Doctoral School / UAM

2025-2026 Call for EDUAM Branch Training Activities

UAM Doctoral School will plan the required range of transversal activities shared by PhD programs that are related to research skills and personal values. Therefore, PhD Students will thus improve their academic and professional abilities previously determined in order to achieve their Phd Certificate.

Transversal activities become very useful for everyone who attends a PhD, irrespective of specific area of knowledge. These activities are intended to develop transversal skills as part of the PhD training.

All Transversal activities are optional for PhD Students.

The criteria for classification, enrollment and evaluation of the transversal training activities for the 2025/26 academic year can be found at the bottom of this page in the download area.  

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Transversal Training Activities 2025/2026

The Transversal Training Activities managed by EDUAM are divided into two groups:

1) OFFICIAL SIGMA-PDS Activities or type 1: these are those enrolled at the same time as the academic tutorship. They are recorded in the doctoral student's SIGMA file and, once graded with the closed record, will appear on the Personal Academic Certificate (CAP) that the doctoral student can obtain through their SIGMA account.

2) SIGMA'S own degree Activities (from EDUAM'S own offering) or type 2: they have their own enrollment period (first half of November), which is carried out through the “SIGMA-Other UAM Training” module. The EDUAM automatically emits the certificate of achievement (sending it to the institutional account, @estudiante.uam.es) to those enrolled doctoral students who obtain a “PASS” grade.

There is a third type of activity that UAM doctoral students can also take, the activities offered by CIVIS UAM.

You can find more information about each type of activity below:

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1. TRANSVERSAL ACTIVITIES OF OFFICIAL SIGMA-PDS.

Enrollment associated with the renewal of the academic tutoring (see Academic and Enrollment Calendar). 

Enrollment periods:

• From September 16 to 30, 2025: PhD students enrolling in academic tutorships 2 to 5.
• From October 3 to 12: academic tutorships 6 to 9 and part-time tutorships.
• From October 16 to 31: first academic tutorship.

 

The enrollment instructions for the SIGMA-PDS OFFICIAL Transversal Training Activities can be found in the download area. 

The enrollment of the training activities is carried out at the same time as the renewal of the academic tutorship. Verification of proper enrollment can be done by downloading the registration receipt.

Maximum number of activities of this type that can be enrolled for the academic year 2025/26 is two, regardless of the number of ECTS associated with each of them.

Please note that it is the responsibility of the PhD student to check, prior to enrolment, that the dates of the activities they select do not overlap and that their schedule will allow them to attend them in the specified mode.

For this type of training activity (SIGMA-PDS), EDUAM does not provide certificates, as the possible qualifications are recorded in the doctoral student's file:

• Not evaluated: the minimum attendance requirement of 75% of the sessions was not met.
• Negative evaluation: the attendance requirement was met, but the activity was not satisfactorily completed according to the evaluation criteria established by those responsible.
• Positive evaluation: the attendance requirement was met and the activity was satisfactorily completed according to the aforementioned criteria.

 

The qualification can be consulted, after a reasonable period of time following the end of the activity, by accessing the doctoral student's file in SIGMA:

Expedientes SIGMA@>Consulta de Expedientes.

To justify the use of this activity in the evaluation of the academic tutorship, SIGMA allows you to obtain a “Printable Version” of the file for the “Current Year” or “Passed Subjects.”

If the qualification appears in parentheses, the record is open. Once the record is closed, the activity and its qualification will appear on the Personal Academic Certificate (CAP), which can be downloaded from SIGMA:

Certificados>Autosolicitud de Certificados.

