Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Manual for the Joint Doctorate Programme Agreement
Principles
A Joint Doctorate Programme is a programme for PhD students set up jointly by two or more
institutions (universities or other organizations), where PhD students conduct a substantial
part of their research or their courses at more than one university. Graduates receive:
(a)
a single doctoral degree from the home institution with a supplement indicating
that the PhD student has spent a substantial amount of time for education or
research at a partner university, or
(b)
multiple doctoral degrees from the universities where the PhD student has spent a
substantial amount of time for education or research, or
(c)
a single, joint doctoral degree from the two or more universities where the PhD
student has spent a substantial amount of time for education or research.
Only options (a) and (b) are possible for Leiden University. In the case of option (b), the PhD
candidate must defend his or her dissertation in Leiden first.
The Joint Doctorate Programme (JDP) Agreement is an ‘umbrella agreement’ which defines
the bilateral or multilateral agreements between two or more universities about a joint
doctorate programme. For individual PhD students, supervisors always need to draft
individual Joint Doctoral Degree (JDD) agreements, preferably based on the Leiden
University format (see http://contract.leidenuniv.nl).
The JDP Agreement stipulates the collective agreements for a group of (future) PhD
candidates enrolling in the programme. The JDD agreement stipulates the individual rights
and responsibilities for students and will be signed for each individual student that will conduct
a substantial part of his or her research at another university and will be jointly supervised.
When and why to draft a formal agreement?
A JDP agreement should be signed if:
a structural cooperation on the PhD level is envisaged; and
the PhD programme enrolls multiple (present and future) PhD students. By
signing a JDP agreement, the division of responsibilities for the programme can be
formalized and specific issues related to duration, supervision, mobility
requirements and doctoral defense can be agreed upon in one single document for
multiple (future and present) PhD students.
A JDP should be signed at the initial stages of the cooperation and before PhD students start
their coursework or research.
A JDD agreement should always be established if
the PhD student performs a substantial part of his/her education or research
abroad; and
he or she is supervised jointly by a Leiden supervisor and a supervisor of the
partner university/ies.
The position of Leiden in the partnership
If a student will defend his or her dissertation at Leiden University, the Leiden
PhD
Regulations
apply
(http://regulations.leiden.edu/research/phdregulations.html)
Article 2.3 of this regulation stipulates that “In the case of a PhD obtained at
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Leiden University and at another University based on the same dissertation, the
doctoral defense should first take place at Leiden University”.
Process
When a Faculty or Institute decides to develop a joint PhD programme with one or more
partner universities, it is recommended to take the following steps:
Notify your Faculty Office and Academic Affairs (Eric Beerkens and/or Floor
Frederiks)
Adapt the Model agreement for the Joint Doctorate Programme
Agree with the consortium or partner about:
 Objectives for cooperation
 Programme description (include the programme in Annex)
 Programme organization (duration, mobility requirements,
supervision, defense)
 Governance and management of the bilateral partnership or
multilateral consortium
 Management of the programme (application, selection, admission and
content of the individual JDD agreements)
 Legal status of the PhD students (students, employee)
 Financial issues (tuition/bench fees, , travel/living, insurance, taxes)
 Intellectual Property and publication of the dissertation
Send the document to Academic Affairs to be signed by the legal representative of
the university (i.c. the Rector/President of Leiden University)
After the agreement is signed by all parties, send a digital copy of the signed
agreements to Academic Affairs.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Joint doctorate programme agreement
This agreement is made and entered into by and between:
Universiteit Leiden, a legal entity under the laws of the Netherlands, having its
offices at Rapenburg 70 (2311 EZ), Leiden, The Netherlands, hereinafter referred to as
“Leiden University”;
[Party B], a legal entity under the laws of [country], having its offices at [address
(postal code), city, country], hereinafter referred to as “PARTY B”;
[Party C], a legal entity under the laws of [country], having its offices at [address
(postal code), city, country], hereinafter referred to as “PARTY C”;
And
[Party X], a legal entity under the laws of [country], having its offices at [address
(postal code), city, country], hereinafter referred to as “PARTY X”;
each of the above may also be referred to as “Party” and, collectively, as “the Parties”.
Whereas:
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Leiden University is a publicly funded university aimed at research and
teaching;
[describe Party B];
[describe Party C];
[etc.]
