The ReLaTe research group (Rovira i Virgili University) received public funding to conduct an industrial doctorate in collaboration with the affiliate entity Fundació Onada. These industrial doctorates are PhD projects where the doctoral student conducts their research in a company or institution in collaboration with a university, which oversees and supervises the doctoral thesis. Industrial doctorate grants may vary, but they all share a common goal: fostering collaboration between the private and public sectors.

In this case, the project by ReLaTe and Fundació Privada Onada aims to create an English proficiency exam tailored to individuals with intellectual disabilities, as, per today, there is currently no "official" exam that adequately measures their English language proficiency.

Now, the project team (network researcher Mar Gutiérrez-Colón, industrial doctoral candidate Jonathan Pidgeon-Hancock, and Yolanda Roure Berbel, head of Fundació Onada) have been awarded with the second prize in the category Impactful Research of the Year at the Triple E Awards. These awards celebrate entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education, highlighting the impact of universities on their communities and ecosystems.

For more information about the project, visit the Triple E Awards website.