The Government opens the first call for industrial doctorate grants

The Government of Andorra has opened the first call for grants for the development of industrial doctorate projects aimed at companies, endowed with 144,000 euros to finance two projects. The edict, approved on September 23, 2026, and signed by delegation by Minister Conxita Marsol Riart, is published in the Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (BOPA) no. 111, dated September 30, 2026. Applications can be submitted until November 20, 2026.

The grants are part of the National Plan for Innovation and Economic Diversification and respond to the desire to strengthen collaboration between the research system and the Andorran business fabric. This is the first time the Government has promoted this line, driven jointly by the Ministry of Presidency, Economy, Labor and Housing and the Ministry of Institutional Relations, Education and Universities.

The State Secretariat for Enterprise, Economic Diversification and Innovation acts as the managing body, while the Research Area of the Department of Higher Education, Research and Technological Innovation assumes the functions of the technical secretariat. The applicable legislation includes the Regulation of the procedure for the granting and control of subsidies and public transfers, of July 12, 2000, and Law 14/2023, of July 3, the consolidated text of the Administration Code.

Economic endowment and purpose

• Global endowment of the call: 144,000 euros.
• Two grants of 72,000 euros each, distributed over three years at a rate of 24,000 euros per year.
• The amount is allocated to the company to co-finance the salary of the doctoral student, which must be at least 140% of the gross minimum interprofessional wage, and to pay the tuition fees for the doctoral program at the University of Andorra.
• Maximum duration of three consecutive years, with the possibility of a non-funded fourth or fifth year.
• Annual payments by transfer; the first will be made during the first semester of 2027.

Requirements and deadlines

The grant must be requested by a company legally established in the Principality, which will be the beneficiary. The main requirements are:

• To be in possession of the registration number of holders of economic activities and commit not to relocate the activity linked to the project.
• To have no outstanding debts with the general Administration, the parish council, or the Andorran Social Security Fund.
• To hire the doctoral student full-time and designate a tutor professionally linked to the company.

The doctoral student must have Andorran nationality or legal and effective residence in Andorra, have been admitted to the doctoral program at the University of Andorra, and not hold a doctoral degree. The project must be framed within one of the three priority verticals:

• Technology for life and health.
• Sport and nature as an innovation laboratory.
• Sustainable construction.

The deadline for submitting applications closes on November 20, 2026, and the resolution deadline is, at the latest, April 30, 2027.

Evaluation and support

The evaluation is carried out by a selection committee composed of representatives from the State Secretariat for Enterprise, Economic Diversification and Innovation, the Department of Higher Education, Research and Technological Innovation, the University of Andorra, Andorra Research and Innovation, Andorra Business, and the Higher Education Quality Agency of Andorra. The scoring criteria are:

• Suitability of the project to the company: 20 points.
• Involvement and capacity of the company: 25 points.
• Alignment with the verticals: 25 points.
• Merits of the doctoral candidate: 15 points.
• Merits of the company tutor: 15 points.

A minimum score of 60 points is required, and the call may remain vacant. Beneficiary companies will have access to an innovation support program, developed in collaboration with Andorra Research and Innovation, regarding the valorization of results, knowledge transfer, and protection of intellectual property.

The call opens for the first time a stable funding route for Andorran companies to incorporate research personnel in training and bring the results of university research to the market. For interested companies, the deadline ends on November 20, 2026, and all processing is done through the Government’s electronic office.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (BOPA), no. 111, September 30, 2026, section 03. Government / Aid, scholarships and grants, pp. 1-15 (official reference: GB_2026_09_24_14_31_05).