The academic and professional guidance service addresses students’ needs throughout the research training process.

 At the Universitat de València, there are a variety of student support services (teaching aids, mobility opportunities, psychological counselling, cohabitation programme, collaboration grants, etc.), which aim to offer support and guidance to UV students.

All of these support and guidance services (counselling, job placement, internships, mobility and exchange programmes, scholarships and aids, complementary training...) are available to any student through the UV Website under the section titled ESTUDIANTES UV.

 On this page, students can find detailed information on all the support programmes available to them and the services responsible for their management, specifically those related to:

 - Postgraduate enrolment. Explanation of the main characteristics of doctoral programmes, such as the time commitment, fees and the UV card.

- Postgraduate scholarships and grants. Information on current calls for scholarships and grants.

 - Postgraduate Academic Information. Specific information on exam attempts, rules and regulations, the academic calendar and the doctoral thesis.

- Mobility and Exchange Programmes. Clarification of the different programmes available, their requirements and other information of interest. Within the section on Mobility and Exchange Programmes, you can access Postgraduate Erasmus, where you can find information about international mobility in the doctoral programme.

- Optional courses. Information on the norms of completing courses, the entities that organise them and the courses offered for each programme.

- Participation activities. Information on the various training activities offered by the Universitat de València each academic year that can be incorporated into the student record as a complement of integral student training.

- Job placement and UVjob. The objective of UVjob is to enhance the integration of UV graduates into the labour market by effectively assessing the supply and demand of employment. It is responsible for student advising in all matters relating to career guidance.

- Complementary training. Specific information on the services that offer complementary training, such as the Sports Service, the Language Service, the Languages Centre, etc.

- Living on campus. Information on housing, transportation, cultural programs, libraries, sports and university advantages.

 - Participation, associations and volunteering. Information on all aspects related to associations and groups (creation, census, spaces, aids, regulations), volunteering, cooperation and participation in the university’s governing bodies.

- Counselling and guidance. At the UV, there is a counselling centre that offers guidance and advice on psychological, sexological and psycho-pedagogical issues. The centre offers information on techniques and the psychological work necessary to resolve or overcome conflicts and provides the appropriate resources to facilitate better academic performance. On the other hand, the UV also coordinates legal guidance and advice for students on all legal issues that may arise. The purpose is to provide information on the legal means to overcome conflicts, as well as information on the rights and duties that we have as citizens in the face of the administration. The service gives students the information they need to write letters of appeals, draw up contracts or fill out applications. It is important to note that the Universitat de València also provides guidance and support to people with disabilities via UVdisability, a service that was created with the purpose of ensuring equal opportunities and a discrimination-free experience for all UV students. The UVdisability service coordinates personalised assistance, improvements to university facilities, awareness campaigns, and learning and assessment support (curricular adaptations, use of assistive technologies, modifications of exam times, making the academic calendar more flexible, etc.).

 Regarding PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE, the main purpose of higher education is to facilitate job placement and career development for graduates. This is the main focus of the UVjob employment service. The UVjob service was created as a professional guidance and employment service for UV students and graduates in order to build a bridge between training and employment. It offers a comprehensive service that covers the different areas fundamental to transforming university students into active agents in their fields, facilitating access to relevant resources that help optimise their employability and access to a quality job market. To achieve this, UVjob has implemented a range of activities designed to aid in the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes that assist in the professional integration of students and graduates into the labour market.

 The guidance department is made up of specialists in professional university guidance, who undertake the following actions:

- Personalised in-person or online counselling, through which the needs and interests of students can be determined. These sessions offer detailed information on professional opportunities and objectives and specify the resources necessary in order to achieve them.

 - In-person or online group counselling with the purpose of providing employment resources to a wider group of students and graduates with seminars and conferences led by UVjob specialists.

 - Publication of news relevant to job placement and the maintenance of the website.

 - Maintenance and Updating of the job placement resource database for students and graduates to explore the labour market efficiently.

 - Training for job placement and the development and implementation of courses and tutorials for acquiring the relevant competencies for employment and professional development.

 Thus, the UV provides professional and employment guidance services to students, which includes information on the following aspects relevant for integration into the labour market:

 - Job search tools and techniques

 - Status of the labour market

- Job opportunities based on degree

 - Most valued profiles and competencies

- Career development and planning.

 Through this activity, this department aims to help university students:

 0. Gain self-knowledge to facilitate decision-making (preferences, strengths, weaknesses, career goals, etc.).

 1. Analyse and gather information about the labour market (most valued competencies, supply and demand, sources of information, etc.).

