Doctoral Program in Chemical and Environment Engineering 2022–2023




Introduction

The Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies of the University of Zaragoza was established as such on April 3, 1987.


Currently, the Doctorate in Chemical and Environmental Engineering is being studied, adapted to the EHEA according to RD 99/2011. The program includes Graduates in Chemical Engineering and Graduates in Chemistry, as well as by Graduates in Environmental Sciences and by students holding a Diploma in Industrial Technical Engineering. In addition, these graduates have usually completed masters related to Chemical, Chemical, Environmental or Materials Engineering.


 Justification of the need for the doctorate program:

 

This doctoral program responds to the need that both public research organizations and private companies have for personnel trained in research areas related to Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering. This includes within Aragon the University of Zaragoza and various areas of the CSIC (The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is a State Agency for scientific research and technological development, with distinct legal personality, its own patrimony and treasury, functional and managerial autonomy, full legal capacity and indefinite duration), and a large number of chemical industries or directly related to this sector (plastics, rubbers, paints, paper). It is also necessary to take into account the enormous current interest of all sectors (public and private) in the environment. The importance of research in Chemical Technology is evident if one considers that there is a specific area of ​​the State Research Agency (SCE), also being present in the pillars (challenges of society, industrial leadership and excellence) of the Horizon 2020 European program. The same applies to environmental issues, which represent a specific line within the European Union Cooperation program.

 

The existence of groups of recognized prestige within the University of Zaragoza and the Instituto de Carboquímica, which have lines related to energy and the environment, waste recovery, nanostructured materials, chemical processes, or water quality and treatment, is an excellent opportunity to train researchers in these areas.

 

This doctoral program completes the training of students who have completed Master's degrees related to Chemical Engineering, Environmental Technologies or the Development of Nanomaterials.


Program Objectives

The general objective of this PhD Program is the advanced training of researchers in the fields of chemical and environmental engineering and nanomaterials. This doctoral program completes the training of students who have completed Master's degrees related to Chemical Engineering.


It is intended that students obtain the necessary skills to direct cooperative research projects in national or international environments, both within the public and private sector sectors.


Outgoing Student Profile

The training received by the students of this program fully enables them to:

- Research in public technology centers.

- Research in private companies.

- Direction of research teams.

- Research management.


Contact

Academics:

To be agreed with the thesis tutor / director, contacting directly by e-mail or telephone.


Administrative support:

Secretariat of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies

School of Engineering and Architecture

Río Ebro Campus, C / María de Luna, 3. 50018 Zaragoza


Academic queries:

Email: mosteo@unizar.es

 

Administrative queries:

Telephone: 976761154 - Ext .: 841154

Email: sed5005@unizar.es

 

Program website

 http://iqtma.unizar.es/iqtma/doctorado

 

Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program:

 

 Coordinator of the Doctoral Program: Dr. Rosa Mosteo Abad

 Secretary of the Commission: Dr. Carlos Téllez Ariso.

 Member: Dr. Javier Abrego Garrués

 Member: Dr. Francisco Balas Nieto


 


Basic Skills

The students of the program acquire the basic competences indicated in article 5 of Royal Decree 99/2011 on doctorate. They are the following:

  1. Systematic understanding of their field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to that field.
  2. Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial process of research or creation.
  3. Ability to contribute to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
  4. Ability to perform a critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
  5. Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their fields of knowledge in the modes and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
  6. Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural advancement within a society based on knowledge.

Personal Abilities and Skills

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:

  1. Develop in contexts in which there is little specific information.
  2. Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
  3. Design, create, develop and undertake innovative and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
  4. Work both as a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
  5. Integrate knowledge, face complexity and formulate judgements with limited information.
  6. The criticism and intellectual defence of solutions.

Other Specific Program Competences



General Information

The requirements for access to doctoral studies are set by the RD 99/2011, of 28 January. In general, access to the programme is open to those who hold an official Spanish Bachelor's and Master's degree or equivalent, having passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in these two degrees.

Students with a foreign degree issued by a country included in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) may apply for admission directly (info). If the degree was issued by a non-EHEA country, the application for admission with a foreign degree that has not been recognised (info) must be submitted.

