Students must carry out a set of training activities to ensure the completion of the doctoral thesis within the established deadline.

Each doctoral student will carry out, with the approval and approval of his/her tutor-supervisor, an Annual Activities Plan (minimum 20 hours of training per academic year), as well as a New Training Plan (PLAN DE FORMACIÓN) (approach of the necessary doctoral training personalized for each doctoral student during the 4 years of doctoral period -full time- or 7 years -part time-) mandatory for doctoral students who have joined our Program from the academic year 2023-2024.

The Academic Committee proposes the following doctoral training activities:

1. Course on scientific research methodology and research in Business Administration and Management.
2. Specialized complementary training in other national and international academic centers.
3. Faculty research seminars
4. Courses of the Doctoral School of UCM
5. Faculty Ph Day
6. Workshop on research advances and results
7. Other Conferences, Workshops, Seminars, etc., organized by the Faculty, our PhD Program or other academic institutions.
8. Mobility: Stays in other universities or research centers of international prestige.
9. Mobility: Participation in national and international congresses, seminars, conferences and workshops.

1. Course on scientific research methodology and research in Business Administration and Management.
Objective and content: the objective of this training activity is, on the one hand, to acquaint the student with the objectives, competencies, activities, administrative processes and academic requirements of the doctorate in Business Administration and Management, and on the other hand, to familiarize the student with the current scientific methodology applied to research in Business Administration and Management. It basically addresses the methodological aspects of research oriented to the development of the doctoral thesis, focusing on the approaches of the different areas of knowledge.

Duration: 12 hours.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee will appoint the experts in charge of teaching this activity and will establish the criteria for its evaluation, taking into account the formative advantage shown by the doctoral students. The two main evaluation criteria will be: a) the completion of the tasks assigned; b) the degree of assimilation of the contents of this activity.

2. Specialized complementary training in other national and international academic centers.
Purpose and content: The objective of this specialized complementary training is for the student to acquire the necessary skills for an adequate management of the search processes and treatment of scientific, economic, or any other type of information necessary for the completion of the doctoral thesis. The following types of training are especially recommended. On the one hand, training in the search, organization and use of scientific information, through bibliographic databases, indexed catalogs of journals, etc. On the other hand, training in statistical techniques as research support tools such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, etc., as well as in statistical software, for example, SPSS, R, etc. The student will be able to carry out this training at the Complutense University of Madrid (among the offerings found in the Doctoral Program, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, or other centers) as well as in other national or international universities.

The Academic Committee has had the opportunity to validate the quality of the following online courses available at https://www.coursera.org/.

These courses will be considered valid for Specialized Training purposes.

 

Course	Supplier in Coursera
Understanding Research Methods	London SOAS University
Qualitative Comparative Analysis	Erasmus University Rotterdam
Foundation of Marketing Analytics	Emory University
Methods and Statistics in Social Sciences	Amsterdam University
Data Analysis and Interpretation	Wesleyan University
Diseño e investigación de experiencia de usuario	Michigan University
Value Chain Methods	University Illinois Urbana Champain

 

Duration: between 12-20 hours.

Control Procedure: The Academic Commission of the Program will carry out the documentary follow-up of the attendance, participation and use of the doctorate.

3. Research Seminars of the Faculty ofEconomics and Business Science
The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration organizes two cycles of Research Seminars each academic year in which doctoral students can learn about the most recent and relevant scientific contributions in the field of Economics and Business from both national and international academic speakers.

The program of sessions for the 2024-2025 academic year, which this academic year will be held remotely, can be accessed here.

Duration: 16 hours.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee of the Program will carry out the documentary follow-up of the attendance, participation and use of the doctoral student.

4. Courses of the Complutense Doctoral School (Escuela Doctorado de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Purpose and Content: The Doctoral School of the Complutense University of Madrid offers a multitude of “transversal” courses on different curricular and methodological subjects of the different doctoral programs of the UCM throughout the different academic years. To review the courses currently offered by the Doctoral School, please consult the following link.

For the academic year 2024-2025 the following training activities organized by the Doctoral Programs in Business Administration and Economics are planned, in principle:

(a) “Elaborating a Thesis: Tools and Strategies (All you Need is.... Ideas and Tools” (9 hours), proposed by the Doctoral Program ADE UCM, Prof. Dr. Elena Urquía Grande. Dr. Elena Urquía Grande.

Dates: pending

There are 35 places available.

b) “Introduction to R for Stata users” (15 hours), proposed by the Doctoral Program Economics UCM.
c) “Introduction to Qualitative Research” (10 hours), proposed by the PhD Program Economics UCM.
d) “Modern and practical econometrics for causal effects” (10 hours), proposed by the Doctoral Program in Economics UCM.

Duration: Depends on each course offered.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee of the Program will carry out the documentary follow-up of the attendance, participation and use of the doctorate.