 2. Learn the most effective ways to take action (job search tools and techniques, personal skills training, effective communication, etc.).

 3. Become familiar with the most effective way to face selection processes.

 4. Acquire competencies in independence and personal development.

 5. Gain access to the highest possible number of relevant resources for job placement. All the information about the job placement counselling service is available to the university community through the following website:

 http://www.fundacio.es/opal/index.asp?pagina=470

DOCTORAL STUDIES

 In the case of doctoral studies, academic guidance takes on a different form due to the nature of these studies and the personal relationship developed between the teaching staff and the doctoral students.

 The objective of doctoral studies is to attain the skills and competencies required to produce quality research, which therefore implies the completion of an original and innovative research project, a continuous learning plan in support of the project and a final doctoral thesis.

The doctoral student and the thesis advisor agree to a mutual collaboration, firstly, for the presentation of the doctoral thesis project and its development and, lastly, for its defence.

This implies that there is a continual interaction between the two parties, thus, providing the necessary guidance and information to the students, as the thesis supervisors are committed to following the students’ research, guiding them and helping them focus their research projects as they are being developed.

The doctoral student is responsible for regularly informing the thesis supervisor of the evolution of the research, the results obtained and any problems that may arise during its development. The student promises to follow any observations made by the supervisor. Regarding the supervision and monitoring of doctoral students, we would like to highlight the following aspects, according to the Postgraduate Studies Regulations approved by the Governing Council of the Universitat de València on 29 November 2011.

Article 15 - Doctoral thesis tutors

Once admitted to and enrolled in a doctoral programme, doctoral students are assigned a thesis tutor by the corresponding academic committee. Thesis tutors are Doctors with accredited research experience, linked to the unit or school of the doctoral programme of the student. They oversee the relationship between the doctoral student and the academic committee, and specifically undertake the following functions:

- Responsibility for the adequacy of the training and research activity of the doctoral student.

- Guidance of the student in the selection of courses, seminars or other non-regulated activities designed for research training.

 Article 16 - Doctoral thesis supervisors

The academic committee responsible for the doctoral programme appoints each doctoral student with a thesis supervisor, within a maximum period of six months from their enrolment. This supervisor may or may not coincide with the thesis tutor. A thesis supervisor can be any doctor with duly accredited research experience, regardless of the university, centre or institute in which he/she/they work.

  Article 17 - Doctoral commitment document

 After completing enrolment for the first year, the doctoral student, the University, the tutor, and, if applicable, the supervisor must jointly sign the doctoral commitment document, concerning, among other issues, the procedure for resolving any conflicts that may arise, aspects relating to intellectual or industrial property and, in general, the supervision of the doctoral student’s research activity.

Article 18 - Doctoral student activity document and research plan

 Once enrolment for the first year is completed, a personalised activity document will be issued for each doctoral student, recording all the activities of interest for the doctoral student’s professional development, as well as the development of the thesis, for review by the tutor and thesis supervisor and evaluation by the Academic Committee of the corresponding doctoral programme.

Before the end of the first year, the doctoral student will prepare a research plan, endorsed by the tutor and supervisor. This plan must include the methodology and goals, the means and the timetable, as well as a favourable report from the Ethics Committee in Experimental Research of the University of Valencia, if applicable. This plan can be refined throughout the duration of the doctoral programme and must be endorsed by the tutor and the supervisor.

 The Ethics Committee will asses research plans that include experimentation with humans or biological human samples, experimentation with animals, the use of biological pathogenic agents or genetically-modified organisms.

 The Academic Committee will evaluate the research plan and activities document yearly, together with the reports issued by the tutor and the supervisor. Favourable assessment is a requirement to continue the programme. In the event of an unfavourable assessment, which must be substantiated, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within six months, for which a new research plan must be drawn up. If there is a second unfavourable assessment, the doctoral student will be permanently withdrawn from the programme.

 A favourable report from the Academic Committee on this personal activity document and the research plan is a requirement for enrolment in subsequent years.

 Conclusively, the Universitat de València has developed programmes of guidance and support for students that are designed to address students’ needs and enhance there overall academic experience.

The Academic Committee of the Doctoral Programme analyses and diagnoses possible difficulties in the development of each student’s research plan, reflecting on areas where improvements can be made so that students are able to achieve their academic gaols and successfully complete their doctoral thesis.