Madrid grants 48 industrial doctorate grants and places another 44 on reserve

The Community of Madrid has resolved the 2025 call for industrial doctorate grants with 48 projects awarded and a reserve list of 44 applications, while the remainder were denied for failing to reach the required 60 points. The decision was signed by the Minister of Education, Science, and Universities, Mercedes Zarzalejo Carbajo, via Order 4582/2026, of October 23, published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID (B.O.C.M.) no. 269, corresponding to Monday, November 9, 2026.

The resolution culminates a procedure initiated with the regulatory bases established by Order 2785/2024, of June 23, and with the call approved by Order 6167/2025, of December 26, an extract of which was published in the B.O.C.M. on March 20, 2026. The granting body is the head of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Universities, in accordance with Decree 248/2023, of October 11, and the order is issued upon the proposal of the Directorate General for Research and Technological Innovation, following the proposal of the Selection Committee meeting on July 9, 2026, and the minutes of August 21, 2026.

48 projects awarded and 44 applicants on reserve

Annex I lists the 48 beneficiary projects, each consisting of a pair formed by an academic entity and a company. The distribution by contracting organization is as follows:

• State Agency Spanish National Research Council (CSIC): 9 projects.
• Complutense University of Madrid and Polytechnic University of Madrid: 7 each.
• Autonomous University of Madrid and Rey Juan Carlos University: 5 each.
• Carlos III University of Madrid and IMDEA Energy Foundation: 4 each.
• Biomedical Research Foundation of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital: 2.
• IMDEA Nutrition Foundation, University of Alcalá, San Pablo CEU University, Francisco de Vitoria University, and Biomedical Research Foundation of the La Paz University Hospital: 1 each.

Among the projects with the highest funding are IND2025/BMD-36642 (CSIC and Abvance Biotech S.R.L.), IND2025/IND-36674 (Polytechnic University of Madrid and Lasing S.A), and IND2025/AMB-36596 (Carlos III University of Madrid and Técnicas Reunidas Internacional S.A), with 90,000 euros for the academic part and between 60,000 and 75,000 for the company.

Annex II contains the reserve list, ordered by score and activatable only in the event of a beneficiary’s withdrawal. It includes 44 applications, such as IND2025/IND-36622 (CSIC and 2Eyes Vision S.L.), IND2025/HUM-36612 (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Lengua de Trapo S.L.), or IND2025/SOC-36650 (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Teletaxi Call Center S.A.). Admissible applications that do not appear in either of the two annexes are considered denied as they did not reach the 60 points provided for in the sixteenth provision, point 4 of Order 6167/2025, of December 26.

Minimum salary of 25,000 euros and three-year contract

The order details the labor conditions to be assumed by the beneficiary companies:

• The doctoral student will be hired by the beneficiary company, which acts as the employing entity.
• The minimum gross salary will be 25,000 euros per year.
• The contract will be an employment contract, full-time, with a minimum duration of three years, and incompatible with the validity of any other employment contract.
• The contract must be signed within 30 days from the day following the publication of the order; for non-EU citizens, the period is extended to three months.
• Incorporation into the company will occur within 15 days following the signing of the contract.
• The company will send a copy of the contract to the General Directorate of Research and Technological Innovation within 10 business days, and the academic entity will communicate the name and DNI or NIE of the doctoral student within the same period.

7.4 million over three annual installments

The funding amounts to 7,418,012.26 euros charged to sub-concept 79002 of program 466A, divided into 2,487,022.73 euros in the first year, 2,465,123.19 euros in the second, and 2,465,866.34 euros in the third. In each fiscal year, the amount is divided between academic entities (around 1.35 million) and companies (1,117,449.08 euros in 2026 and 1,117,452.08 in the following two).

Payment is annual and in advance, without the requirement of guarantees under article 16.1 c) of Law 5/1998, of May 7, and aid to companies is subject to the de minimis regime of Regulation (EU) No. 2023/2831. Against the order, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month before the counselor or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Madrid.

The resolution clears the uncertainty of doctoral students, companies, and universities who had been waiting for months for the Selection Committee’s ruling, and establishes a stable three-year framework for applied research in the region. The 44 applications on reserve remain as an alternative in case of withdrawals, while the 60-point threshold excludes the rest of the submitted candidacies.

Source: OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID, no. 269, November 9, 2026, section I.C (Other Provisions), page 5 (official reference: BOCM-20261109-1).