 

SIGMA  code	Training Activity	Impartation Dates	Training Modality
60100	Human evolution and its impact on the world	January 12, 14, 15, 16 and 19, 2026 (from monday to monday except tuesday), 10:00 - 12:00h.	In-person
60101	Keys to successful scientific writing: Effective strategies and ethical use of AI tools	November 4, 5, 11, 12 and 18, 2025; 16:00 - 18:00h.  December 2, 2025; 14:00 - 18:00h.	In-person (with the possibility of attending 50% of the sessions online)
60103	Use of digital models in research and education	December 9 and 10, 2025; 10:00 - 13:00h December 11, 2025, 10:00 - 14:00h	In-person
60104	Experimental design	January 9, 13, 15, 20 and 27, 2026; 15:30 - 19:30h	In-person
60105	Basic Excel for researchers: tools to organize, filter, visualize and analyze your data	December 1, 12, 15 and 18, 2025; 15:30 - 18:30h	In-person
60106	Qualitative Research	March 3 and 4, 2026, 11:00 - 14:00h	In-person
60107	Research design with Idea Puzzle software	March 2 and 3, 2026, 10:00 - 14:00. March 4, 2026, 10:00 - 12:00h	Online synchronous (ZOOM)
60109	Gender research: methodology and sources	April 13, 2026 (mon), 9:45 - 14:00h. April 14 and 15, 2026 (tue and wed), 10:00 - 14:00h and 16:00 - 17:30h. April 16, 2026 (thu), 10:00 - 14:00h.	In-person
60110	Tools for critical thinking	October 21, 2025; 11:00 - 13:00h. October 28; November 4, 11, 18 y 25; December 2; 2025; 11:00 - 13:30h. December 9, 2025; 11:00 - 14:00h	In-person
60112	How to make a successful oral presentation (thesis defense, conference communications or interviews with potential investors of your research)	January 2026. Specific dates and schedule to be determined.	In-person
60114	Scientific communication and linguistic corpora: tools for interdisciplinary research.*	March 2, 4, 9, 11 y 16, 2026 (mondays and tuesdays); 16:00 - 20:00h	Hybrid (in-person and online synchronous through TEAMS only for residents outside Madrid Comunity or those who are unable to attend on a specific occasion).
60119	From the real model to the digital model, from the digital model to 3D printing	March 16, 2026; 10:00 - 14:00h. March 17, 20, 23 and 24, 2026, 10:00 - 12:00h. March 27, 2026; 10:00 - 14:00h.	In-person
60120	Research design using qualitative techniques	June 9 and 11, 2026; 12:00 - 14:00h	Hybrid (in-person and/or online sessions - TEAMS)
60122	Use of social networks for research transfer	October 13, 15 and 17, 2025, 12.00 - 14.00h (monday, wednesday and friday).	Online synchronous (TEAMS)
60123	Advanced Excel for researchers: quantitative analysis and machine learning	January 12, 14 and 16, 2026; 12.00 - 14.00h (monday, wednesday and friday)	In-person
60124	Integrate cultural competence from literature for quality research.	January, from 12 to 15, 2026 (monday to thursday); 10:00 - 12:30h	Online synchronous (TEAMS)
60125	Digital Humanities management with geotechnologies (introduction to QGIS).	9 sessions between January 27 and February 13, 2026. Specifically, on January 27 and 29, and February 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, and 13, 2026; at 16:00h (see activity file for the duration of each session).	Hybrid (in-person and online sessions - online attendance at in-person sessions is possible).
60126	Research in Digital Humanities: introduction to spatial analysis.	9 sessions between December 1 and 21, 2025. Specifically, on December 1, 2, 4, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18 y 21, 2025 (see activity file for the duration of each session).	Hybrid (in-person and online sessions - online attendance at in-person sessions is possible).
60127	Soft Skills for research	April 8, 15, 22, 29, and May 6, 2026 (wednesdays), 11:00 - 13:00h	In-person
60128	Workshop “R: A Toolbox for My Thesis - Handling and Visualization"	May 22, 2026 (friday); 10:00 - 14:00h	In-person
60129	Open source software for your research career	March 2, 9 and 16, 2026 (mondays); 9:30 - 13.30h.	Hybrid with mandatory attendance at in-person sessiones plus SPOC UAMx course.
60130	Academic spanish workshop and use of automatic tools for the elaboration of doctoral thesis and scientific papers.	FIRST SEMESTER GROUP: November 20, 21, 27 and 28, December 4, 2025; 11:30 - 14:30h. SECOND SEMESTER GROUP: February 26 and 27, 2026; 9:30 - 12:30h. March 3 and 4, 2026; 9:30 - 12:30h. March 5, 2026; 11:30 - 13:30h.	In-person
60131	Using large volumes of text for your thesis without knowing how to programme: customised application of the Sketch Engine corpus management system to your area of expertise.*	January 27, 28 and 29, 2026; 9:00 - 13:00h. January 30, 2026; 9:00 - 12:00h.	Hybrid (in-person and/or online synchronous through TEAMS upon providing justification for being unable to attend in person).