Parties have expressed the interest to collaborate in a joint doctorate
programme; and
Now wish to establish the structure and management of said programme,
Now therefore have agreed as follows:
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
1. DEFINITIONS
Each following capitalized word shall have the meaning attributed to it below:
Agreement:
shall mean this Joint doctorate programme agreement, including
any annexes attached thereto;
Awarding Party
shall mean the Party which awards the PhD diploma to the
Candidate;
Candidates:
shall mean applicants who meet the criteria for participation in
the Programme and have been accepted to the Programme;
Consortium:
shall mean the Parties jointly;
Coordinator:
shall be [name Party (not person)];
Defaulting Party:
shall mean the Party in breach of the Agreement and identified
as such by the Programme Board;
Duration:
shall mean the duration of the Programme as of the Effective
Date;
Effective Date:
shall mean the start date of the Programme, [date];
Field:
shall mean the academic field of [name/describe field];
Host Party:
shall mean the Party where the Candidate spends a significant
amount of time in the course of the Programme;
IP Rights:
shall mean intellectual property rights granted by law, such as
copyrights, patents, design rights, plant variety rights, etc.
Language:
shall be the language for the research and teaching activities of
the Programme, [language];
PhD Agreement:
shall mean the agreement between a Party and a Candidate, as
set out in Annex 2;
Programme:
shall mean the structured educational program in the Field, as
set out in Annex 1;
Programme Board:
the ultimate decision-making body of the Consortium;
Programme Body:
shall mean a decision making body of the Programme, as listed in
article 4.1;
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Results:
shall mean the outcome of research carried out by a Candidate
under the Programme;
2. OBJECTIVE
2.1 Parties shall faithfully work together to execute the agreed upon Programme. Each
Party commits itself to provide all necessary information to the Coordinator in time to
ensure the good functioning of the Programme.
2.2 Each Party shall act in accordance with the doctoral regulations in force at each of
the Parties. In the event of contradictory stipulations, the doctoral regulations of the
Awarding Party shall apply.
2.3 This Agreement aims at facilitating the structured cooperation among the Parties
towards the execution of the Programme. The Parties will cooperate in order to:
 [List objectives here, for example:]
 Foster the international mobility of young researchers;
 Enable young researchers to work in an international setting;
 Enhance the career prospects of young researchers;
 Offer the opportunity to receive a degree from the Awarding Party;
 etc.
2.4 This Agreement serves as a framework for the individual agreements between the
PhD candidates and the participating supervisors and institutions. PhD Agreements
can be entered into according to the format in ANNEX 1.
3. PROGRAMME ORGANIZATION
3.1 The Programme will start on the Effective Date and last the Duration. The content
of the Programme is described in Annex 1.
3.2 Applicants may request admission to the Programme by applying through one of
the Parties, as may be specified under the Agreement.
3.3 Admission to the Programme is granted by the Programme Board, provided the
applicant meets the appropriate criteria, as set out in article 5.
3.4 Candidates shall enter into an agreement with the Awarding Party further detailed
in article 5.4. The agreement shall take the form of the PhD Agreement, which has
been attached as Annex 2,.
3.5 The doctoral dissertation of each Candidate shall be written in the Language, if this
is not English, a translation of the title and a summary of the contents shall be written
in English.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Mobility
3.6 The Candidates will spend at least [X years/months] at a specific Party in order to
be eligible for a doctoral degree from that institution. The doctoral candidates in the
Programme will conduct research in at least [2 or more] institutions for at least [6 or
more] months.
3.7 The Host Party shall assist Candidates with relevant procedures outside the
academic scope, such as obtaining visa, finding housing, obtaining insurance, etc.
However, the scope of this assistance is limited to the support the Host Party offers to
its normal PhD students.
3.8 The Host Party shall use its reasonable endeavors to ensure that Candidates have
access to the relevant academic facilities (e.g. labs), infrastructure (e.g. libraries and
ICT service) and support (e.g. language courses) to enable the Candidate to participate
successfully in the Programme.
Supervision
3.9 Each Candidate will have a supervisor assigned at the Awarding Party and each of
the Host Parties they visit for more than [6 months]. The PhD Agreement between
the individual Candidate and the Awarding Party states the names of the supervisors
and their responsibilities, as set out in the PhD Agreement.
Doctoral Defense and Degree
3.10 The examination committee for each doctoral examination (doctoral dissertation
and defense of the dissertation) shall be composed by mutual consent between the
Parties. At least one of the members of the committee is not appointed/employed at the
awarding Party (or Parties as the case may be).
3.11 The public defense of the doctoral dissertation shall take place in the Language at
one of the Parties. If Leiden University is one of the awarding institutions, the defense
shall take place at Leiden University.
3.12 In the event that the Candidate passes the joint doctoral examination, the Parties
shall award him/her the agreed upon diploma, provided they are eligible to do so,
officially recognized by all Parties.
