Unite! connects doctoral educational systems within a united framework
Unite! has created a new model to bring together the doctoral education systems of its partner universities.
The Unite! Doctoral School (UDS) provides a shared framework where students, researchers and staff can collaborate across institutions while respecting each university’s policies and different national regulations. The UDS interfaces with multiple parties: the Unite! Communities, the Thematic Communities, EIT KICs, and more than 90 industry partners who have taken part in workshops, Dialogues, and Unite! Research Schools.
What is the Unite! Doctoral School Interface model?
The UDS acts as a connector, a structural interface that allows the doctoral school to benefit from, and contribute to, wider opportunities across Unite! and beyond.
At its core lies the structure and governance of the UDS. The UDS operates both as the formal governing body of the doctoral scientific community and as a representative structure connecting a wider network of scientific and technical stakeholders. The UDS has built its foundations by establishing three PhD Academic Boards in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, and Sustainable Energy. These Boards steer the scientific direction of the programmes, coordinate research communities, and contribute to a broad and evolving UDS course offering, which now includes more than 60 optional doctoral-level courses accessible to all UDS students.
The UDS has also a coherent strategy to attract and motivate future doctoral candidates that has its peak in the organization of the Unite! Research Schools, annual events designed to immerse master’s students in research environments and connect them with professors and thematic communities.
The first two edition of the school have been held in Grenoble in 2024 and 2025 and the next edition will be held in Turin in 2026. More information will be made available in the first months of 2026 regarding the topics and the application procedures.
Thanks to the UDS Regulatory Framework Agreement - which defines the governance, management, and operational mechanisms of the Doctoral School – Unite! ensures consistency across partner universities while respecting their institutional autonomy. Complementing it, the Cotutelle Framework Agreement provides a harmonised template that simplifies administrative procedures and reducing negotiation times for individual co-tutelle cases. Together, these instruments constitute the legal and operational backbone of the UDS.
What does this mean for Unite! PhD candidates?
PhD candidates of the UDS have at their disposal a UDS Course Offering with more than 60 courses; it includes both hard and soft skill modules, it is accessible to all UDS students. Catalogue for Students
Pursuing a PhD within the UDS provides distinctive academic and professional advantages: UDS students benefit from a multidisciplinary and transnational learning environment, participating in joint research activities, co-supervision, and mobility opportunities throughout Europe. Through its structure, the UDS connects doctoral candidates, supervisors, and research teams across partner universities, offering a richer academic experience than traditional single-institution programmes.
Unite! Develops a Replicable and Validated Model to Connect Doctoral Education Across Europe
A key issue has been connecting the doctoral educational systems of the Unite! partners within a common framework that will allow future joint collaboration.
The UDS interface model connects the academic dimension with the broader Unite! ecosystem and external stakeholders. It involves the Unite! partners’ Doctoral Schools and the entire Unite! ecosystem, composed by Internal Unite! structures (other CMs, governance, student groups and thematic communities), Research & Innovation infrastructures across partner universities, external/non-academic stakeholders (industry, public sector, civil society).