Doctoral Programme in Bioinformática / Bioinformàtics (interuniversitary: UAB, UB, UdG, UdL, UVic-UCC, UPC, URV, UOC)

Study plan

Depending on what studies the doctoral student has already completed, and whether or not they have obtained initiation to research credits in an official postgraduate course, it may be deemed appropriate for them to take bridging courses. These bridging courses are made up of courses already existing in the University's official postgraduate programmes. In the event a doctoral student is assigned bridging courses as part of their study plan, they shall have to take these courses and pass them during their first academic year.

Formative activities:

Competencies development aimed at communication and dissemination of research
Basic level. (OBLIGATORY)

No. of hours: 36

Every year, each of the Programme's Selection and Monitoring Committees organize follow-up workshops, holding sessions to meet with all the doctoral students who started together in the same year. These workshops shall also be used to develop students' competencies in relation to how they communicate their research, something that will be the object of special attention during the presentations.

The workshops will be held at one of the participating universities, on a rotational basis, meaning students shall have to travel. In some cases where justification is provided (eg stays or residence abroad), the doctoral student may have the option of engaging in the follow-up activity by video conference. However, during the thesis it is obligatory to perform at least one follow-up session in person.

Attending working doctoral groups
(OBLIGATORY)

No. of hours: 48

Every year, the doctoral programme organizes a scientific workshop lasting one day. Each doctoral student must participate in at least two of these workshops, and must present a poster. The objective of the workshops is to expound the state of thesis project research processes in their initial, central and final stages, presenting works and sharing them for discussion. The sessions are always organized in 3 levels:

INITIAL: Conceptual starting points and complete research plan

CENTRAL: Methodologies used and methodological problems needing solving

FINAL: Expected results and results already obtained

The workshops will follow a standard format, with oral presentations and two sessions (morning and afternoon) for posters. The language for the workshop will be that of the Programme (English). In advance, doctoral students must send a summary to the Academic Committee, from which talks lasting 20 minutes (plus 10 minutes discussion) will be selected for each of the 3 levels mentioned.

This is an activity that allows for the sharing of students' experiences at three crucial moments in the development of their studies, and provides those running the programme with a clear idea about the evolution of each student's ¿ its direction, its level, and the pace at which the research is progressing.

The workshops will be held at one of the participating universities, on a rotational basis, meaning students shall have to travel. The exception to this is international online students, whose participation in the workshops can also be online.

Attending seminars or conferences given by experts from the same field
(OBLIGATORY)

No. of hours: 9

The Doctoral Programme organizes a series of scientific seminars, which take place about once every 2 months (4 seminars per academic year). The goal is to improve students' knowledge on subject areas related to their research for their doctoral thesis. Each doctoral student must attend at least 3 of these seminars per academic year, over the course of 3 academic years. The seminars will be led by internationally respected researchers, and will focus on the topics covered by the Programme.

The sessions will be held at one of the participating universities, meaning students shall have to travel. The exception to this is international online students, whose participation in the seminars can also be online.

Making a presentation (oral or a poster) at a national or international conference
(OBLIGATORY)

No. of hours: 100

Presentation and discussion of the research you have carried out, in front of an audience who are well-versed in the topic in question, can be one of the best ways of learning about and improving your research work. As such, the context of an international conference dedicated specifically to the subject area in which a doctoral student is developing their thesis, attended by researchers who are well-respected in their field, represents an essential test in the completion of the future researcher's training.

The doctoral programme therefore proposes that students participate in an scientific event such as an international conference or workshop, where they can present the results of their research and receive comments or criticisms from specialist researchers of renown in their field, while also participating in discussions and commenting/reflecting on the main questions in their subject area.

The nature of this task requires that their work be at a well-defined stage, so students will need to have reached an advanced stage in their thesis. This activity will be supervised and guided by the thesis tutor or director.

Production of a research paper, sent to an impactful journal
(OBLIGATORY)

No. of hours: 500

The student's most significant results are to be presented in the form of a scientific paper.

As part of the production of a doctoral thesis and as a key element in the training and development of future researchers, it is particularly important to devote special attention to the capacity of doctoral degree programme students to optimally develop their scientific work, in both its form and its content, in alignment with the international research community. It is therefore essential that they understand the means, mechanisms, tools, presentation strategies, formal strategies, and standard requirements for the publication of a research paper in an indexed journal.