3.13 The doctor’s degree diploma will be drawn up by the Awaarding Party where the
and shall be signed by the representatives of the Awarding Party or Parties, in
accordance with locally applicable regulations.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
4. GOVERNANCE
[IN CASE OF BILATERAL PROJECTS]
4.1
Both Parties shall appoint a representative to manage the execution of the Programme.
These representatives form the Programme Board.
For Universiteit Leiden:
[Name]
[Function]
For Party B
[Name]
[Function]
4.2 The Programme Board is the ultimate decision making body of the Consortium. It
is responsible for the selection of the Candidates, it shall ensure the quality and
continuity of the Programme, ensure the accurate and complete records are kept and
the legal representatives of their respective Party are regularly and properly informed.
4.3 All communication within the Consortium concerning the governance shall take
place in English if this is not the Language.
4.4 The Programme Board shall meet at least once a year to discuss the Programme
and Candidates.
4.5 The Programme Board shall decide unanimously.
4.6.1 The following decisions shall be taken by the Programme Board:
Content, finances and intellectual property rights
 Amend the Programme
 Amend the budget
 amend Candidate criteria
 [Specify]
Appointments
 Management Support Team [optional, see below]
 External Expert Advisory Board [optional, see below]
 [Specify]
4.6.2 Any decision not described above and/or which falls outside the scope of the
authorization granted to the Member shall deemed to be a proposal to each of the
Consortium Parties for approval by its authorized representative(s).
4.7 The Programme Board shall ensure that accurate records are kept of its
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
deliberations and decisions.
Management Support Team [optional]
4.8 The Management Support Team shall be appointed by the Programme Board. It
shall shall assist and facilitate the work of the Programme Board for executing its
decisions as well as the day-to-day management of the Programme.
External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) [optional]
4.9 An External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) will be appointed and steered by the
Programme Board. The EEAB shall assist and facilitate the decisions made by the
Programme Board. The members of the EEAB are required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement no later than 30 days after their nomination or before any confidential
information will be exchanged, whichever date is earlier. The Programme Board shall
write the minutes of the EEAB meetings and prepare the implementation of the
EEAB's suggestions. The EEAB members shall be allowed to participate in
Programme Board meetings upon invitation but have no right to vote.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
[IN CASE OF MULTILATERAL PROJECTS]
General
Structure
4.1 The organisational structure of the Consortium shall comprise the following
Consortium Bodies:
 Programme Board;
 [Other bodies, optional]
Governance language
4.2 All communication within the Consortium concerning the governance shall take
place in English if this is not the Language.
Representation in meetings
4.3 Any member of a Programme Body (hereinafter referred to as "Member"):
 should be present or represented at any meeting of such Programme Body;
 may appoint a substitute or a proxy to attend and vote at any meeting; and
 shall participate in a cooperative manner in the meetings.
Preparation and organisation of meetings
4.4.1 The chairperson of a Programme Body shall convene meetings of that
Programme Body.
TABLE 1: frequency by Programme Body for Ordinary meetings and Extraordinary meetings
4.4.2 For clarification purposes, ordinary meetings mean the regular meetings, taking
place as the times and the occasions as described above. Extraordinary meetings are
the additional meetings taking place at the request of a specific Member. The
procedures described hereafter for sending and amending the agenda, holding of
meetings, voting and required quorum, veto rights and writing Minutes, apply in the
same way for both the ordinary and the extraordinary meetings.
4.4.3 The chairperson of a Programme Body shall give notice in writing of a meeting
to each Member of that Programme Body as soon as possible and no later than the
minimum number of days preceding the meeting as indicated below.
TABLE 2: lead time for meeting by Programme Body for Ordinary meetings and
Extraordinary meetings
4.4.4 The chairperson of a Programme Body shall prepare and send each Member of
that Programme Body a written (original) agenda no later than the minimum number
of days preceding the meeting as indicated below.
TABLE 3: lead time for sending the agenda by Programme Body for Ordinary meetings and
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Extraordinary meetings, usually half the time as set out in table 2.
4.4.5 Any agenda item requiring a decision by the Members of the relevant
Programme Body must be identified as such on the agenda.
4.4.6 Any Member of a Programme Body may add an item to the original agenda by
written notification to all of the other Members of that Programme Body up to the
minimum number of days preceding the meeting as indicated below.
TABLE 4: lead time for amending the agenda by Programme Body for Ordinary meetings and
Extraordinary meetings, usually half the time as set out in table 3.
4.4.7 During a meeting the Members of a Programme Body present or represented can
unanimously agree to add a new item to the original agenda.
4.4.8 Any decision may also be taken without a meeting if the Coordinator circulates to
all Members of the Programme Body a written document which is then signed by the
defined majority of all Members of the Programme Body.
4.4.9 Meetings of each Programme Body may also be held by teleconference or other
telecommunication means.
