Funding

Funding secured in research and transfer constitutes an important source of University financing. The following analyzes: modality, source of funding, area, type of activity and by tenured professor.

Evolution of total secured funding (2021-2024)

2021202220232024
Funding54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

Despite the fact that funding experienced a slight drop in 2022 and 2023, there has been an overall positive trend in these past years. In 2024, UC3M obtained the highest amount of secured research funds in its history.

Funding modality

Competitive Funding/Concerted Funding/UC3M Internal Funding

Funding secured in research and transfer can be classified according to their modality, that is, if they proceed from calls that are competitive, concerted or UC3M internal funding. This section presents the evolution of funding secured in the 2021-2024 period and by modality.

Funding by modality (2021-2024)

Click on legend to hide:
Modality2021202220232024
Competitive45,163 k€35,413 k€35,888 k€43,524 k€
Concerted9,195 k€12,946 k€10,874 k€11,712 k€
UC3M-funded497 k€626 k€795 k€1,548 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

Competitive funding continues to show a positive trend, in line with total funding, being higher than previous years. To a large extent, this has been due to the impulse, since 2021, of funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

UC3M internal research funds (2021-2024)

YearUC3M-funded
2021497 k€
2022626 k€
2023795 k€
20241,548 k€
3,466 k€

Detail of the evolution of UC3M internal funding. This funding tripled during the 2021-2024 period, reaching 1.5 million euros in 2024.

Competitive/concerted funding (2021-2024)

YearCompetitiveConcerted
202145,163 k€9,195 k€
202235,413 k€12,946 k€
202335,888 k€10,874 k€
202443,524 k€11,712 k€
159,988 k€44,728 k€

Competitive funding represents the highest percentage of secured research funding, although there is a notable increase in concerted funding and UC3M Internal Research funds.

Evolution of funding by modality (2021-2024)

Modality2021202220232024
Competitive45,163 k€35,413 k€35,888 k€43,524 k€
Concerted9,195 k€12,946 k€10,874 k€11,712 k€
UC3M-funded497 k€626 k€795 k€1,548 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

Distribution of funding by modality (2021-2024)

Modality2021202220232024
Competitive82.3%72.3%75.5%76.6%
Concerted16.8%26.4%22.9%20.6%
UC3M-funded0.9%1.3%1.7%2.7%

Competitive funding continues to predominate during this period. The rise in UC3M Internal Research Program funding is worthy of note, increasing from 0.9 % in 2021 to 2.7 % in 2024.

Source of funding

Where does funding for research and transfer come from?

Secured funding can be classified according to its source: European programs, Non-European International, National programs, Regional programs, Contracts with Public Administrations, Contracts with Private Entities, UC3M Internal Research Program or Awards.

Evolution of funding by source (2021-2024)

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Source2021202220232024
National programs30,801 k€18,545 k€20,373 k€28,858 k€
Contracts with Private entities 7,521 k€9,010 k€9,609 k€9,580 k€
European programs9,919 k€7,226 k€11,419 k€8,455 k€
Contracts with Public administrations2,079 k€4,205 k€1,298 k€4,237 k€
Regional programs3,857 k€8,533 k€3,719 k€3,694 k€
UC3M Internal Research Program497 k€626 k€795 k€1,548 k€
Non-European international180 k€820 k€345 k€393 k€
Awards20 k€19 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

Disaggregation by funding sources allows us to analyze how the funds for each of them have evolved.

Evolution of European/National/Regional funding (2021-2024)

YearRegional programsNational programsEuropean programs
20213,857 k€30,801 k€9,919 k€
20228,533 k€18,545 k€7,226 k€
20233,719 k€20,373 k€11,419 k€
20243,694 k€28,858 k€8,455 k€
19,801 k€98,578 k€37,020 k€

In these four years, 68-79 % of funding has come from national sources, owing especially to the Recovery, Transformaton and Resilience Plan.