5. Ph Day Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
Purpose and content: In this day organized by the Faculty, doctoral students have the opportunity to present the progress (in its different stages) of their doctoral theses to the public and a jury that will give recommendations and propose a winner and several finalists. All information regarding the PhDay in past editions and the next one in October 2025 can be reviewed at the following link.

Duration: Half day (4 hours)

Control Procedure: Delivery of diplomas accrediting participation and exhibition by the Vice-Deanship of Research of the Faculty.

6. Research progress and results workshop
Purpose and content: with the Research Progress and Results Workshop, the Academic Committee will annually evaluate the progress made in the doctoral thesis of each student. Participation in this Workshop will consist of an oral presentation where the student will indicate the training activities carried out during the course, the progress made in the doctoral thesis, the academic results generated (communications, articles, etc.) with their corresponding quality indicators, as well as a temporary planning of the activities to be carried out and the results to be obtained in the future. It is intended that this activity serves as training for the eventual defense of the doctoral thesis, allows them to benefit from the comments and suggestions of the professors and other attendees, and provides skills for the dissemination and publication of the results of the doctoral thesis in academic journals.

Duration: One day (6-8 hours). Scheduled for the beginning of July of each year.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee will ensure the achievement of the objectives pursued. In this task it will have the support of the tutors and directors who will have previously evaluated, according to the established procedures, the progress achieved during the academic year.

7. Other Conferences, Workshops, Sessions, etc., organized by our Faculty, Doctoral Program or other Institutions.
Purpose and content: Different “ad-hoc” training activities that are organized throughout the academic year, organized by our Faculty, the Doctoral Program or other academic institutions that the Academic Committee of the Program considers of interest to our doctoral students.

The Academic Committee, through the virtual campus, will inform sufficiently in advance of the different training activities that arise in this area.

For the academic year 2024-2025 the following training activities are being carried out:

(a) Research seminar “Breaking Boundaries: How Customized Executive Programs Transform Learning”, given by Professor Roy Campos (University of Costa Rica). Date: October 24, 2024. Time: 16.30 hrs. Place: Thesis Room, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (Duration: 1.5 hours).

b) Welcome to the Doctorate Program in Business Administration and Management 2024-2025. Date: November 5, 2024. Time: 16.00 hrs. Place: Thesis Room. (Duration: 1,5 hours).

c) Workshop on “Artificial Intelligence and Scientific Research”, given by Professor Luisa E Reyes (IA Director of the University Rey Juan Carlos). Date: November 28th. Time: 10 to 14 hours. Place: Aulla 114B, Pavilion Aulario (Duration: 4 hours).

Duration: Depends on each day, workshop or session.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee of the Program will carry out the documentary follow-up of the attendance, participation and use of the doctorate.

8. Mobility: Stays in other universities and research centers of international prestige.
The Academic Committee will promote doctoral students' stays in other national and international centers (from the academic year 2023-2024 they will go from being compulsory to recommended).

Purpose and Content: The Faculty of CC. The Faculty of Economics and Business of the UCM has established a large number of bilateral exchange agreements for students and professors within the framework of the Erasmus Program.

In addition to the exchange agreements of the Erasmus Program mentioned above, the Doctoral Program in Business Administration and Management will have the collaboration of several prestigious international academic institutions.

Duration and typology: Mobility activities are mainly of two types:

Short stays (one to three weeks) to make contact with specialists, bibliographic material and brief learning of certain knowledge or techniques;
Longer stays (one to six months) to develop parts of the doctoral thesis under the co-supervision and/or co-direction of a foreign specialist;
THESIS WITH INTERNATIONAL MENTION: Minimum duration of 3 months in the foreign research center.
Short stays may be preferable in the first year, at the beginning of the thesis, or in the third year, when the elaboration of the thesis is well advanced. Long stays are best placed between the end of the first year and the beginning of the third year, i.e. in the intermediate phase of thesis writing.

All mobility actions will require the PRIOR authorization of the Academic Committee, through the corresponding form.

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee will evaluate:

a) Before the stay:

1. Document of acceptance signed by the person responsible for the center of destination of the non face-to-face collaboration of the doctoral student with the research group. The document will state the work plan to be carried out.

2. The doctoral student will use the application form to request authorization from the academic committee of the program, providing the acceptance document with the work plan. The director(s) and tutor(s)

b) After the stay:

1. Doctoral student's report on the work done in collaboration, signed by the person in charge of the stay at the host university. The Commission will require the report of the doctoral stay elaborated by the person in charge of the institution where the stay has been carried out.

9. Mobility: Participation in national and international congresses, seminars, conferences and symposiums.
Purpose and content: Travel to participate in scientific forums, either as classroom learning or as participants with a scientific communication or paper. Initiation to the activity of scientific communication and dissemination in specialized forums, as well as building a network of academic and scientific contacts.

Duration: Depends on each scientific event (usually 1-3 days).

Control Procedure: The Academic Committee will control attendance, participation as a speaker and its use according to supporting documentation and positive report from your tutor-director.