Interested parties can find more information about acceso and admission at the Doctoral School section and at the administrative office of the programme (see contact details in the general information section of the programme).


Interested students can obtain further information about


Program Specific Information

Oferta de plazas: 60


To access this program, prior training is required related to Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Chemistry or Nanotechnology. Previous studies in other engineering of the industrial branch, biotechnology, etc ... are also considered adequate depending on the work topics of the research group to which students are incorporated

In order to enroll PhD studies in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering program, it is essential that the academic commission of the program admits the doctoral candidate. For this, the student must apply to the academic commission of the program and request it within the period established annually in the academic calendar and according to the procedure established in the Official Bulletin of the State (BOA). In general, the admission to the Doctorate in Chemical and Environmental Engineering requires previous knowledge in at least some of the concepts of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies.

The admission criteria are established in the Title Verification Report. The knowledge required for admission to this programme is considered acquired in the following cases:

1. Students who access the program with bachelor's and master's degrees, or equivalent degrees directly related to Chemical Engineering or Environmental Technologies.

2. Students who have a bachelor's or master's degree directly related to Chemical Engineering or Environmental Technologies, and the other degree (bachelor's or master's degree) in the field of experimental sciences or engineering.

3. Students with degrees in experimental sciences or engineering (degree and master's degree) supported by a professor of the department (their thesis supervisor) who would elaborate a report in which he/she requests their admission and the need for that student´s profile within their research line. In any case, the Academic Committee of the Program may request additional attendance to courses for these students if deemed necessary.

For any other profile, the Commission will study the cases one by one, being able to admit students or not and establishing additional attendance to courses if necessary.

The Doctoral Program Commission may conduct an interview with the candidates. The personal interview will take place in those cases in which the applicant's Curriculum Vitae is not sufficient to determine whether or not the background provided meets the requirements for admission to the program.


Specific Training Activities

In cases where it is considered necessary, the Commission will establish up to a maximum of 12 ECTS of courses of the Degree in Chemical Engineering or the Master in Chemical Engineering of the University of Zaragoza, as a requirement for admission to the Doctoral Program.

Other aspects related to the management of the admission process can be found on the Doctorate School website (https://escueladoctorado.unizar.es/admisi%C3%B3n-en-un-programa-de-doctorado-puntos- key).


Enrolment Dates, Deadlines and Procedure

Doctoral students, as researchers in training and students of the University of Zaragoza, must register annually with the corresponding fees for the academic supervision of the doctoral programme while they continue their doctoral training. The enrolment period will be the one established for this purpose in the calendar of the corresponding academic year.

As a general rule, enrolment will be done online through the Virtual Secretariat of the University of Zaragoza, having previously obtained a personal identification number (PIN) and password from the identity management service of the University of Zaragoza. Those who are unable to enrol online will be allowed to do so in person by going to the Doctoral School Section during opening hours. For the first, second and subsequent enrolments, doctoral students will have to present various documents about their previous studies, depending on whether they have been studied in countries within or outside the European Education Area.

The website of the Doctoral School provides complete and updated information about the enrolment procedure including key points, prices, discounts and insurancelegalisation and translation of documents and various practical details.


Thesis Supervision

The procedures for the supervision of students on the programme are set out in article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011 regulating doctoral studies. Thesis supervision is also covered by Title I of the Regulations on Doctoral Theses of the University of Zaragoza.

Doctoral students admitted to the programme will register annually for academic supervision at the University of Zaragoza. The academic committee of the programme will assign a thesis supervisor and a tutor, who may or may not coincide. The thesis supervisor will be responsible for the overall management of the student's research tasks, for the coherence and suitability of the training activities, for the impact and novelty of the subject matter of the doctoral thesis in his/her field, and for guiding the planning and, where appropriate, its adaptation to that of other projects and activities in which the student is enrolled. The tutor is responsible for ensuring that the training and research activity is in line with the principles of the programme and the Doctoral School and will ensure the interaction of the PhD student with the programme's Academic Committee, the body responsible for supervising the progress of the research and training and for authorising the presentation of the thesis of each PhD student on the programme.

The supervision of doctoral students will be set out in the Doctoral Charter which, once enrolment has been completed, will be signed by the doctoral student, his/her tutor and supervisor, the programme coordinator and the director of the School for Doctoral Studies. For further information on thesis supervision, please contact the programme's administrative office (see contact details in the programme's general information) or the programme coordinator.


