Science and
engineering are fundamental pillars on which the development of modern
societies is based. In
recent decades, fields such as computer science or robotics have experienced
substantial advances that have revolutionized areas as diverse as transport,
communications, medicine or social networks. Researchers
in the field of Systems Engineering and Information Technology contribute to
promote the process of research, development and innovation (R+D+i) in the
technology sector. They
also perform technology transfer tasks that benefit the industry and companies
in the area. Thus,
the training of researchers in this field is a key element in today's society.
The
goal of this PhD Program is the training of doctors who lead the generation of
knowledge and its transfer to society through the development of an
"original research" during the beginning of its research career with
high levels of quality, internationalization, innovation, recognition and mobility. The
PhD Program offers research training in the fields of Computer Science
and Systems Engineering, which emanates from the research groups, recognized by
the Government of Aragón, at the Department of Computer Science and Systems
Engineering of the University of Zaragoza.
The
research groups that support the PhD Program collaborate actively with
internationally recognized companies and academic institutions, including MIT,
Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, UC San Diego, U. Pennsylvania, Oxford, Imperial
College, ETH Zurich, KTH Stockholm, TU Munich, U. Freiburg, I. Max Planck, U.
Roma La Sapienza, U. Sydney, etc. This
activity offers PhD students the possibility of integrating themselves into relevant
research teams in cutting-edge areas, conducting research stays and developing
their PhD thesis in the context of research projects. In
the surrounding area there are also important companies such as BSH (Bosch und
Siemens Hausgeräte), and institutions such as the ITA (Technological Institute
of Aragón) or the I3A (Aragón Engineering Research Institute), which demand
professionals whose competences coincide with those of a PhD of our
program.
The
PhD Program in Systems Engineering and Information Technology is taught at the
University of Zaragoza since the 1986/87 academic year, serving as the genesis
of the current Department of Computer Science and Systems Engineering (DIIS). The
program was initiated according to the regulation of Real Decreto 185/85 and
has been adapted to the following regulations (RD 778/98, RD 56/2005, RD
1393/2007 and RD 99/2011). The
PhD Program in Systems Engineering and Information Technology MCD2003-00466 got
the Quality Award in the first call in 2003, and since then it has maintained
it with renewals in all the calls. This
program has also been distinguished with the Mention towards Excellence by the
Ministry of Education (Ref. MEE2011-0004).
Administrative
support:
Secretary of the Department of Computing and Systems Engineering
School of Engineering and Architecture
Campus Río Ebro,
C/María de Luna, 1. 50018 Zaragoza
Phone: +34 976 761949
Email: secinf@unizar.es
Website: http://diis.unizar.es
The students of the program acquire the basic competences indicated in article 5 of Royal Decree 99/2011 on doctorate. They are the following:
The RD 99/2011 highlights the high professional training of doctors in various fields, especially those that require creativity and innovation. Therefore, the doctors of the program will have acquired, at least, personal skills and abilities to:
The requirements for access to doctorate studies are set in RD 99/2011 and can be consulted in the corresponding Instruction of the Doctorate School (pdf). In general, an official Spanish Bachelor's and Master's degrees or equivalent are required, with a minimum global extension of 300 ECTS credits.
Candidates with university degrees issued by a country of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) may request admission directly (info). If the degree is issued by a country outside the EHEA, the application for access with a non-homologated foreign degree must be submitted (info).
Those interested can expand their information in the administrative section of the Doctoral School (web) or the administration of the program (see contact data in the program general information section).
Oferta de plazas: 30
Admission to the PhD
program of Systems Engineering and Computer Science
In order to start PhD studies it is required to be accepted by the Academic Committee of the PhD program. The student is required to apply for admission to the Academic Committee of the program, within the period established annually in the academic calendar. General information on the management of the admission process is available at the following link.
In
order to apply to the PhD program in Systems Engineering and Computer Science,
the student must submit the following documentation:
The recommended access to this PhD Program is for students who have completed a Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering, Computer Engineering or Telecommunication Engineering. Although the preferred profile is that of Systems Engineering and Computer Science, students coming from other studies may also be accepted, provided that they accredit Master's level education in at least one of the research lines of the PhD Program.
Selection criteria:
If
there are more applications than available positions, the weighting of the acceptance
criteria will be as follows:
•
Adaptation applicant profile to the PhD program 60%
• Academic record 40%
In view of the application for acceptance to the PhD program, the Academic Committee of the program will determine the additional methodological or scientific training required to be admitted to the PhD program, and if necessary, the requirement of meeting additional requirements, including, exceptionally specific tests.
