Proposals for doctoral collaborations
- Co-supervision or co-tutelle around a research line, with mobility to at least two INGENIUM universities, a stakeholder dimension and INGENIUM training activities
IN ONE MINUTE
- Doctoral Collaborations connect existing doctoral programmes. No new programme or accreditation is created.
- Two academics from two INGENIUM universities guide a candidate together, through co-supervision or co-tutelle.
- Every collaboration combines four components: joint supervision, mobility, stakeholder engagement, and INGENIUM learning and training.
- Mobility to at least two INGENIUM universities is part of the model, with the format and duration adapted to the candidate and the doctoral context.
- Each collaboration is anchored in a Doctoral Ecosystem. Completing the agreed components leads to the INGENIUM Certificate, alongside the doctoral title or titles.
AT A GLANCE
| Who can apply | Academic staff at any INGENIUM partner university who supervise doctoral candidates, or who intend to. |
| Minimum | At least two academics from two INGENIUM partner universities, acting as co-supervisors of the same candidate or cohort. |
| Candidates | A proposal may name a prospective candidate or set a framework for future enrolment. Both are accepted. |
| Route and dates | Fast track: final application by 16 October 2026. Regular process: expression of interest by 13 November 2026, final application by 18 December 2026. |
| When it starts | Fast track activities can begin from February 2027. Regular-process collaborations are operationalised in spring 2027, with first activities in 2027/2028. |
| Funding | No fixed ceiling. Support is attached to the mobility, training, coordination and stakeholder activities included in the collaboration and agreed case by case. |
| Assessment | Relevance 3 + Quality 4 + Impact 3 = 10. Six points to pass. |
| Who decides | Technical and scientific review by the mixed transition group for research-based education, followed by endorsement through the governance of the Doctoral Ecosystems. |
Four components, one international doctoral experience
Every INGENIUM Doctoral Collaboration is anchored in a Doctoral Ecosystem and must include all four components below. The academic team decides how each component is implemented and how much weight it carries, according to the candidate’s research project and the regulations of the universities involved.
Co-supervision or co-tutelle
At least two academics from two INGENIUM universities guide the candidate together. The supervision model depends on what the participating institutions can administer.
Mobility across INGENIUM
Candidates undertake mobility involving at least two INGENIUM universities. The duration and format can be adapted to the doctorate, combining longer and shorter stays where appropriate.
Stakeholder engagement
Each collaboration connects the candidate’s work with society through a challenge, associate partner, knowledge-creating team, community of practice or public engagement activity.
INGENIUM training offer
Candidates complement their doctorate with activities from the INGENIUM training offer, including doctoral courses, transversal training, BIPs and other alliance learning opportunities.
If your idea is something else
Doctoral cooperation takes several forms across INGENIUM. Use the guide below to identify the right route for your idea. If you submit in the wrong category, the proposal can be reclassified rather than rejected.
| If your idea is… | It belongs in… | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Shared doctoral supervision across two or more partners, inside programmes that already exist | Doctoral Collaborations | This is the category described in these Guidelines |
| A new joint, double or multiple doctoral programme | Joint Programmes | A new accreditation process applies, endorsed through the Research School Regulations |
| A final thesis at bachelor or master level co-supervised across two partners | Collaborative Teaching and Learning | Collaborative theses operate at bachelor and master level |
| A candidate who has already found a co-supervisor and needs the arrangement recorded | The co-supervision route on the ecosystem pages | That route is individual and requires no proposal through this call |
| A training activity for doctoral candidates across the alliance | The doctoral training catalogue | The catalogue is built from the offer the partners already deliver |
| Research cooperation with no doctoral supervision dimension | Joint research groups and external research schemes | This call resources education, training and coordination |
A Doctoral Collaboration works around an individual doctoral candidate or research line, through co-supervision or co-tutelle, combined with mobility, joint training and stakeholder engagement. It does not require creating a new doctoral programme.
A Joint PhD is a new doctoral programme designed and delivered jointly by several INGENIUM universities, with shared academic structures and an accreditation process.
From idea to Doctoral Collaboration
- From 14 September 2026
Define the research line and ecosystem
Start with the scientific area of the collaboration and identify the INGENIUM Doctoral Ecosystem where it belongs.
- From mid-September 2026
Information sessions
Participate in the general info sessions and the sessions dedicated to doctoral collaborations.
- 16 October 2026
Fast-track deadline
If you already have a collaboration established, you can submit a final application through the fast-track route for Doctoral Collaborations activities between February and June 2027.
- Late October to early December 2026
Matchmaking
Find your partners through networking sessions across the ecosystems, supervisor lists and the CONNECT platform for your idea of Doctoral Collaborations.
- November 2026
Fast-track approvals
Communicated on a rolling basis.
- 13 November 2026
Expressions of interest close
The concepts received shape the remainder of the matchmaking phase.
- By 18 December 2026
Submit the full application
Regular process, for collaborations starting in the academic year 2027/2028. One application per Doctoral Collaboration, listing the proposal and the collaborations you intend to develop inside it.
- January 2027
Technical review and selection
Technical and scientific review, then endorsement through the ecosystems. Feedback to all applicants
- Spring 2027
Operationalisation
Scientific, academic and administrative preparation of each approved collaboration.
- Academic year 2027/2028
First activities
Mobility, training and stakeholder activities begin. Agreements are signed where a co-tutelle applies.