Evolution of Public Administration / Private Entities funding (2021-2024)

YearContracts with Public administrationsContracts with Private entities
20212,079 k€7,521 k€
20224,205 k€9,010 k€
20231,298 k€9,609 k€
20244,237 k€9,580 k€
11,819 k€35,720 k€

Contracts with Private Entities show a positive trend for the 2021-2024 period

Evolution of funding by source of funds (2021-2024)

Source2021202220232024
National programs30,801 k€18,545 k€20,373 k€28,858 k€
Contracts with Private entities 7,521 k€9,010 k€9,609 k€9,580 k€
European programs9,919 k€7,226 k€11,419 k€8,455 k€
Contracts with Public administrations2,079 k€4,205 k€1,298 k€4,237 k€
Regional programs3,857 k€8,533 k€3,719 k€3,694 k€
UC3M Internal Research Program497 k€626 k€795 k€1,548 k€
Non-European international180 k€820 k€345 k€393 k€
Awards20 k€19 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

This linear depiction allows us to analyze how funding from the different sources has evolved.

Distribution of funding by origen of funds (2021-2024)

Source2021202220232024
National programs56.2%37.9%42.8%50.8%
Contracts with Private entities 13.7%18.4%20.2%16.9%
European programs18.1%14.8%24.0%14.9%
Contracts with Public administrations3.8%8.6%2.7%7.5%
Regional programs7.0%17.4%7.8%6.5%
UC3M Internal Research Program0.9%1.3%1.7%2.7%
Non-European international0.3%1.7%0.7%0.7%
Awards

Here we can compare funding percentages by year. Once again, a significant increase is observed in National Program funds.

Area

International/European/National/Regional/UC3M

Area of funding allows us to classify research and transfer funding according to whether its location is regional, national, European, Non-European International or internal.

Funding by area (2021-2024)

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Areas2021202220232024
National33,785 k€22,837 k€23,569 k€36,697 k€
European 10,799 k€8,012 k€12,167 k€9,250 k€
Regional8,728 k€14,776 k€9,821 k€7,903 k€
Internal497 k€626 k€795 k€1,548 k€
International1,045 k€2,734 k€1,206 k€1,386 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,784 k€

This reflects the significant increase in National funds as well as a slight drop in European funds throughout the period.

National/regional (2021-2024)

YearRegionalNational
20218,728 k€33,785 k€
202214,776 k€22,837 k€
20239,821 k€23,569 k€
20247,903 k€36,697 k€
41,229 k€116,888 k€

In addition to the significant increase of National funds, due to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the increase in regional funds in 2022 is noteworthy, mainly within the framework of the Multi-year Agreement with the Madrid Regional Community.

European/international (2021-2024)

YearEuropean International
202110,799 k€1,045 k€
20228,012 k€2,734 k€
202312,167 k€1,206 k€
20249,250 k€1,386 k€
40,229 k€6,371 k€

For international funding, the European area clearly predominates.

Distribution of funding by area (2021-2024)

Areas2021202220232024
National61.6%46.6%49.6%64.6%
European 19.7%16.4%25.6%16.3%
Regional15.9%30.2%20.7%13.9%
Internal0.9%1.3%1.7%2.7%
International1.9%5.6%2.5%2.4%

This highlights the importance of national funding in these last years, reversing the percentages in comparison to European projects.

Type of activity

In what type of research and transfer activites is funding distributed?

Types of activities into which the research and transfer funding is classified are: R+D Projects, Art. 83/60 for R+D Projects, Consulting and Technical Services, which encompass consulting and technical assistance, as well as recurring technical services; Other contracts and agreements, which include Chairs, Sponsorships and Collaboration Agreements; Mobility, Competitive Private Funding, Industrial Doctorate and a last category which includes Financial support for Conferences, Awards and UC3M Internal Research Program.

Evolution of funding by type of activity (2021-2024)

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Type of activity2021202220232024
R+D Project44,540 k€34,029 k€34,381 k€34,167 k€
Other contracts and agreements (Chairs, Sponsorships, Collaboration)1,275 k€588 k€1,806 k€7,439 k€
Art. 83/60 for R+D project5,036 k€6,962 k€4,161 k€6,719 k€
Consulting and technical services2,884 k€5,396 k€4,907 k€3,664 k€
Private competitive funding406 k€803 k€411 k€2,058 k€
Grants, conferences, awards and UC3M Internal Research Program286 k€415 k€549 k€1,173 k€
Mobility429 k€436 k€638 k€858 k€
Industrial doctorate358 k€704 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,077 k€

The activity representing the highest amount of funding is R+D Projects, consolidated as the basis for University funding.

