• IKERLAN currently has 48 doctoral theses in progress, framed within its main lines of research. 
• The event took place in Hernani, where IKERLAN has a multi-technology headquarters and laboratories dedicated to research into energy management and storage.

Today, IKERLAN held the eighth edition of the day to recognise its team of doctoral students. The aim of this annual event was to recognise the work of the more than twenty universities with which it collaborates, such as UPV/EHU, Mondragon Unibertsitatea, the University of Oviedo and the University of Cantabria, among others. The event took place in the Orona Ideo auditorium in Hernani, a town that is home to one of IKERLAN's three multi-technology offices, which includes specialised laboratories for research into energy management and storage. The event was attended by 150 people, including doctoral students, thesis supervisors, teachers and representatives of the academic entities honoured and those leading the research projects and these collaborations at the technology centre.

The conference is part of the actions carried out by IKERLAN in its commitment to the training and specialisation of its researchers as one of its strategic and differential axes. The technology centre currently has a team of more than 400 people, 34% of whom are PhDs. Today, IKERLAN has 48 research theses in progress. 

Once again, this year, the 45 doctoral students were at the centre of the event, presenting the details of their work in two formats: poster session and T3M session (thesis presentation in three minutes).  All the theses presented fall within IKERLAN's strategic research lines: digital technologies and artificial intelligence, embedded electronic systems and cybersecurity, as well as energy and mechatronics.

Tribute to the academic network

During the event, and as a contribution to its 50 years of history, IKERLAN wished to recognise and thank the local, national and international universities, with which it has been working since its creation. In these 50 years, 219 doctoral theses have been written, 1371 scientific publications have been published and 269 patents have been registered.

The event paid tribute to the pioneering universities in this collaboration, such as Mondragon Unibertsitatea, UPV/EHU, the University of Oviedo, the University of Cantabria, the University of Zaragoza, the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Public University of Navarra.

Currently, 34 % of the more than 400 people that make up IKERLAN are specialised doctoral staff. In this context, in 2023, 22 theses were completed and 18 new ones were started. The centre invests €2 million annually in the training, professionalisation and specialisation of its pool of students.

About IKERLAN

IKERLAN is a leading centre in technology transfer and in the contribution of competitive value to industry. It offers integral solutions combining different technological domains in two main areas: Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (EICT) and Energy and Mechatronics. Currently, the technology centre's team is made up of 400 people. As a co-operative member of the MONDRAGON Corporation and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), IKERLAN maintains a sustainable, competitive business model that is in permanent transformation. 

The conference highlighted the work of the universities with which it collaborates and the training of its research staff as the cornerstones of the technology centre's activity.