Following the guidelines set out in Article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011, of January 28, which regulates official doctoral studies and as set out in the Regulations for Official Doctoral Studies of the University of La Laguna, the supervision of theses and the monitoring of each doctoral student will be implemented taking into account the following considerations:

• Each doctoral student admitted to the program will be enrolled annually for academic tutoring.
• Each doctoral candidate will be assigned a tutor and at least one supervisor by the program's academic committee. The tutor will oversee the doctoral candidate's interaction with the program. These assignments may be modified by the committee at any time, after consulting with the doctoral candidate, if justified reasons exist. This request must be made by the electronic procedure enabled for this purpose.
• Before the end of the first year, a research plan must be developed that includes, at a minimum, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the resources and timeline for achieving them. This plan may be improved and further detailed throughout the participant's time in the program.
• Additionally, and also before the end of the first year, you must prepare a personal training plan outlining the various training activities you expect to undertake during your doctoral studies. This document may be improved and expanded throughout your time in the doctoral program. It will be regularly reviewed by your supervisor and thesis advisors.
• Annually, the program's academic committee will evaluate the development of the research plan, the personal training plan, and the record document of the various activities carried out during the course, along with the reports that tutors and directors must issue for this purpose.
• A positive evaluation is a prerequisite for continuing in the program. In the event of a negative evaluation, the academic committee will issue a report explaining the reasons for the decision and proposing appropriate corrective measures for the next evaluation. If the evaluation is negative, the doctoral candidate must be re-evaluated within six months. Should a further negative evaluation occur, the doctoral candidate will be permanently dismissed from the program, in accordance with the Regulations on Dedication and Permanence in Doctoral Studies at the University of La Laguna (ULL).

Doctoral thesis tutors

Once admitted and enrolled in the doctoral program, all doctoral students will be assigned a tutor by the corresponding academic committee, a doctor with proven research experience, linked to the unit or School organizing the program.

Supervising doctoral theses

The CAD will assign each doctoral student, within a maximum period of six months from registration, a doctoral thesis supervisor who may or may not be the same as the tutor. This assignment may fall to any doctor with duly accredited research experience, regardless of the University, Center or Institute in which the student is enrolled.
to provide its services.

Doctoral commitment document

After formalizing the first registration, the doctoral student, the University, the tutor, and, if applicable, the director must jointly sign the doctoral commitment, which relates, among other issues, to the procedure for resolving any conflicts that may arise, to aspects related to intellectual or industrial property, and, in general, to the functions of supervising the doctoral student's research activity.

Doctoral Activities Document and Research Plan

1. Once the first registration has been completed, a personalized activities document will be issued for each doctoral student, where all activities of interest for the development of the doctoral student will be recorded, as well as the development of the thesis, for the purposes of review by the tutor and the thesis director and its evaluation by the CAD.
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2. Before the completion of the first phase, the doctoral candidate will prepare a research plan, endorsed by the tutor and the supervisor. This plan must include the methodology and objectives, the resources and timeline, as well as a favorable report from the University's Research Ethics Committee, in the cases indicated. This plan may be improved throughout the doctoral program and must be endorsed by the candidate and the supervisor.

3. Research plans that include experimentation with humans or with human biological samples, animal experimentation and the use of pathogenic biological agents or genetically modified organisms will be subject to evaluation by the Ethics Commission.

4. The CAD will annually evaluate the research plan and the activity document together with the reports that the tutor and the director must issue. A positive evaluation will be a requirement to continue in the programme. In the case of a negative evaluation, which must be justified, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within six months, for which a new research plan must be drawn up. If a new negative evaluation occurs, the doctoral student will be definitively withdrawn. In the event of these resolutions that do not exhaust the administrative process, the interested party may lodge an appeal, which will be resolved, following a report from the Postgraduate Studies Committee, the Rector or the person to whom he/she delegates.

5. For registration in subsequent years, a favorable report from the CAD of this personal activity document and the research plan will be necessary.

6. These documents must be registered and recorded in the Third Cycle Management Unit of the Postgraduate Center. It should be noted that the procedure used by the CAD of each university to control the activity document of each doctoral student, the certification of their data and the annual evaluation of the Research Plan is unique to this interuniversity Doctoral program.

From the above, it can be assured that there is complete traceability of the activity carried out by the doctoral candidate, supervised by the thesis director and the academic committee, as well as by the EDEP, since all of this is recorded in the computer application created for this purpose, under the name of Registration of Activities and Research Plan (RAPI).

Academic committee

The doctoral program has an academic committee whose members have extensive experience in research and who meet the requirements of the Official Doctoral Studies Regulations of the University of La Laguna.

Commitment document and good practices in research

The supervisory functions will be established through a written agreement, using the standardized template provided by the EDEP, signed by the doctoral student and the individuals responsible for supervision and mentoring. This agreement must be signed as soon as possible after admission and enrollment, and in any case, within a maximum of six months from the assignment of a supervisor and thesis director.

The commitment document, once signed by the parties involved, will be filed in the student's file.