What is a dual degree?

A dual degree is a type of university education that allows students to combine their classroom education with paid professional work experience at a company. 

Unlike conventional external internships, students' time with the company is a core and graded part of the academic program. 

Those who study this option receive not just theoretical education but also refine their knowledge, develop digital and technical skills, and gain experience in real-life situations by developing transversal skills similar to those they will experience at the conclusion of their studies.

For Repsol, this model represents an important advance for several key reasons:

• We align talent and real needs: we collaborate with the university to ensure that the knowledge taught is aligned with the current technical needs of our activities.
• Early immersion: The student understands, from day one, the processes and challenges in a real manufacturing environment.
• Dual mention: a seal on the official degree that certifies that the student has had a real performance at a company, accrediting an apprenticeship that meets the demands of today's market.

Of course, the concept of a dual degree is applicable to other disciplines, but here at Repsol we've led this change in a sector as crucial to the economy and the energy transition as the chemicals sector.

Thanks to chemistry, a reduction in carbon intensity can be achieved in industrial processes: from the optimization of complexes to the production of renewable fuels to the promotion and efficiency of new energy vectors such as hydrogen. 

The students of this program are not passive observers: they are professionals-in-training who work on real efficiency and process improvement projects, mainly at our industrial complexes.

This boost to the university degree is the evolution of our consolidated experience with dual vocational training (VT).

On April 21, 2022, the Organic Law on the Regulation and Integration of VT came into force, which aimed to unify the educational system with employment-oriented training programs.  

This law was made to adapt the professional qualification to the demands of the labor market, as well as to establish a system of accompaniment and professional guidance that accompanies people throughout their training career. This is a vision that we're already applying at Repsol through our participation in the development of operational profiles: because the in-depth knowledge of teams in the field is what allows us to optimize our value chains. 

This training allows people to officially certify their experience at these real work environments while increasing their employability rate. It's a path initiated in that vision of dual VT that we now incorporate into this dual degree. 

This is not just a corporate social responsibility action but a strategic decision. When universities and companies speak the same language, knowledge transfer is two-way. This commitment has a helps talent take root and accelerates innovation.

Companies are strengthening their relationships with academics through internship programs, training for recent graduates, and participation in university forums. 

These initiatives help students make contact with professional realities earlier on and facilitate their transition to the job market. In our case, we articulate these relationships through concrete actions such as: 

• Talent Energy: an internship program that includes the possibility of joining Repsol aftewards, connecting training and real experience through quality internships.
• Hands-on practice for vocational training
• Dual degree
• Graduates: a program for taking on recent graduates with maximum experience of three years through a permanent contract from the first day. 

Career guidance at Repsol's University Fair in employment forums at universities such as Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Politécnica de Madrid, ICAI-ICADE, CEU San Pablo, Politécnica de Cartagena, or Castilla-La Mancha, among others.

Recognition of young talent through awards for the best final master's projects (TFMs in Spain), Impulse and Alumni scholarships, or participation in spaces such as the Talent Forum of the Princess of Girona Foundation alongside the Repsol Foundation.

In a world in which attracting technical talent has become one of the great challenges for companies, strengthening university-business collaboration is necessary. Models such as the dual degree or dual vocational training show that it's possible to shorten the distance between academic training and the real needs of the market.