CIFRE programme: public/private cooperation for professional insertion of doctoral graduates in companies

During the symposium about the 40 years of the CIFRE held on 15 March by the “Association nationale de la recherche et de la technologie”, the ministry in charge of research takes stock on this system currently gaining momentum. The “Conventions industrielles de formation par la recherche” (CIFRE, for Industrial Training Conventions by Research) foster conventions between public research labs and socio-economic groups, by contributing to the employment of doctoral graduates in companies.

The CIFRE system is financed by the Ministry or Higher Education, Research and Innovation and managed by the Association nationale de la recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT), and its popularity has never stopped growing since its creation in 1981. The number of requests has been rising sharply over the last 3 years (+8% compared to 2018). This attractiveness should be confirmed with the new research programming law since the system should grow even more to reach 2,150 CIFRE per year in 2027 (against 1,500 in 2020).

An area for exchange between two worlds

While celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the CIFREs, the French ministry for research paid a tribute to this system “connecting two driving energies of a society: the desire to understand, and the desire to undertake”. According to the minister, the CIFREs are a “true area for exchange” between the academic world and the private sector. In this respect, they represent an “important lever to launch and improve cooperation between the private and public sector in Research and Development”. Most of all, for students, the CIFRE programme has become a “true stepping stone for professional insertion”.

For the ministry, the objectives of this system are dual, since the idea is to put doctoral graduates in conditions of scientific employment and, at the same time, encourage the development of a partnership-based research between the academic world and companies.

A professional framework for doctoral students

Thanks to the CIFRE programme, doctoral students can prepare their thesis work in a professionalizing environment and find a job quickly. According to the ministry, 90% of them find a job in the six months following the expiration of their convention.

In practical terms, the company provides a doctoral student with research work corresponding to the strategic research necessary to the economic development of a company. For its part, the lab from which the doctoral student depends, external to the company, ensure the scientific supervision. To benefit from this system, the doctoral student must have passed a Master-grade degree less than 3 years ago and be registered in a doctoral course (and thus be a doctoral student). The doctoral student is assigned in a company full-time. She/he receives a salary from the company, which is in turn subsidised by the government, and she/he must be employed to be assigned a research project that will be the subject of her/his thesis. To be noted that information and communication technologies and sciences and engineering sciences remain a majority in the share of CIFRE thesis accepted in 2020.

International openness

International doctoral students may benefit from a CIFRE.  The ANRT, manager of this programme, recommends to be issued a long-term visa acting as residence permit (VLS-TS, for “Visa Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour”) valid for more than three months and including the Scientist-Researcher label (“Scientifique-Chercheur”), which “authorizes residence in France and to work full time in the conditions detailed in the greeting convention of an international researcher”. International joint tutoring (“cotutuelle”) of thesis are also possible, because “research is necessarily international”.

40 years of the CIFREs: doctoral graduate share their experience

To celebrate the 40 years of the CIFRES, the ANRT published the stories of doctoral students and graduates, including alumni. 

Other stories are available on the YouTube page of the ANRT.

Learn more on: 

- 40th anniversary of the CIFRE system

- Association nationale de la recherche et de la technologie (ANRT)

- Key figures of the CIFRE programme

Photo credit: © ANRT