Given that papers are very often the number one instrument used in research today, it is considered to be of paramount importance that, before obtaining their doctoral degree, students have the experience of writing at least one scientific paper for publication in an indexed journal.

This activity is to be performed as the student is arriving towards the completion of their experimental work, when they have obtained results that can steer their scientific publication.

Research stays in national or foreign centers, public or private
(OPTIONAL)

In order to obtain the International Doctoral Research Component, during the period of training necessary to obtain the title of doctor, a minimum stay of three months must be made outside the Spanish State in a prestigious higher education institution or research center, in that they have studied or done research. The stay and activities must be endorsed by the thesis supervisor and authorized by the academic committee, and must be incorporated into the document of activities of the PhD student. This stay can be fragmented, provided that the total time is equal to or greater than three months, but must have been done in the same institution. The training period is considered from admission to the PhD programme. The Programme will encourage these international stays, so that even if they are optional, they will be carried out by a majority of PhD students.

General requirements

For admission to this doctoral programme, candidates must meet the general requirements set by the University as well as the specific requirements of the programme.

First, they must prove the meet one of the following requirements:

• They hold an official Spanish bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and university master's degree, or equivalent, and have passed at least 300 ECTS credits in these two degrees.
• They hold an official Spanish university degree, corresponding to previous university education systems, and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in these official university studies, of which at least 60 must correspond to a master's degree.
• They hold an official university degree from a country included in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that gives entitlement to admission to official master's degree courses, and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in these official university studies, of which at least 60 must correspond to a master's degree.
• They hold an official Spanish bachelor's degree whose duration, pursuant to EU regulations, is at least 300 ECTS credits. In this case, the student must obligatorily take the specific bridging courses, unless the corresponding doctoral programme includes research training credits, equivalent in formative value to the research credits from master's degree courses.
• They hold an official university degree and, subject to prior obtainment of a training place in the appropriate entrance examination for specialized health training places, have completed with a favourable assessment at least two years of training in a programme to obtain the official qualification for any of the Health Sciences specializations.
• They hold an official university degree from a non-EHEA country, without need for official recognition, subject to verification that the level of training is equivalent to that of an official Spanish university master's degree and gives entitlement to admission to doctoral studies in the country awarding the degree.
• They hold a Spanish doctorate obtained in accordance with previous university systems.
• Pre-EHEA graduates, architects or engineers who also hold the advanced studies diploma (DEA), obtained in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 778/1998, of 30 April, or have achieved the research proficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/1985, of 23 January.
• They hold an official university degree that has obtained the equivalent of level 3 in the Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher Education (MECES), in accordance with the procedure set forth in Royal Decree 967/2014, of 21 November, establishing the requirements and procedure for the official recognition and declaration of equivalence for qualifications and at official university academic level and for the validation of foreign higher education studies, and the procedure for determining the correspondence with the levels of the MECES of the official qualifications of architect, engineer, pre-EHEA graduate, foundation degree holder or diploma holder.

If the candidate has not passed the credits required for admission to a university master's degree, they shall have to take the bridging courses that are specified by the Programme.

If the candidate holds only an official university bachelor's degree whose duration, pursuant to EU regulations, is 300 ECTS credits or they have not passed the credits required for admission to a university master's degree, permission to continue the doctoral programme is conditional upon passing the bridging courses that correspond to the module, study plan or initiation to research courses in the corresponding learning period.

Students must have appropriate knowledge for the concepts and basic tools used when carrying out competitive research in the field of bioinformatics. As such, the main and prioritised path for access to this Programme is completion of a master's degree focusing on research into one of the disciplines that make up the interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics.

The only alternative path is for for students who have not completed a master's degree but have completed a bachelor's degree of 300 ECTS credits or more (not including research credits) in one of the disciplines that make up the interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics, who may access the Programme on the condition of taking 30 ECTS credits of a master's degree in Bioinformatics taught at one of the universities jointly responsible for the Programme (see section 3.4), during their first year.

The Programme's vehicular language is English, thus another access requirement is to demonstrate a level of English equivalent to level B2 or upper intermediate independent user under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. For candidates with no accreditation of their level of English, this will be evaluated by the Selection and Monitoring Committee during the interview.

According to Decree 822/202, of September 28, students with a disability equal to 33% or more have a reservation of 5% of the places.