Existing collaborations involve a wide range of national and European institutions, within the framework of the MINECO (Ministry of Economics and Technology) and FP7 excellence program projects. These projects are regulated by: (1) a collaboration agreement between the Complutense University (acting as the coordinating institution) and the former MICINN (Ministry of Economics and Technology), dated 17 December 2009; a collaboration agreement between the Complutense University and the University of Cádiz signed in March 2010; (2) a Memorandum of Understanding signed by all members of the ESTEEM2 consortium.

These agreements will allow, among other things, the participation of program students in specific training activities for both projects, their placements at external research centers, both national and international, and the use of high-level Electron Microscopy instrumentation not available at the UCA for the development of specific areas of the program students’ Research Plans.

The program will also benefit from the agreements signed regarding collaboration in R&D&I, specialized training, and postgraduate studies with various companies and institutions active in the field of materials science and technology. These include the following:

•  Algeciras Technology Campus Foundation. Framework Collaboration Agreement. Effective: May 2008
• Endesa Generación S.A. (Los Barrios Thermal Power Plant). Framework Collaboration Agreement. Effective: April 2007.
• Endesa Generación S.A. Collaboration and sponsorship agreement between UCA and ENDESA GENERACIÓN S.A. for the creation of the ENDESA CHAIR. Effective: April 2007.
• Dragados Offshore. Framework Collaboration Agreement. Effective: January 2006.
• CEPSA (Gibraltar Refinery). Collaboration and sponsorship agreement between UCA and CEPSA for the creation of the CEPSA CHAIR. Effective: December 2005.
• Acerinox S.A. Collaboration and sponsorship agreement between UCA and ACERINOX S.A. for the creation of the ACERINOX CHAIR. Effective: February 2006.

Information about these agreements is available at:https://www.uca.es/es/profesorado/informacion-institucional/convenios/buscador-convenios

Collaborations are also maintained with companies and research centers in the sector, such as:
• Titania: Industrial Testing and Projects
• Carbures Europe S.A.
• Tino Stone Group S.A.
• Emaplicada S. Coop. And.
• Airbus España, S.L.
• HREM Research Inc., Saitama, Japan
• Natural Connections and Consulting S.L. (KONECTIA)
• REPSOL-YPF. Research and Development Center (Madrid)
• QiD Nanotechnologies (Italy)
• Stone Technology Center (CETAP) Silicalia S.L.

Please also remember that the group of researchers included in the proposal maintain collaborations with a large number of national and international groups (for a detailed overview, see the information contained in the IMEYMAT Institute’s Founding Report at https://escueladoctoral.uca.es/doctorado/nanociencias).

Some researchers from these centers have joined the program’s research lines as external researchers.