4.4.10 Decisions will only be binding once the relevant part of the Minutes has been
accepted according to section detailing the preparation and acceptance of the minutes.
Voting rules and quorum
4.5.1 Each Programme Body shall not deliberate and decide validly unless [two-thirds
(2/3) or half (1/2)] of its Members are present or represented (quorum).
4.5.2 Each Member of a Programme Body present or represented in the meeting shall
have one vote. Defaulting Parties may not vote.
4.5.3 Decisions shall be taken by a majority of [two-thirds (2/3) or half plus one
(>50%)] of the votes of the Members present or represented and entitled to vote.
Veto rights
4.6.1 A Member which can show that its own work, time for performance, costs,
liabilities, intellectual property rights or other legitimate interests would be severely
affected by a decision of a Programme Body may exercise a veto with respect to the
corresponding decision or relevant part of the decision.
4.6.2 When the decision is foreseen on the original agenda, a Member may veto such a
decision during the meeting only.
4.6.3 When a decision has been taken on a new item added to the agenda before or
during the meeting, a Member may veto such decision during the meeting and within
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
15 days after the draft minutes of the meeting are sent.
4.6.4 In case of exercise of veto, the Members of the related Programme Body shall
make every effort to resolve the matter which occasioned the veto to the general
satisfaction of all its Members.
4.6.5 A Party may not veto decisions relating to its identification as a Defaulting
Party. The Defaulting Party may not veto decisions relating to its participation and
termination in the Consortium or the consequences of them.
4.6.6 A Party requesting to leave the Consortium may not veto decisions relating
thereto.
Minutes of meetings
4.7.1 The chairperson of a Programme Body shall produce written minutes of each
meeting which shall be the formal record of all decisions taken. He shall send the draft
minutes to all Members within 10 calendar days of the meeting.
4.7.2 The minutes shall be considered as accepted if, within 15 calendar days from
sending, no Member has objected in writing to the chairperson with respect to the
accuracy of the draft of the minutes.
4.7.3 The chairperson shall send the accepted minutes to all the Members of the
Programme Body and to the Coordinator, who shall safeguard them.
Specific operational procedures for the Consortium Bodies
Programme Board
4.8.1 In addition to the rules described in the general section above, the following rules
apply:
4.8.2 The Programme Board shall consist of one representative of each Party
(hereinafter Programme Board Member).
4.8.3 Each Programme Board Member shall be deemed to be duly authorised to
deliberate, negotiate and decide on all matters listed in section below detailing the
decisions of the Programme Board of this Agreement.
4.8.4 The Coordinator shall chair all meetings of the Programme Board, unless decided
otherwise in a meeting of the Programme Board.
4.8.5 The Parties agree to abide by all decisions of the Programme Board.
Programme Board Decisions
4.8.6 The Programme Board shall be free to act on its own initiative to formulate
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
proposals and take decisions in accordance with the procedures set out herein.
4.8.7 The following decisions shall be taken by the Programme Board:
 Content, finances and intellectual property rights
 Amend the Programme
 Amend the budget
 amend Candidate criteria
 Identify a Party who is in breach of the Agreement as such;
 Determine consequence of the breach and the actions to be taken by Defaulting
Party;
 Agree on actions to be taken by a leaving Party;
 Management Support Team [optional, see below]
 External Expert Advisory Board [optional, see below]
 [Specify]
4.8.8 Any decision not described above and/or which falls outside the scope of the
authorization granted to the Member shall deemed to be a proposal to each of the
Consortium Parties for approval by its authorized representative(s).
4.8.9 Parties may agree that Member(s) shall be granted a specific mandate by the
Party it represents detailing the scope of the authorization granted. [optional]
Coordinator
4.9.1 The Coordinator shall be the central hub of the Consortium and acts as
intermediary or conduit between the Parties and third parties (such as subsidy
grantors) in relation to the Programme, in addition it will carry out the following
specific tasks:
[List]
4.9.2 In particular, the Coordinator shall be responsible for:
 monitoring compliance by the Parties with their obligations
 keeping the address list of Members and other contact persons updated and
available
 collecting, reviewing to verify consistency and submitting reports and other
deliverables (including financial statements and related certifications) to subsidy
grantors (if any);
 transmitting documents and information connected with the Programme to any
other Parties concerned; and
 [other tasks]
4.9.3 If the Coordinator fails in its coordination tasks, the Programme Board may
decide to change the Coordinator.
4.9.4 The Coordinator shall not be entitled to act or to make legally binding
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
declarations on behalf of any other Party.
