Education

Capacity building for sustainable water future 

We are expanding the scope of our training offer to more than 2,750 students by 2025

IHCantabria’s training strategy is articulated around the specialization of researchers, professionals and managers to lead the sustainable development of socio-ecological systems linked to water while maintaining a firm commitment to academic excellence. Our knowledge transfer activities have been developed in very diverse frameworks ranging from university postgraduate courses to professional training actions linked to the research and technology transfer projects that we develop.

Throughout 2025, 3 new doctoral students have successfully defended their doctoral theses, which have addressed key issues related to water infrastructures, water resources, aquatic ecosystems, climate and the risks arising from climate change. In total, the IH2O Doctoral Program coordinated by IHCantabria has registered 48 doctoral students from 9 countries and 4 continents.

IHCantabria staff has provided specialized training to 169 students from 3 university master’s degrees: 2 from the University of Cantabria (UC) and 1 from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); 2 master’s degrees leading to UC degrees: 1 from the UC and 1 from the Spanish Energy Club and 2 Erasmus Mundus master’s degrees from the UC, in collaboration with other national and international universities.

IHCantabria continues to consolidate its position as a multicultural and collaborative learning environment and a benchmark for attracting young and international talent. During 2025 IHCantabria hosted 26 interns during the year 2025, from Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and the USA.

In addition, we remain firmly committed to lifelong learning, with a growing training offer that already has 3 University Microcredentials leading to a UC degree, which has been obtained by 61 students in several editions of these programs.

Open education has also been promoted, thanks to the strategic alliance with the EUNICE and G9 university networks. This international collaboration has enabled 1,927 students to take 7 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) of those that make up the aforementioned microcredentials, strengthening knowledge exchange and digital learning on a large scale.

IHCantabria takes knowledge transfer beyond the formal academic channels, implementing training organized within the framework of 21 technology transfer projects that have benefited 609 professionals. We have also provided 5 specialized courses offered through the ECCE-IH capacity building portal, expanding the technical capabilities of 18 professionals and researchers, who have deepened their knowledge of key tools for engineering and science developed by IHCantabria.

Finally, IHCantabria reaffirms its commitment to establish an organizational environment that stimulates learning and the personal and professional development of our staff, through a combination of on-the-job training and learning activities, including 49 internal and 9 external trainings, as well as 15 specialized seminars given by prestigious research personnel from 7 countries at our facilities and open to all IHCantabria staff.