 

*Activities 60114 and 60131 are complementary, therefore enrolment in both is recommended, although not necessary.

 

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2. TRANSVERSAL ACTIVITIES OF SIGMA'S OWN DEGREES (EDUAM'S OWN OFFERING).

Enrollment is carried out after the renewal of the academic tutoring, from November 1 to 15, 2025. Given that the activities have a limited number of places, once this number is exceeded, the applicant will be placed on the waiting list. If the applicant finally obtains a place, he/she will be informed by institutional mail.

The maximum number of activities of this type that can be registered for the academic year 2024/25 is two, regardless of the number of ECTS associated with each of them.

This limitation does not affect the following activities:

• Physics and Chemistry Training Seminars (SemFiQui)
• Fourth Physics and Chemistry Symposium (4SimFiQui)

 

SIGMA-Students path for enrollment:  SIGMA > Other UAM Training > Doctorandos – Actividades Formativas > Enrolment

Please note that it is the responsibility of the PhD student to check, prior to enrolment, that the dates of the activities they select do not overlap and that their schedule will allow them to attend them in the specified mode.

The possible qualifications for this type of activity are:

• PASS: the attendance requirement (minimum of 75% of sessions) has been met and the activity has been satisfactorily completed according to the evaluation criteria established by those responsible for the activity.
• NO PASS: the attendance requirement has not been met and/or the activity has not been satisfactorily completed according to the aforementioned criteria. 

 

After a reasonable period of time following the end of the activity, EDUAM will provide the corresponding certificate of achievement to those doctoral students enrolled in the activity who have received a qualification of “PASS.” This certificate will be sent to the doctoral student's institutional email address (@uam.estudiante.es) and may be used to certify completion of the activity for the purposes of the academic tutoring assessment.

 

 

Training Activity	Impartation Dates	Training Modality
Artificial intelligence: research and legal challenges	From April 1 to 30, 2026	Asynchronous online (UAMx)
Gender and scientific research in Social Sciences, Law, and Humanities	From November 4 to December 16, 2025: Seven 120-minute sessions on Tuesdays in November and December, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.	In-person
Alternative qualitative methods for researching with youth on the margins	November 25, 26 and 27; December 9, 10 and 11, 2025; 17:00 - 19:30h.	In-person, except for one online class.
Introduction to Scientific Outreach	April, from 13 to 17, 2026; 10:00h - 13:00h.	In-person
Physics and Chemistry Training Seminars (SemFiQui)	Usually, the last Friday of each month. Year 2025: October 31, November 28, and December 18 (Thursday). Year 2026: January 30, February 27, March 27, April 24, and May 29.	Hybrid
Fourth Physics and Chemistry Symposium (4SimFiQui)	June 15 and 16, 2026 (to be confirmed); 9.30 - 18.15h.	Hybrid
Open Science: the new scientific paradigm. Introduction for research staff in training.	To be confirmed.	In-person
Qualitative research: the analytical ethnographic approach	February 9, 16 and 23; March 2, 9, 16 and 23, 2026 (mondays); 16.30 - 18:30h.	In-person
A gentle introduction to targeted learning	First semester. Specific dates to be determined.	In-person
Qualitative data analysis and categorization process	April 9 and 16, 2026, 10:00 - 14:00h	Synchronous online (TEAMS)
Use of lasers in student and research laboratories: Hidden and not-so-hidden dangers	February 2, 3 and 4, 2026; 15:30 - 16.30h	In-person
Intellectual property, image rights and data protection in university research	From January 15 to March 15, 2026.	Asynchronous online (UAMx)

 

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3. CIVIS ACTIVITIES.

Aimed at doctoral students from any university of the Consortium of European Universities. Enrollment is not carried out through SIGMA, but through the CIVIS UAM website.