How your proposal is assessed
Relevance, Quality and Impact, scored out of ten in total. Six points are needed to pass. Assessment in this edition is light and enhancement-oriented: where a proposal falls short on one dimension but is otherwise strong, the feedback says what should be improved upon.
3
Relevance
Does it advance what the alliance has committed to?
- Strong anchoring in an INGENIUM Doctoral Ecosystem and contribution to its development
- Meaningful stakeholder engagement and societal relevance
- A strong research line and complementary expertise across the participating research groups
- Contribution to the INGENIUM doctoral training offer
- Alignment with European priorities across research, education, innovation and service to society
4
Quality
Is the collaboration well designed and realistically deliverable?
- A credible supervision framework, with clear roles and regular interaction with the candidate
- Realistic institutional and regulatory arrangements across the participating universities
- A feasible mobility plan, with suitable destinations, timing and sequencing
- A coherent learning and training plan leading towards the INGENIUM Certificate
- Attention to research ethics, open science, inclusion, multilingualism, accessibility and sustainability
3
Impact
What will the collaboration achieve, and what could continue beyond it?
- Clear prospects for continued cooperation beyond the funded activities
- Potential progression towards a co-tutelle, joint doctoral programme, joint research group or external funding application
- Broader and newer partnerships across the INGENIUM Doctoral Ecosystems
- Clear benefits for doctoral candidates and the number of candidates reached
- Educational outputs and contribution to wider doctoral cooperation across the alliance
The three dimensions are common to the whole call; the points listed under each are the version that applies to this section. A small number of sub-categories may carry a different weighting.
Funding
There is no fixed ceiling for a doctoral collaboration. Support is attached to the activities the collaboration includes, and the amounts are agreed with the partner universities during operationalisation. The application asks what the collaboration needs and for which activity, rather than for a formal budget.
| What is being funded | Usual source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Collaboration meetings for supervisors | INGENIUM and Next INGENIUM project funds | Staff mobility linked to the coordination of the collaboration |
| Short doctoral mobility and challenge-based mobility | INGENIUM and Next INGENIUM project funds | Never Erasmus+ KA131 |
| Long-term research stays | Erasmus+ KA131 or INGENIUM project funds | State in the application which source you intend to use |
| Doctoral BIP participation | Erasmus+ BIP organisational support and KA131 | Erasmus+ rules and reporting apply |
| Training activities and catalogue delivery | INGENIUM project funds or institutional resources | Subject to the rules of the university concerned |
| Staff compensation | Institutional rules apply | Whether staff time can be compensated differs by partner |
The separation between INGENIUM project funds and Erasmus+ KA131 is strict, and cost declarations are kept apart so that no activity is funded twice.
Fast-track application
For collaborations that are already agreed and can begin between February and June 2027. Submit the Final Application directly by 16 October 2026.
Submit an expression of interest
Start with a light Expression of Interest by 13 November 2026. You do not need a partner or candidate yet. Use the matchmaking phase to develop the partnership, then submit the Final Application by 18 December 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A proposal may name a prospective candidate or set a framework for future enrolment. Naming a candidate usually shortens the time to the first activities
Yes. Submit an expression of interest describing your research line and the kind of co-supervisor you are looking for. Your concept then enters the matchmaking phase. Also, you can use the supervisor lists and the CONNECT platform to find partners.
Use the regular process unless the collaboration is fully agreed and can begin between February and June 2027. The regular process is recommended because it leaves time for the administrative preparation that doctoral cooperation requires.
No. A doctoral collaboration links programmes that already exist and requires no new accreditation. For a new joint, double or multiple doctoral programme, apply under Joint Programme.
At least two, with no upper limit. Colleagues beyond the co-supervisors may join with a defined and lighter role.
A co-tutelle normally leads to two doctoral titles and requires a formal agreement per candidate, with a heavier administrative process. A co-supervision covers scientific guidance and leads to one title. Choose according to what the two institutions can administer.
The academic team decides. Mobility to at least two INGENIUM universities is required. For a candidate on a standard full-time doctorate, about a semester at the co-supervisor’s university is a sound reference point, and the team may set a range rather than a fixed figure.
The framework agreed by the academics sets the minimum, taking account of what the candidate already carries locally. At least two activities per academic year is a reasonable working figure.
The INGENIUM Certificate, issued on completion of the components agreed in the collaboration, alongside the doctoral title or titles. Individual components are also documented in their own right, as with the co-supervision certificate issued after a completed mobility
No. Fellowships and research costs are financed through national schemes, institutional resources or competitive research funding. INGENIUM resources the mobility, training, coordination and stakeholder activities around the doctorate
Useful Documents
Everything you need to design and prepare a proposal.
Talk to us
| UNIVERSITY | COORDINATOR | |
|---|---|---|
| UNIOVI | Jesús Daniel Santos | ingenium@uniovi.es |
| TUIASI | Irina Lungu | irina.lungu@academic.tuiasi.ro |
| UdA | Marcello Costantini | marcello.costantini@unich.it |
| Xamk | Eeva Kuoppala | eeva.kuoppala@xamk.fi |
| Skövde | Mikael Ejdebäck | mikael.ejdeback@his.se |
| HKA | Melissa Gruber | melissa.gruber@h-ka.de |
| MTU | Michael Hall | michael.hall@mtu.ie |
| Rouen | Ligia Livanu | ligia.livanu@univ-rouen.fr |
| UoC | Georgios Kossioris | kosioris@uoc.gr |
| MUS | Magdalena Kasnakova | m.kasnakova@mu-sofia.bg |