Management Support Team [optional]
4.10 The Management Support Team shall be proposed by the Coordinator. It shall be
appointed by the Programme Board and shall assist and facilitate the work of the
Programme Board and the Coordinator for executing the decisions of the Programme
Board as well as the day-to-day management of the Programme.
External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) [optional]
4.11 An External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) will be appointed and steered by the
Programme Board. The EEAB shall assist and facilitate the decisions made by the
Programme Board. The members of the EEAB are required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement no later than 30 days after their nomination or before any confidential
information will be exchanged, whichever date is earlier. The Coordinator shall write
the minutes of the EEAB meetings and prepare the implementation of the EEAB's
suggestions. The EEAB members shall be allowed to participate in Programme Board
meetings upon invitation but have no right to vote.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
5. MANAGEMENT OF THE PROGRAMME
5.1 The Consortium will organize common standards for admission into the
Programme, a common application procedure and a joint Candidate selection
procedure.
Joint application procedure
5.2 Applicants submit their applications to the Coordinator. Applicants must satisfy
the requirements specified in the application procedure as published on the
Programme’s website and set out below in the Programme description (Annex 1).
Joint selection procedure
5.3 Admission of applicants into the Programme is the responsibility of the
Programme Board, who, when deciding whether to admit, will take into account the
applicant’s previous curriculum, language proficiency, and preferences. For the
selection, the Programme Board will follow the selection criteria as laid down by the
Consortium in the application procedure as published on the Programme’s website.
PhD Agreement
5.4.1 Between each Candidate and a Party, upon the start of his/her participation in
the Programme, a PhD Agreement is signed, as template of which has been attached in
Annex 2.
5.4.2 This PhD Agreement defines the academic, research, supervisory, financial and
administrative modalities of the Ccandidate’s participation in the joint doctorate
programme. This PhD Agreement shall be signed by the candidate, the representatives
of the Awarding Party and the candidate’s supervisors.
5.4.3 By signing the PhD Agreement, the representatives of the Awarding Party
accept the responsibility to ensure the training of the Candidate during his/her stay at
its institutions as part of the training leading to the awarding of the doctorate degree.
6. STATUS OF CANDIDATES
6.1 During their stay at a specific Party as detailed in article 3.6, Candidates shall be
offered either an unpaid position as guest researcher, enrollment as a PhD student with
of without a scholarship, or temporary employment depending on the terms of the
Programme description.
6.1.1 If a scholarship is awarded, the level shall be on par with the level of scholarships
awarded by the host Party to other PhD students. Local tax laws are applicable.
6.1.2 If temporary employment is agreed upon, the salary level shall be set in
accordance with the salary level of temporary employees working on a doctoral
dissertation at the host Party. Local tax laws are applicable.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
6.2 Candidates are required to meet all legal obligations in connection with their stay
at a specific Party as detailed in article 3.6.
6.2.1 Candidates must be in possession of a valid residence permit which allows them
to work if and as required by the host Party, as detailed in Annex 1.
6.2.2 Candidates are required to have adequate health insurance as well as third party
insurance or any other insurance as detailed in Annex 1.
7. FINANCE
7.1 Contributions to the expenses of the doctoral candidate that are related to the
Programme and/or to the doctoral defense, shall be discussed and agreed upon by
mutual written consent of all Parties.
7.2.1 The Consortium agrees on the following financial agreements:
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Fees: Tuition fees, bench fees, registration fees for the full programme and for
the distribution between the participating Parties
Use of research infrastructure at the participating institutions
Financial support for (international) conferences, seminars, etc.
Additional costs for the doctoral candidate (e.g. print of dissertation; costs for
defence)
Consortium support in travel costs, relocation costs and housing costs.
7.2.2 The above are the financial arrangements for all candidates in the Programme;
tailor made agreements for individual Candidates can be made in PhD Agreement, in
accordance with Annex 2.
7.3 The Coordinator shall receive a budget as set out in Annex 1 for coordination and
central administrative costs for the Programme. The budget for coordination and
administration will be [euros/year].
7.4 [Who pays what?]
8. RESULTS IP & PUBLICATION
8.1 Parties subscribe to the following principles:
1. Freedom to publish own results;
2. Freedom to do follow up research;
3. Freedom to do follow up research with third parties;
4. Freedom to use foreground for educational purposes;
5. Ownership of IP Rights based upon results generated in the Programme
follows inventorship/creatorship;
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
6. No obligatory assignment of results and/or IP Rights based thereon;
7. Market conditions for access to results and/or IP Rights based thereon for
commercial use;
8. Access conditions include an anti-shelving clause;
9. No obligation to grant access to pre-existing results and/or IP Rights based
thereon for use outside the Programme; and
10. No automatic access to future results/IP rights (i.e. results and/or IP Rights
based thereon generated outside the Programme).
