaboration of the Tutor or Director of the Thesis who will select, together with the PhD student, the most appropriate national and international conferences and may accompany the student in the process of preparing and revising the papers to be presented.