Doctoral students, as researchers in training and students of the University of Zaragoza, have to formalize every year the enrollment with the corresponding rights to the academic tutorship while continuing their doctoral training. The enrollment period will be set in the academiccalendar approved each year by the Doctoral School.
As a general rule, enrollment will be done online through the Secretaría Virtual ofthe University of Zaragoza. Previously a personal identification number (NIP) and password will have been obtained in the identity management service. Face-to-face registration will be allowed to those who cannot do it online, by going to the doctoral school during public service hours. PhD students must submit every year in which they enroll, documentation about their previous studies, depending on whether they have been taken in countries of the European Education Area or outside that space.
Full and up-to-date information on the enrollment procedure, including key points, is provided on the website of the Doctoral School, as well as prices, discounts and insurance, legalization and translation of documents and some others practical details.
The procedures for the supervision of doctoral students are set in article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011, which regulates doctoral studies and the rules about Thesis (Reglamento sobre Tesis Doctorales de la Universidad de Zaragoza). The doctoral student admitted to the program has to enrol each academic year in academic tutelage at the University of Zaragoza. The Academic Committee of the program will assign a Thesis Director and a tutor, who may or may not be the same. The Thesis Director will be the person in charge of the overall management of the doctoral student's research tasks, of the coherence and adequacy of the training activities, of the impact and novelty in his/her field of the subject of the doctoral thesis and of the guide in other projects and activities where the doctoral student is involved. The tutor is responsible for the adaptation of the training and the research activity to the principles of the program and the Doctoral School and will ensure the interaction of the doctoral student with the Academic Committee of the program, the body responsible for supervising the progress of the research and training and the authorization of the thesis presentation of each doctoral student of the program.
The supervisory functions of the doctoral students will be documented in the Doctorate Letter which, once the registration is made, will be signed by the doctoral student, its tutor and its director, the program coordinator and the director of the Doctoral School. Those interested can expand the information on the thesis supervision in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.
The follow-up of the training process leading to the presentation of the doctoral thesis is carried out through the research plan and the doctoral student's document of activities. The research plan is presented before the end of the first year of enrolment and includes, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and the temporal planning to achieve it. The plan may be improved and detailed later and must be endorsed by the Director and the tutor. The document of activities is the register of all the activities -research stays, courses, attendance to congresses, or others- that the doctorate carries out from his enrolment until the presentation of the doctoral thesis. Annually, the Academic Committee of the program will evaluate the follow-up of the research plan together with the document of activities. The positive evaluation will be an essential requirement to continue in the program. In the case of a negative evaluation, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months. Those interested can expand this information in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.
Once the thesis is concluded, the doctoral student must proceed to deposit and defend it according to the dispositions included in the thesis regulation of the University of Zaragoza and its procedure (info).
Thesis dissertation:
pre-admission procedure
In
addition to the regulations and general procedures of the University of
Zaragoza, the PhD Program in Systems Engineering and Computer Science has a
regulation and an additional procedure for pre-admission to the thesis process,
which is as follows:
Prior
to its submission to the University, the Academic Committee of the PhD program
will evaluate the thesis dissertation. The
PhD candidate, with the approval of the supervisor, is required to submit the
following documentation by e-mail to the Secretariat of the Department
(secinf@unizar.es):
Once
submitted, the summary and contributions of the thesis can be consulted on the
internal website of the Department. The
rest of the documentation will be in deposit in the Secretary of the Department
so that any PhD member of the same can examine it.
This
electronic pre-deposit will be announced to the entire Department with at least
5 working days before the meeting of the Academic Committee that evaluates the
approval of the thesis dissertation. Any
doctor of the department may, through the members of the Academic Committee,
provide opinions, recommendations or suggestions regarding the thesis. In
any case, this meeting must be held within a maximum period of 10 working days
from the deposit.
The Academic Committee may:
•
Approve the submission of the thesis, of which the PhD candidate will be
informed to continue with the submission procedure.
•
Do not approve the submission of the thesis, of which the PhD candidate will be
informed in order to proceed, where appropriate, with the necessary changes
before starting the procedure again.
As
a general criterion, for a thesis to be approved, it must be supported by the
publication of a substantial part of its results in journals or international
conferences with peer review processes, or by expert reports on the thesis
itself.
The Doctoral School offers an annual series of voluntary activities for all doctoral students. This formation has a transversal and interdisciplinary nature. The offer is dynamic and covers the following formative aspects: communication (oral and written), access and information management, and skills for a future social and professional performance. Information about the activities, admission and enrolment can be found in the website of the Doctoral School (info).
