SDGine, UPM’s programme to attract outstanding talent in order to achieve the SDGs

  • SDGine is a research and innovation action to develop transformative technologies and foster innovation for healthy people and cities
  • Financed jointly by the European Union and Spanish industrial leaders, SDGine gives 12 researchers the opportunity to complete International and Industrial Doctorates at UPM

“SDGine for Healthy People and Cities” aims to devise technologies and tools that contribute to accelerate the compliance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by tackling climate change and contributing to the needed social transformations in urban contexts. Through a world-class education and research programme, this European funded action grants 12 Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) the opportunity to complete Industrial and International Doctorates at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).

This programme seeks to train a high- skilled and versatile future generation of researchers to become successful, responsible and sustainable leaders in their fields. This action will provide them with the knowledge and skills to be able to embark on careers both in academia and in the private sector as well as become venture creators, while contributing to align policies and corporate strategies with the

SDGine is a 60-month H2020 COFUND project funded by the European Union under a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement. The action, with an overall budget of 1,952,640.00€, will run from 1st October 2020 to 31st September 2025. Half of these funds are provided by the European Union while the other half comes from the industrial partners who have joined this initiative.

This action enhances mobility between countries, disciplines and sectors, as it involves industries. Trained Early-Stage Researchers will become highly employable for future research positions in academia and non-academia worldwide, while our industrial partners will have a pool of industrysavvy, innovative researchers to shape new research fields. The whole program will also have an institutional impact on gender equality. Moreover, SDGine will have an overall high societal impact through the SDGs, especially those related to “Healthy People and Cities”.

SDGine candidates

The researchers will have the chance to complete a PhD degree with a 36-month employment contract which will be co-supervised by a UPM professor and a representative from one of the companies that are participating in this project.

The Early-Stage Researchers are required, in most cases, to have a STEAM background (Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture, and Applied Mathematics).

The selection and evaluation process will be open, merit-based, transparent, and based on international and inter-sectoral peer review. All applicants will be able to choose from a predefined list of topics including matching supervisors and secondments on a thematic basis. The innovation & entrepreneurship dimension of the PhD thesis projects will be enhanced.

UPM’s International Doctorate programme

UPM’s International Doctorate School offerss a range of 44 Doctoral Programmes. As the main Spanish technical university and a key source of high impact knowledge, it connects the participants with an innovation platform and a systemic approach, aligned with major international research programs in which UPM participates, such as different EIT projects and Horizon Europe Missions.

SDGine follows the Seven EU principles on Doctoral Training, contemplating the Triple-“i” dimension through: i) International secondments; ii) Inter-sectoral collaboration agreements with industry; and iii) Interdisciplinary PhD supervision.

The action is also aligned with the “Charter & Code” policies for researchers recruitment as UPM has received the HR Excellence in Research award. Moreover, the programme will provide excellent training in research, complementary and transferable skills (cross-cutting disciplinary seminars, summer schools, writing days…).

Asunción Gómez Pérez, Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Doctoral Studies
Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Doctoral Studies
E- mail: .img@.img
Phone: +34 91 067 01 79