Student's Follow-up and Evaluation

The mechanisms for monitoring doctoral students are in accordance with the provisions of Article 11. Doctoral supervision and monitoring of RD 99/2011, of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral studies.

Before the end of the first year of enrolment, the PhD student must present a document that includes the research plan and the personal training plan. This may be improved and detailed throughout their stay on the programme and must be endorsed by the supervisor and tutor.

The research plan shall include, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and timetable for achieving them.

The personal training plan will contain a forecast of the different training activities to be carried out during the doctoral thesis (courses, seminars, mobility actions, etc.).

The activities document is the record of all the activities - stays, courses, attendance at conferences, etc. - that the PhD student carries out from enrolment in the doctoral programme until the submission of the doctoral thesis.

These documents, as well as the director's and tutor's reports, are managed through the doctoral management application, SIGMA.

The academic committee of the programme will annually evaluate the progress of the doctoral student in terms of his/her research plan and the activities document together with the reports that the director and tutor must issue for this purpose. A positive evaluation will be a prerequisite for continuing on the programme. In the event of a negative evaluation, the PhD student must be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months. In the event that significant shortcomings continue to occur, the Academic Committee must issue a reasoned report, after hearing the interested party, and the doctoral student will be definitively withdrawn from the programme.

Once the thesis has been completed, the PhD student must proceed to its deposit and defence in accordance with the provisions set out in the thesis regulations of the University of Zaragoza and in the procedure that develops it, available on the EDUZ regulations website


Transversal Training Activities

The Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza offers its doctoral students various transversal training activities focused on facilitating the acquisition of the necessary skills to actively participate in the knowledge society and to successfully manage in a complex and changing labour market. The activities in module 1, Communication skills, help PhD students to effectively disseminate research and its results and to share knowledge in an attractive way, both in writing and orally. Module 2, Scientific Information Management, provides training in searching, processing and managing bibliographic information. Module 3 includes activities that improve the doctoral student's readiness to manage in a professional environment. The activities in module 4, Research and Society, provide doctoral students with a space for reflection on issues of interest to participate fully and responsibly in today's diverse, digital and global society. Module 5 contains activities on instrumental or technical aspects necessary to apply cutting-edge research methodologies.

The training offer is completed with online activities for all G9 doctoral students, teaching and research training activities organised by the Institute of Education Sciences of the University of Zaragoza and with those carried out within the framework of inter-university and international Doctoral Conferences.

The complete offer for each academic year is published here.


Specific Training Activities

The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program has established that throughout the period of academic tutelage, a doctoral student must reach a total of 30 points by conducting training activities. The activities will be selected by the student, approved by the tutor and sent to the Academic Committee, which will approve or not. The main training activities contemplated in the program are:


- Section 1: Academic training:

o Transversal training courses organized by the doctoral school: Up to a maximum of 8 points / course, depending on the number of hours of each course.

o Sessions, courses or dissemination activities, related to the research process, scientific communication or doctoral activities, 1 point every 2 hours up to a maximum of 4 points / course.

o Other type of long-term regulated training. To be evaluated by the Commission up to a maximum of 10 points / course.

 

- Section 2: Congresses/Conferences attendance:

o Attendance to congresses/conferneces: national congresses 3 points / congress, international congresses 5 points / congress.

o Presentation of original work in congresses/conferences: Poster 3 points / congress, oral up to 5 points / congress.

  

- Section 3: Publications:

o JCR indexed journals: Up to 15 points / publication, depending on the quartile, position of the doctoral candidate in the list of authors, etc.

o Non-indexed journals: Up to 5 points / publication.

o Book chapters: Up to 10 points / chapter. Congress/conference proceedings are excluded from this section.

 

- Section 4: Stays in research centers different from that of the thesis:

o Less than 1 month: Up to 5 points / stay.

o Less than 3 months: Up to 7 points / stay.

o More than 3 months: Up to 9 points / stay.

 

- Section 5: Collaboration in teaching activities:

o Up to 10 points / course.

 

Due to the wide variety of possibilities present, the final assessment of each of those merits, including those not contemplated in this scale, will correspond to the Academic Commission of the Doctoral Program.