Evolution of funding by type of activity (2021-2024)

Type of activity2021202220232024
R+D Project44,540 k€34,029 k€34,381 k€34,167 k€
Other contracts and agreements (Chairs, Sponsorships, Collaboration)1,275 k€588 k€1,806 k€7,439 k€
Art. 83/60 for R+D project5,036 k€6,962 k€4,161 k€6,719 k€
Consulting and technical services2,884 k€5,396 k€4,907 k€3,664 k€
Private competitive funding406 k€803 k€411 k€2,058 k€
Grants, conferences, awards and UC3M Internal Research Program286 k€415 k€549 k€1,173 k€
Mobility429 k€436 k€638 k€858 k€
Industrial doctorate358 k€704 k€
54,855 k€48,986 k€47,557 k€56,077 k€

This linear graph shows, in addition to the importance of R+D Projects with respect to funding, the increase in contracts and agreements in 2024.

Distribution of funding by type of activity (2021-2024)

Type of activity2021202220232024
R+D Project81.2%69.5%72.3%60.9%
Other contracts and agreements (Chairs, Sponsorships, Collaboration)2.3%1.2%3.8%13.3%
Art. 83/60 for R+D project9.2%14.2%8.7%12.0%
Consulting and technical services5.3%11.0%10.3%6.5%
Private competitive funding0.7%1.6%0.9%3.7%
Grants, conferences, awards and UC3M Internal Research Program0.5%0.8%1.2%2.1%
Mobility0.8%0.9%1.3%1.5%
Industrial doctorate0.7%1.5%

This image allows us to compare the annual amounts to see how funding distribution by type of activity has evolved, showing the percentage of the total for each one.

Funding per tenured professor

Ratio of funding and number of tenured professor

Normalizing funding per professor facilitates comparison with other universities in the area. Permanent University academic staff are considered: full professor, associate professor and permanent teaching position. The ratio between the secured yearly amount and the academic staff in each category is calculated.

Funding per professor (2021-2024)

2021202220232024
Funding per tenured professor76 k€61 k€66 k€78 k€

Research

Scientific output

UC3M research results

The University's scientific output is an important reflection of the activity it carries out and is one of the key indicators for assessing research quality. It includes data on theses, books and book chapters, articles and conferences both national and international. The figures corresponding to scientific activity provided in this section were obtained from those published in the UC3M Research Portal of May 2025.

Theses defended (2021-2024)

2021202220232024
Theses127135164174

Articles published (2021-2024)

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2021202220232024
National articles284229225209
International articles1,1391,0621,030988
1,4231,2911,2551,197

This depicts the evolution of articles published in international as well as national journals, with international ones clearly in the majority.

Books, book chapters and working papers published (2021-2024)

2021202220232024
Books807110265
Book chapters378358368227
Working papers49414442
507470514334

This shows the evolution of other written scientific output (books, book chapters, and working papers) in the period 2021-2024.

Conferences (2021-2024)

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2021202220232024
National conferences14217111963
International conferences18515114784
327322266147

An important part of UC3M researcher activity is disseminated through participation in academic conferences. In this section, only conferences and congresses with associated publications are considered.

Staff

Who carries out research and transfer at UC3M?

Behind the production of scientific results are the research faculty that make up part of UC3M. They are classified according to the categories: full professorassociate professor, permanent teaching position, teaching assistant and visiting professor.

Teaching-research staff (2021-2024)

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Staff2021202220232024
Full professors202223226248
Associate professors457486478463
Teaching assistants100147135109
Visiting professors176908998
Permanent teaching position14886
949954936924

Teaching-research staff by gender (2021-2024)

Staff2021202220232024
Full professors (M)145159158170
Full professors (F)57646878
Associate professors (M)282296289281
Associate professors (F)175190189182
Teaching assistants (M)59938262
Teaching assistants (F)41545347
Visiting professors (M)112545564
Visiting professors (F)64363434
Permanent teaching position (M)8554
Permanent teaching position (F)6332
949954936924

Transfer

Technology transfer constitutes one of the University’s basic pillars. Results for patent and software licenses are presented for the period 2021-2024.

Registered patents and software (2021-2024)

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Transfer2021202220232024
Patents17292725
Software641314
23334039

Patents registered continue to predominate, although there was an increase in the number of software licenses during these last years.