A total of 241 students from around the world choose to study for their doctorate at the UOC

By Elena Mellado


The Information and Knowledge Society, the first online doctorate in Spain

First run in 2000, the programme was one of the first to be created in the field of research into the Information and Knowledge Society and the first doctoral programme given completely online in Spain. It is developed and run by the UOC's IN3 research centre, which sociologist Manuel Castells was director of until last September.

"Besides the innovation that the very programme signified, in the subsequent updates aimed at adapting it to current legislation, monitoring and guidance elements for students have also been incorporated to help them achieve excellence in the theses they are defending," explained Josep Lladós, current director of the IN3 and the doctoral programme.

The aim is clear: "to produce top-flight researchers," said Lladós. "A doctoral degree is the first step in an academic career. Some doctors have continued their academic career at the UOC, while others are pursuing it at other higher education institutions or with companies in Europe and Latin America. Many of them are helping disseminate their knowledge through the publication of articles in scientific journals."

The profile of the students is another of the programme's strong points. Every year, the programme offers places for distance learning and internships for studying the doctorate on site. A feature that stands out is the international nature of the students: over 50% of students come from abroad, and there are currently students on internships from Europe, the Americas and Asia.

The programme currently has 164 students enrolled and 73 theses have been defended since it began. The main aim is for its graduates to achieve the necessary skills to conduct research into the information and communication technologies from an "interdisciplinary perspective based on the relationship between the doctorate and the research work at the UOC in the programme's different fields and subject areas," said Lladós.

Krizia Nardini, an Italian student on the doctorate, explains that "after my studies in Italy and the Netherlands, I now have the chance to form part of the UOC's IN3. It's a great opportunity for me to continue with my doctorate in a stimulating, diverse and international academic environment. The UOC lets me participate in interdisciplinary discussions and establish an academic dialogue with my fellow doctoral students, researchers and faculty."


Education and ICT, one of the few e-learning doctorates worldwide

The UOC has also offered the doctoral programme in Education and ICT (e-learning) since 2010 and it currently has 56 doctoral students. It is developed by the eLearn Center (eLC), a research centre created by the UOC in 2009 to promote training, innovation and research in e-learning.

Albert Sangrà, director of the eLC over the last two years, explained that "it is one of the few doctoral programmes in e-learning to be offered worldwide. Likewise, the fact that it is at the eLearn Center research centre, and part of a pioneering online university like the UOC, means that it has been founded on the basis of the experience gleaned from the practice of e-learning. Through research in this field, we plan to offer significant advances in the near future."

The programme has three pathways: educational organization, administration and policies; teaching and learning processes, and technological resources for learning.

Elena Barberà, director of the doctoral programme, explained that "the programme offers the possibility of producing doctoral theses within the framework of any line of research linked to e-learning, from formal and non-formal learning to economics, health, technological innovation, science, culture, quality and more".

The results coming from the programme, to which a total of 21 of the centre's research projects contribute, are published in the eLC Research Paper Series and other international journals.


The doctoral programme in Network and Information Technologies

The range of courses for the academic year 2013/2014 is completed by the doctoral programme in Network and Information Technologies. This programme will consolidate the outstanding research already carried out in the IT, Multimedia and Telecommunications Department.

"The articles published in high-impact journals, the competitive call research projects and the over 40 doctorate-holding faculty with a wealth of experience in research and the ability to supervise new doctoral theses are proof of the value of this doctoral programme," said its director, David Megías.

The research lines and groups linked to the programme are structured around network and information technologies in areas such as IT security, distributed systems, open and decentralized networks, multimedia systems and applications, technological aspects of e-learning, information systems, and software and services engineering.

The programme focuses on technology, but it is cross-disciplinary, and the theses can be produced in any of the three subject areas: IT, multimedia or telecommunications.

The first call for applications was a great success, with over 40 applications from all over the world, 11 of which were selected. Today, the programme has 21 doctoral students, who are also taking part in the industrial doctorate initiative developed by the Catalan government. In fact, one of the doctoral students has recently been selected to undertake an industrial doctorate in collaboration with a company.


Creation of the Doctoral School

The UOC has opened the Doctoral School, directed by David Megías, this year with the aim of organizing its doctoral-level teaching. Through its doctoral programmes, the UOC aims to train doctors skilled in their fields of knowledge and able to conduct competitive research projects arising from and benefitting society in general.