In the event that a doctoral student, at the end of the period of completion of his/her doctoral thesis, does not meet the minimum score required, a reasoned report will be requested from the supervisor/s of the thesis, which will be assessed in the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program.


Mobility

Doctoral students enrolled on doctoral programmes benefit from the mobility grants established in various national and international calls for applications. The calls of the Erasmus+ programme stand out. In the Modality Erasmus+ Studies, doctoral students can choose from a wide range of destinations as most of the agreements signed by the University of Zaragoza with other universities include places for doctoral students from all branches.

This mobility is carried out in accordance with the procedure Q-312_1. Procedure for the Management of the International Mobility of Undergraduate, Master and PhD Students.

With regard to the Erasmus+ Internships mode, doctoral students have access to two calls: the University of Zaragoza's own call and the one carried out by the Campus Iberus of International Excellence for the universities that are part of it, including Zaragoza.

Other interesting mobility calls are the Erasmus+ Short Mobility, the UNITA mobility, the external internships, those specifically aimed at Ibero-American students and those that finance international stays for pre-doctoral students, among others.

The mobility of doctoral students at the University of Zaragoza is also encouraged through the signing of co-supervision agreements with several foreign universities.


Research Lines


    Research Teams


    Academic Regulations

    The Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza has rules, regulations and procedures to facilitate the achievement of its various objectives. It is worth highlighting the Internal Regulations of the Doctoral School, the Instruction of the Doctoral School: Requirements for access, admission, dedication and permanence in the doctoral studies of the University of Zaragoza adapted to R.D. 99/2011. 99/2011; the Procedure for the elaboration of the Report on the Quality of Doctoral Studies and its different Programmes (ICED); the Code of Good Practices for the School and the doctoral programmes; the Doctoral Charter; the Procedure and model agreement to request the mention of doctorate industrial in the thesis or the Regulation of extraordinary doctoral awards. The aforementioned documents, drawn up with the participation and consensus of the various bodies of the Doctoral School, are published on its website.

    The regulations section of the Doctoral School's website contains other important regulatory references for doctoral studies such as RD 99/2011 regulating official doctoral studies, the Regulations for Doctoral Studies (2012) and the Regulations on doctoral theses (2014), both from the University of Zaragoza.


    PhD Duration and Their Management Rules

    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).


    Academic Calendar

    Doctoral activity in an academic year is governed by the deadlines established in the specific doctoral academic calendar. This calendar, which is approved well in advance, sets the periods for application for access, admission to programmes, registration at the University of Zaragoza, presentation by doctoral students of the research plan and the activities document, as well as the deadlines for the defence of doctoral theses.

    The website of the Doctoral School publishes the calendar for the current academic year, as well as for the two previous years.


    Learning Resources

    The work usually done by students within the Doctoral Program in Chemical and Environmental Engineering includes a high experimental workload along with theoretical or simulation work and bibliographic search tasks. To carry out these tasks, the Instituto de Carboquímica of the CSIC, the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies and the research groups make available to the students the resources necessary for their development. Specifically:

    - Laboratories: Each research group has the necessary facilities for carrying out research work by the students incorporated into their research lines. These facilities include experimental plants of different sizes (including pilot plants), analytical equipment: HPLC, XPS, GC / MS Chromatography, Elemental Analysis, TOC, Microscopy, XRD, TGA, FTIR, Porosimetry, gas adsorption, etc... The laboratories are located in the various University institutes to which the researchers of the program belong: INA, I3A, IUCA, Instituto de Carboquímica, and in the Research Support Services of the University of Zaragoza.

    - Software: Through the program the students will have access to licensed programs of large computing power, such as Aspen Hysys, EES, Chemkin, Matlab, WCEDEP ...

    - Access to bibliography. Apart from the general libraries of the University of Zaragoza and the School of Engineering and Architecture, the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering makes available to the students of the program a specialized library with a large number of books and scientific journals, as well as a institutional repository of doctoral thesis (see http://iqtma.unizar.es/biblioteca). Similarly, access to the main scientific databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science or ScienceDirect is available. All students of the University of Zaragoza are given access to these databases via internet.


    Regulation

    Documents

    Commissions

    Forms