Pre-existing results & IP Rights
8.2.1 Use by a Party of results and/or IP Rights based thereon owned/controlled by
another Party shall create no rights other than those specified under this Agreement.
8.2.2 Each Party hereby grants a non-exclusive, royalty free, non-transferable license
to the other Parties, to use the pre-existing results and/or IP Rights based thereon as
detailed in Annex 3 for the purpose of execution of the Programme.
8.2.3 Additional results or IP Rights may be added to Annex 3 by a Party, provided
such additional results or IP Rights are available under the same or more favourable
conditions as the original results or IP Rights.
8.2.4 Results and/or IP Rights based thereon may only be removed from Annex 3 with
the prior written consent of each Party.
New results and new IP Rights
8.3.1 The Parties agree that all rights results and/or IP Rights based thereon shall be
owned/controlled by the Party whose Candidates, employee(s), researchers, researchfellows or students made the inventive or creative step in generating such results
and/or IP Rights based thereon. In the event Candidates are not employed by a Party,
the Party where the performed the research during which the results were created shall
become the owner of the relevant IP Rights, upon assignment by the Candidate, unless
the Candidate is bound by prior engagements with third parties..
8.3.2 Where several Parties have made the inventive or creative step in generating
results, and where the contribution of each of the Parties is indivisible, regardless of
their respective share of the work, they shall jointly control such results and own the
IP Rights based thereupon (Joint IP-Owners) (Joint IP Rights).
8.3.3 In case of Joint IP Rights the Joint IP-Owners shall enter into negotiations to
conclude a joint ownership agreement as soon as possible.
8.3.4 Where no joint ownership agreement has yet been concluded:
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each of the Joint IP-Owners shall be entitled to use their Joint IP Rights on a
royalty-free basis, and without requiring the prior consent of the other Joint IPOwner(s), and
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
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each of the Joint IP-Owners shall be entitled to grant non-exclusive licenses to
third parties, without any right to sub-license,
both rights are subject to the following conditions:
at least 45 days prior notice must be given to the other joint owner(s); and
fair and reasonable compensation must be provided to the other joint owner(s),
taking into account each owner’s relative ownership.
8.3.5 Each Party hereby grants a non-exclusive, royalty free, non-transferable license
to the other Parties to use the results and/or IP Rights based thereon if necessary for
the execution of the Programme.
8.3.6 For the avoidance of doubt any grant of license not covered by this Agreement
shall be at the absolute discretion of the owning Party(ies) and subject to such terms
and conditions as may be agreed between the owning and receiving Parties.
Publication
Procedure
8.4.1 Publications of any kind shall be made in accordance with the below procedure.
8.4.2 Prior notice of any planned publication shall be made for the types of publication
in accordance with the below table:
TABLE 1: notice period for abstract/presentation/written work (articles)/etc.
8.4.3 The Party who wishes to publish (‘Publishing Party’) shall submit the draft
publication to the other Party(ies). [Details of procedure or contact person may be
added in an annex].
8.4.4 Any objection to the planned publication shall be made in writing to the
Coordinator and to the Publishing Party concerned within the time frame detailed
above.
8.4.5 The proposed publication shall not take place until the expiry of the above period,
unless all of the concerned Parties have explicitly approved publication. If no objection
is made within the time limit stated above, the publication is permitted.
8.4.6 For the avoidance of doubt, a Party shall not publish (pre-existing) results of
another Party, even if such results are amalgamated with the Publishing Party’s
results, without the other Party’s prior written approval. For the avoidance of doubt,
the mere absence of an objection is not considered as an approval.
Objections
8.4.7 An objection is justified if based of the following grounds:
 that the protection by IP Rights or (pre-existing)results would be adversely
affected by the proposed publication; or
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement

that the proposed publication includes Confidential Information of the objecting
Party.
8.4.8 The objection has to include for each part of the publication objected to, the
grounds of the objection for each objection, indicating which part of the publication the
objection is aimed at (individual paragraphs or sentences) and a precise request for
necessary modifications (including deletions).
8.4.9 In the event that an objection is raised in accordance to the above, the Publishing
Party and the objecting Party shall seek in good faith to agree to a solution whereby
the Parties objecting give permission to publish the proposed publication.
8.4.10 In the event parts of a publication are objected to on ground (1), as set out in
8.4.7, the publication will be permitted after expiry of a period of three (3) calendar
months following the first submission of the proposed publication in accordance to the
procedure set out above.
8.4.11 In the event parts of a publication are objected to on ground (2) , as set out in
8.4.7, the objection(s) will be deemed withdrawn in the event the Party proposing the
publication removes the parts objected to from the intended publication.