Additionally, other formative activities of interest for a wide range of our doctoral students are disseminated through our web (info).
The activities presented in the following table will be compulsory, with the approximate duration indicated (for the total duration of the PhD), except the mobility activity that will not be mandatory, but highly recommended.
Program activities | Duration | Training objective and content | Recommended temporal sequencing | Control/evaluation procedure |
Courses, seminars, summer schools, conferences and workshops. | 32 hours | Acquire knowledge on specific topics. | The recommended time sequence for full-time students is 16 hours per year during the first two years of enrollment in the program. For part-time students it can also be done by distributing the activity during the years of thesis development. | Qualification certificate, attendance certificate or report of the supervisor. Registration in the Document of Activities of the Doctorate (DAD). |
Evaluation and dissemination of the research. | 10 hours | Collaboration in activities of evaluation and review of papers. Participation in activities of dissemination of research and presentation of results. | The recommended time sequence is to distribute the activity during the years of enrollment in the program, both for full-time and part-time students. | Registration in the DAD. |
Research Stay. | 3 month | Research stay in prestigious external centers to carry out some research activity directly related to the thesis or any other topic of interest for the PhD training. | The recommended sequencing is to perform this mobility activity during the second or third year of development of the thesis for full-time students. For part-time students, it can be adapted for each case for compatibility issues with their other activity. | Report of the activity. Registration in the DAD. The
stay must be authorized before it is carried out by the Academic Committee (Request
for research stay). |
Doctoral students enrolled in doctoral programs benefit from mobility aids established in various national and international calls. The calls for the Erasmus + program stand out.
In the Erasmus + Studies mode, doctoral students can choose a wide range of destinations, since most of the agreements signed by the University of Zaragoza with other universities include places for PhD students of all branches.
In the Erasmus + Stays / Practices in companies modality, PhD students access two calls: the one from the University of Zaragoza and the one carried out by the Iberus International Campus of Excellence for the universities that comprise it, the one from Zaragoza among them.
Other mobility calls are specifically designed for Latin American students and for international stays of students with predoctoral contracts. The mobility of doctoral students of the University of Zaragoza is also encouraged with cotutela agreements signed with foreign universities.
The Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza has rules and procedures to achieve its various goals, which have been written with the agreement of the different levels of the Doctoral School, and are published on its website.
The regulations section of the Doctoral School website contains other important regulations, both national and of the University of Zaragoza, such as RD 99/2011 por el que se regulan las enseñanzas oficiales de doctorado, el Reglamento de los Estudios de Doctorado (2012) y el Reglamento sobre tesis doctorales (2014).
Rules of duration and permanence in the doctorate are established in Instrucción de23 de mayo de 2018 de la Escuela de Doctorado relativa al acceso, admisión,dedicación y permanencia en los estudios de doctorado de la Universidad deZaragoza (R.D. 99/2011).
Full-time thesis should be complete in three years, from the date of admission to the doctoral program, although the Academic Committee of the program may authorize the extension of this period for one more year. Part-time doctoral students will have five years from their admission to the presentation of the thesis, and the Academic Committee may authorize an extension for two more years. Exceptionally, an additional year of extension can be added.
PhD candidates may request a change in dedication (full-time / part-time) as well as the temporary withdrawal for justified reasons of the Academic Committee. They can cause a definitive withdrawal and see their file closed in these cases: if the available time to deposit the thesis is exceeded or if they receive two consecutive negative evaluations of the research plan.
These processes are explained in detail on our website (info) and the doctoral students are told how to proceed in cases of temporary withdrawal (info).
The academic year is governed by the deadlines established in the specific Doctoral School´s academic calendar.
This calendar sets the periods of request for entry, admission to the programs, enrollment at the University of Zaragoza, as well as how the students must present every year the research plan and the activities document, deadlines for defending doctoral theses, etc.
The Doctoral School website publishes the calendar of the current course as well as the two previous courses (info).
To provide service to the PhD Program in Systems
Engineering and Computer Science, the Department of Computer Science and
Systems Engineering has a set of resources that are part of the School of
Engineering and Architecture (EINA), the center where the program is taught. Likewise,
most of the department's research groups that support the research lines of the
PhD program are part of the Institute of Research and Engineering of Aragón
(I3A). The
I3A has its facilities in the I+D+i building of the Río Ebro Campus which are also
available to the PhD Program.