It is a doctoral thesis recognized by the European Commission that defines the competencies doctoral candidates need for careers in industry and entrepreneurship

A URV doctoral thesis defines the competencies that connect doctoral talent with industry and entrepreneurship. The research, recognised by the European Commission, identifies the transversal and entrepreneurial competencies that PhD holders need to pursue professional careers in industry or launch business initiatives, proposing a model with the potential to inform European research career policies.

The significance of the study has led its author, Debashish Roy, to be invited as a panelist at the MSCA Presidency Conference 2026, where he will contribute to discussions on how to build more resilient research career pathways that are better connected to the needs of society and the economy. “Europe does not only need to train excellent PhD graduates; it needs to create the conditions for that talent to drive innovation and competitiveness in its companies”, says Debashish Roy, author of the doctoral thesis.

Europe’s ability to transform knowledge into innovation depends, to a large extent, on making better use of the potential of PhD graduates trained at its universities. Yet the integration of doctoral talent into the productive sector remains a challenge for many European innovation ecosystems. Beyond scientific training, there is a growing need to recognise PhD holders as a strategic and still underutilised resource for driving innovation, business competitiveness and the creation of new knowledge-based initiatives.

To contribute to this challenge, Debashish Roy defended at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) his doctoral thesis, Doctorates’ Industrial Transition: Applied Transversal Skills at Entrepreneurship and Employability, which was awarded the distinction of Excellent Cum Laude and an International Mention. The research was co-supervised by M. Dolores Jiménez, from the Department of Romance Philology, and M. Ercilia García, from the Department of Business Management, both members of URV’s Doctoral Professionalisation Group. The thesis, completed within the Doctoral Programme in Humanistic Studies, was developed under the Martí Franquès-COFUND programme and forms part of a long-standing line of work at URV aimed at enhancing doctoral employability and career diversification. The examination committee was chaired by Josep Ribalta (URV), with Albert Sunyé (UPC) serving as secretary and Rodica Ianole-Calin (University of Bucharest) as examiner.

The research proposes a systemic approach to doctoral transition. It argues that the professional success of PhD holders outside academia depends not only on the competencies they develop during their training, but also on the ability of universities, companies and public administrations to recognise, recruit and leverage doctoral talent as a strategic asset for innovation and competitiveness.

The proposal is articulated through two complementary competency frameworks. HIRES-PhD identifies the transversal competencies that enhance doctoral employability in industrial environments, including communication, leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration and adaptation to complex organisational settings. DOCTRINES, in turn, defines the entrepreneurial competencies required to transform scientific knowledge into new business initiatives, incorporating elements such as opportunity recognition, value creation and innovative project development.

Both frameworks offer significant potential for practical application by key actors across the innovation ecosystem. They enable universities to adapt doctoral programmes to labour market needs; help companies identify the added value that doctoral talent brings beyond scientific expertise; and provide researchers with a reference framework to recognise, develop and communicate the competencies demanded in professional environments.

The thesis also highlights the role of public administrations in designing policies that foster innovation-driven business growth, supporting the development of a critical mass of SMEs with sufficient absorptive capacity to recruit doctoral talent and transform knowledge into a competitive advantage.

The impact of the research has extended beyond academia

In January this year, the European Commission selected Debashish Roy as MSCA Fellow of the Month, a distinction awarded to projects demonstrating outstanding impact within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Building on this recognition, Research Ireland invited him to join the panel of experts at the MSCA Presidency Conference 2026, which will take place next November as one of the official events of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the session Enabling Resilient and Future-Proofed Research Careers, Roy will join representatives from universities, funding organisations, industry and public policy bodies to discuss how to build more resilient and future-ready research careers, supporting professional pathways that are more diverse and better connected to industry, entrepreneurship and public policy design.

This invitation represents international recognition of the quality and relevance of the research carried out at URV on doctoral employability and entrepreneurship. It also places the thesis’s contributions within the broader European debate on how to facilitate the transition of doctoral talent into industry and innovation, and on the conditions that universities, businesses and public administrations must create to fully harness the potential of PhD holders as drivers of competitiveness and economic development.