Cooperation obligations
8.4.12 The Parties undertake to cooperate to allow the timely submission, examination,
publication and defence of any dissertation or thesis for a degree which includes their
(pre-existing) results to the extent the latter is linked to the results in order to make it
meaningful. However, confidentiality and publication clauses have to be respected.
8.4.13 Where a person carrying out work on the Programme on behalf of a Party (the
"Relevant Party") needs to include (pre-existing) results of another Party in a
publication to qualify for a degree, dissertation or thesis, approval for such inclusion
shall be obtained from the appropriate Party owning/controlling such results (and
rights based thereupon) or affected by the inclusion in accordance with the provisions
the article on publication above, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld.
8.4.14 To ensure that the planned date of publication can be met the approval of the
Relevant Parties shall be sought at least three months before the latest date on which
(pursuant to the qualification procedures) the contents of the planned publication can
be altered.
8.4.15 The Parties undertake to cooperate to resolve disputes as to the contents of
such publication in order to ensure timely release of the publication, in any event
within 90 days of first notification that a publication will be made.
8.4.16 Nothing in this Agreement (including, without limitation, this article) shall
prevent or delay:
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
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a publication to qualify for a degree if the dissertation or thesis includes only
incidental or minor elements of results of another Party, provided always that
the intention to publish such dissertation or thesis has been notified to the other
Party(ies) owning such results in writing and promptly as soon as such
intention is foreseen.
a student of a Publishing Party to qualify for a degree containing all or any part
of the results of another Party for assessment or examination in accordance
with this article. Such a publication to qualify for a degree may be examined by
examiners appointed by the Party whose student wishes to submit a publication
for a degree in accordance with applicable national regulations and laws.
8.4.17 Parties strive for open access publication of each thesis for which a degree is
awarded through the repository of the Awarding Party and/or (e.g. in absence thereof)
through the repository of another Party.
8.4.18 A Candidate may request that part of his/her Thesis is to be held under
embargo, provided that such embargo is allowed under the applicable regulations at
the Awarding Party. The Candidate and the Awarding Party shall agree on such an
embargo in light of the interests of the Parties, the Candidate and the Programme.
Use of names, logos or trademarks
8.5.1 Parties agree that each of the Parties may publish the scope of the Programme
and the participation and role of each Party involved by using name of the Parties and
the associated logo/trademark. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not include
publication of actual research plans and/or results generated in the course of the
Programme.
8.5.2 Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring rights to use in
advertising, publicity or otherwise the name of the Parties or any of their logos or
trademarks without their prior written approval.
9. CONFIDENTIALITY
9.1 Subject to the article on Results, IP and Publication above, each Party shall ensure
that any of the information it receives from another Party shall be treated as
Confidential Information.
9.2 The Receiving Party shall not disclose such information to any third party, without
the prior written consent of the Disclosing Party.
9.3 The Receiving Party shall not to use the Confidential Information for any purpose
other than the purpose of performing the Programme.
9.4 Such confidentiality shall continue for a period of five (5) years from termination or
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
expiry of this Agreement.
9.5 The Parties agree that received information shall not be deemed to be Confidential
Information to the extent that it:
 is in or comes into the public domain without any breach of the terms of this
Agreement;
 is known by the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure by the Disclosing Party
as evidenced by the Receiving Party's written records;
 is obtained by or available to the Receiving Party from a third party who is in
possession of the Confidential Information and of whom Receiving Party may
reasonably assume that it is free to disclose it; or
 is originated or developed by the Receiving Party independently of any such
disclosure from the Disclosing Party.
9.6 In the event Receiving Party is required by a competent court or authority to
disclose certain Confidential Information, it is at liberty to do so provided it discloses
no more than required, it informs the Disclosing Party as soon as it becomes aware of
the requirement and offers its reasonable cooperation to the Disclosing Party to limit
any damage suffered by it. For the avoidance of doubt, disclosure on the above ground
as such does affect the confidential nature of the Confidential Information disclosed.
9.7 Upon termination or expiry of this Agreement, each Party will at the first request
of the Disclosing Party return and/or destroy, at the election of the Disclosing Party,
any and all of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information to the Disclosing Party,
except for one copy which may be kept for archival purposes only and which shall
remain subject to the confidentiality conditions set forth herein.
10. RENEWAL AND TERMINATION
10.1 The Agreement may renewed by mutual written consent at least three (3) months
prior to the end of the Duration.
10.2 This Agreement may be terminated by mutual consent of the Parties jointly,
provided that any conditions for such a termination set by the Programme Board are
executed by the leaving Party.
