It is important that PhD students carry out their activities in an international framework, with the support of thesis supervisors and tutors and the International Doctorate School itself.
Many activities contribute to the internationalisation of the PhD programme. They all increase the prestige of the PhD programme and enhance the competencies and competitiveness of the PhD student. The most relevant are listed below:
1. International publications
Publication in indexed journals of international prestige allows for the recognition of research results by the international community, and makes PhD students aware of the need to submit research results to external assessment. These publications will be included in the student’s CV, and will be considered as a merit in competitions, calls for applications and job offers.
2. Attendance at international conferences
PhD student attendance at international conferences enables direct communication with the scientific community and helps them gain confidence and experience, as well as facilitating international collaborations.
3. Participation of international professors/researchers
The participation of professors/researchers of recognised international prestige facilitates international collaboration and can contribute a different vision to the PhD student’s research. These professors may form part of the teaching staff of the PhD programme, may co-supervise PhD theses, or be a part of the thesis examination boards.
Alternatives for financing this participation are summarised below:
- Own Teaching Plan Support for PhD training
- Own Research Plan: Financial aid for the international mobility of research staff (modality C: placements in Univ. Sev) and Visiting Professors
- The Univ. Sev. finances the attendance of international experts as members of PhD thesis examination boards that opt for international mention or co-supervision
- Based on the agreements between the Univ. Sev. and Fundación Carolina, the latter finances researcher mobility programmes between the Univ. Sev. and Brazilian universities (in both directions), short placements for Portuguese professors at the Univ. Sev. and short post-doctoral placements for researchers from Latin American universities at the Univ. Sev. For more information, visit the Fundación Carolina website.
- The AUIP (Ibero-American Association of Postgraduate Universities) finances mobility between the Univ. Sev. and partner universities (in both directions) as well as post-PhD placements at the Univ. Sev. More information on the AUIP website
4. International students in PhD programmes
In the 2019-20 academic year, the percentage of international students in Univ. Sev. PhD programmes was 20%. Although this number is higher than in previous years, there is room for improvement.
In recent years, the University of Seville has signed agreements with institutions financing grants for PhD studies. These include:
- CONACYT (Mexico),for the co-financing of pre-doctoral grants for Mexican students. Click here for more information
- Fundación Carolina, for the co-financing of pre-doctoral grants for Latin-American students. Click here for more information
- The AUIP, for the Iberoamerican Postgraduate Course in Communication
The Innovative Training Networks (ITN) action of the European Commission (Marie-Curie Programme) also aims to train a new generation of pre-doctoral researchers who are creative, innovative and entrepreneurial, capable of transforming their ideas into products and services with economic and social benefits
This action finances joint training and/or PhD programmes implemented by an international network of public and private institutions. There are three types of networks:
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European Training Networks (ETN): a network of at least three independent entities from three different EU Member States or associated countries. There are no consortium requirements, but a size of 6-10 partners is estimated and it is recommended that they be from the academic and non-academic sectors, to be able to offer cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary training. It is the action with the largest budget within the ITNs.
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European Industrial Doctorates (EID): a network of at least two independent entities from two different member or associate countries and two different sectors. At least one of them must be an academic institution (e.g. university) and one must be a non-academic institution (e.g. business sector, preferably an SME). Each participating researcher must be registered in a PhD programme and spend at least 50% of their time in non-academic institutions.
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European Joint Doctorates (EJD): a network of at least three independent entities from three different member or associated countries for the creation of joint PhD programmes. Members of the network must be academic institutions with the capacity to award PhD degrees, although non-academic institutions may also participate. The network must be able to award joint, double or multiple PhD degrees extended by institutions in at least two different countries, mainly within Europe.
Finally, the Co-Fund action of the European Commission’s Marie-Curie programme finances pre-doctoral and post-doctoral grants. In this case, the applicant is a single university, and there is a co-financing obligation.
5. International placements
In addition to the mobility grants associated with FPU (University teacher training), FPI (Research staff training) and PIF (Pre-doctoral) contracts, PhD students, as such, are eligible for most of the mobility grants for Univ. Sev. students, both for studies and internships.
For more information, please refer to the international mobility website of the Univ. Sev. where you can also find information on external mobility grants.
6. International Mention in PhD Degree
To be eligible for this mention, you need to meet the following requirements:
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A minimum placement of three months outside Spain and in a country other than the student’s country of habitual residence
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Part of the PhD thesis, at least the abstract and conclusions, written and defended in one of the usual languages for scientific communication
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Thesis peer-reviewed by at least two international PhD graduate experts
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At least one international expert on the thesis examination board.
For more information, click here
7. PhD thesis under international joint supervision
To be eligible for this mention, you need to meet the following requirements
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An agreement between the University of Seville and a foreign university, within the framework of the PhD thesis.
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PhD thesis supervised by two or more PhDs, at least one of whom belongs to the University of Seville and the other to a foreign university.
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A minimum stay of six months in the institution with which the co-supervision agreement is established.
For more information, click here.
The University of Seville has signed framework co-supervision agreements with Universities of international prestige, which include a description of the general framework of collaboration between the two institutions for co-supervision. This type of agreement facilitates subsequent specific agreements for each student. A few examples include those signed with the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), the Federico Santamaría Technical University (Chile), the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Victor Perez Escolano International Curriculum (Architecture) and the Villard d'Honnecourt International Agreement (Architecture).
8. International Mentor Programmes
The Univ. Sev. is associated with the IMFHAE (International Mentoring Foundation For The Advancement Of Higher Education). This is a network of highly qualified professionals affiliated to internationally renowned organisations who provide personalised career counselling to our PhD students.