The University of La Laguna and the Tenerife Island Council presented today, April 28th, at the university, the call for applications for the industrial doctorate program in companies on the island, thus adding greater value to the island's productive sector. This call, available at the web The island corporation's budget until September 15th anticipates the hiring of a total of 24 doctoral students for four years.
The aim is for doctoral students who accept this call to complete their dissertations at the institution's headquarters. The underlying idea is to foster a more knowledge-intensive economy by reskilling the workforce while simultaneously generating greater value and innovation within companies, which ultimately proves highly profitable. The objective, therefore, is to connect universities with businesses through the development of doctoral dissertations in the priority areas of astrophysics and space sciences, the audiovisual sector, sustainability, digitalization and artificial intelligence, the blue economy, energy, health and biotechnology, and connectivity.
The Innovation Councillor of the Tenerife Island Council, Juan José Martínez, pointed out that the University of La Laguna “is the main partner in the effort to transform the Canary Islands' production model.” This program enhances the value of doctoral degrees beyond the academic sphere, bringing them into the business world where they can propose innovative solutions. Furthermore, he added, there is no unemployment among PhD graduates, beyond the specific moment of entering the workforce. “The island economy already demands skilled labor,” he said, and this initiative is a commitment to consolidating the training of individuals in emerging sectors for the archipelago.
The idea is that at the end of the four-year term there will be a total of 24 industrial PhDs, a number that could be increased if there is greater demand, the councilor said, from both companies and doctoral students to take advantage of this initiative.
The rector, Francisco García, pointed out that the 1001 PhD candidates in the Canary Islands are trained at the two public universities. At the University of La Laguna, six theses have already been defended under this modality, and three more are currently in progress. He also praised the project's scalability, which allows it to accommodate more applicants.
The call for proposals is aimed at companies based in Tenerife and includes the possibility of the thesis receiving an international distinction, meaning that part of its development would have to take place in another country. A grant for research stays abroad is provided for this purpose. The Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer, Antonio Aparicio, stated that this initiative is very good news for the university, as it will further enhance the institution's knowledge transfer capacity.
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