10.3 Each Party shall have the right to terminate the Agreement by giving [three (3)]
months’ written notice in writing to the other Parties at any time, in case of the
following events:
1. the Candidates who entered the Programme by one of the other Parties (under
article 3.2) have repeatedly and/or consistently failed to meet the standards
setout in Annex 1;
2. a Candidate(s) provided by (an)other Party/ies harms the reputation of the
Party; or
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
3. the terminating Party no longer has the academic staff available to meet the
requirements of the Programme.
10.4 Each Party may terminate this Agreement on written notice with immediate
effect if:
1. (one of) the other Parties acts in a way which harms (or is likely to harm) the
reputation of the terminating Party;
2. has committed a material breach hereunder and has failed to remedy that breach
(if capable of remedy) within thirty (30) days of being given written notice
thereof;
10.5 The Parties may terminate the Agreement with a Defaulting Party.
Notwithstanding this termination, the Defaulting Party shall remain bound to carry
out the tasks the Programme Board has identified for its departure.
10.6 If the Agreement is terminated, the terminating Party shall ensure that the
termination as such does not affect the PhD Agreements existing under the
Agreement.
10.7 Termination shall not affect any rights or obligations of a leaving Party (be it
under 10.2, 10.3, 10.4 or 10.5) incurred prior to the date of termination, unless
otherwise agreed between the Parties and the leaving Party. The leaving Party shall
provide all reasonable assistance to the remaining Parties to avoid loss of time or
damage due to its departure.
11. LIABILITY
11.1 No Party shall be responsible to any other Party for any indirect or consequential
loss or similar damage such as, but not limited to, loss of profit, loss of revenue or loss
of contracts, provided such damage was not caused by a willful act or by gross
negligence.
11.2A Party’s aggregate liability towards the other Parties collectively shall be limited
to that Party’s budget (which may be zero) provided such damage was not caused by a
willful act or gross negligence.
11.3 Each Party shall be solely liable for any loss, damage or injury to third parties
resulting from the performance of the said Party’s obligations by it or on its behalf
under this Agreement
11.4 Parties shall not be liable towards each other for damage caused by a Candidate in
the course of the Programme. Employer or other liabilities of the Party or Parties
towards the Candidates shall be subject to local (labour) law.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
12. WARRANTIES
12.1 Parties shall ensure that the identity papers and academic qualifications of the
Candidates provided are authentic and meet the appropriate (academic) standards.
12.2 Parties do not guarantee that the Candidates complete the Programme with
success and/or within a given period.
13 MISCELANEOUS
13.1 The Agreement may be modified or amended by written agreement between the
Parties.
13.2 A waiver by any Party of a breach or default of another Party under any of the
provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any succeeding
breach of the same or other provisions. Nor shall any delay or omission on the part of
any Party to exercise or avail itself of any right, power or privilege that it has or may
have under this Agreement, operate as a waiver of any breach or default by another
Party.
13.3 This Agreement may not be rescinded [(in rechte) ontbonden], in whole or in
part, by any Party to this Agreement.
13.4 This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the Parties in relation to its
subject matter. Any Schedules to this Agreement shall form a part thereof. This
Agreement may only be amended or supplemented in writing, by way of a document
signed by [the authorised representatives] of all Parties.
13.5 If part of this Agreement is or becomes invalid or non-binding, the Parties shall
remain bound to the remaining part. The Parties shall replace the invalid or nonbinding part by provisions which are valid and binding and the effect of which, given
the contents and purpose of this Agreement, is, to the greatest extent possible, similar
to that of the invalid or non-binding part.
13.6 No Party may not assign or transfer [their] rights and obligations under this
Agreement, in whole or in part, in any way, to a third party without the prior written
consent of the other Parties.
13.7 This Agreement shall be governed by Dutch law.
13.8 Any dispute arising from this agreement shall be referred for resolution in the
first instance to the Programme Board.
13.9 If they are unable to agree within thirty days after referral to them, the dispute
shall be referred to the legal representatives of each of the partner institutions.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
13.10 If the dispute has still not been settled sixty days after referral to the legal
representatives, or within such other period as the parties may agree in writing, the
dispute shall be resolved exclusively by the competent courts in The Hague, the
Netherlands.
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Date:….
Prof.dr. C.J.J.M. Stolker,
President & Rector Magnificus Universiteit Leiden
……………………………………………………………..
Date:….
[representative partner institution]
<name>
<position> ….<name institution>
……………………………………………………………..
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Annex 1 Programme description
Including
 Contents of the Programme
 Mobility requirements
 Requirements for applicants
 Budget for the Parties
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Annex 2 Individual Joint Doctoral Degree Agreement
Joint Doctoral Programme Agreement
Annex 3 IP Rights