The general provisions of Royal Decree 99/2011 establish the need for flexibility in the regulation of doctoral studies and promote collaboration between institutions such as the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), hospitals, companies, and foundations and universities in doctoral training, with the university being responsible for awarding the Doctoral Degree. Any graduate wishing to carry out their doctoral thesis at a research centre outside a university must be enrolled in a university Doctoral Programme. This requirement for university-based academic oversight means that general agreements between such external organisations and the university are not necessarily required, although agreements have been established with some institutions, such as the CSIC. In practice, the general provisions of the Royal Decree are fully reflected in the activities of the Programme. Almost 50% of the doctoral theses defended within this Programme are carried out at centres outside the UCM, such as CIB-CSIC, CIEMAT, IQFR-CSIC, and hospitals, among others. Indeed, this collaboration may be regarded as an indicator of the quality and prestige of the Doctoral Programme. In addition, this collaboration has been extended to research groups within the Programme working with groups at foreign institutions, enabling doctoral researchers to undertake stays at foreign centres in order to obtain the International Doctorate distinction.

UCM-CSIC AGREEMENT

In 2015, a UCM-CSIC agreement was signed to regulate the conduct of doctoral theses and training placements at CSIC Institutes, Centres, and Units (ICUs). This agreement was renewed in 2021, and the renewed version was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) No. 50, dated Saturday, 27 February 2021 (Provision 3133) (https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2021/02/27/pdfs/BOE-A-2021-3133.pdf). The agreement, which is valid for four years and may be extended for a further four years, establishes that the relationship between doctoral researchers and the CSIC is exclusively educational and training-based, with no employment relationship. It requires an insurance policy covering accidents, civil liability, and health, and allows for co-supervision of doctoral theses. It also defines the official procedure for requesting placement at an ICU, the obligations of both parties, the annual monitoring committees, and the funding of additional expenses by the UCM. All information relating to UCM agreements is available through the UCM Transparency Portal (https://www.ucm.es/portaldetransparencia/convenios).

OTHER COLLABORATIONS

Doctoral Programme D9BM formally establishes collaborations with other universities, research centres, and companies through the UCM Vice-Rectorate for Institutional Relations, the Vice-Dean's Office for Research and International Relations of the Faculty of Chemical Sciences, and the UCM Doctoral School (EDUCM). These are detailed below:

•  Educational cooperation agreement between the Complutense University of Madrid and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for the development of activities associated with doctoral programmes (see previous section).
•  Collaboration with companies for the completion of doctoral theses leading to the Industrial Doctorate distinction through the EDUCM: https://edoctorado.ucm.es/doctorado-industrial#defensamencionindustrial.
•  Exchange and Mobility Programme: https://quimicas.ucm.es/intercambio-y-movilidad.
•  Collaborations with European institutions through the ERASMUS+ Programme: https://quimicas.ucm.es/movilidad-estudiantes.
•  Cooperation agreements established by the UCM with a large number of foreign universities, enabling student and teaching and research staff exchanges. The UCM has established a procedure for processing bilateral agreements: https://www.ucm.es/convenios.

SPECIFIC AGREEMENTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

Different types of doctoral theses, such as theses carried out under cotutelle arrangements or those leading to an Industrial Doctorate distinction, require the signing of specific agreements or confidentiality agreements with the corresponding university or company, respectively. Some of these agreements and confidentiality agreements relating to doctoral theses carried out within this Doctoral Programme are listed below:

Agreements signed for theses under cotutelle arrangements:

•  Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland (2017–2022)
•  KU Leuven, Belgium (2017–2022)

Confidentiality agreements and agreements signed for theses leading to an Industrial Doctorate distinction:

•  Abvance Biotech Srl (2021–2024)
•  Altum Sequencing S.L. (2024–2026)
•  Eurofins Ingenasa (2022–2024)
•  HRC-Ingenasa (2017–2021)
•  Inmunotek S.L. (2021–2025)
•  Protein Alternatives S.L. (2024–present)