Incoming call - la Caixa Foundation
”la Caixa” Foundation grants 35 fellowships for researchers of any nationality who wish to pursue a doctorate in a STEM discipline at research centres of excellence in Spain or Portugal.
Key points
35 fellowships to pursue PhD studies in research centres accredited with the Spanish Seal of Excellence Severo Ochoa, María de Maeztu or Health Institute Carlos III and Portuguese units accredited as “excellent” according to the evaluation of the Fundação de Ciência e Tecnologia.
STEM disciplines (technology, engineering, physics, mathematics, health and life sciences).
Maximum duration: 3 years.
Funding to cover labour costs, research costs and doctoral tuition fees.
On-site training programme in multidisciplinary skills.
Requirements of the call
Experience: candidates must be in the first four years of their research career and have not previously been awarded a PhD or be in a position to apply for one.
Academic record: at the time of recruitment, candidates must have completed studies that allow them to enrol in an official doctoral programme in Spain/Portugal. Verification of the level of studies equivalent to those mentioned above will be carried out by the host university when the admission procedure begins.
Mobility: candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain/Portugal for more than twelve months in the three years immediately preceding the closing date of the call.
Level of English: candidates must have an advanced level of English (B2 or higher).
Centres of Excellence
Those receiving an Incoming Doctoral INPhINIT fellowship must carry out their research project at one of the Spanish research centres that have obtained a Severo Ochoa or María de Maeztu accreditation of excellence from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, a Carlos III Health Research Institute or a Portuguese R&D centre classified as "excellent" by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Logically, these are centres and units that stand out for their impact and scientific leadership at an international level and that actively collaborate with their social and business environment.
PhD positions offer
The centers of excellence that agree to participate in this call offer outstanding PhD positions each year to future Doctoral INPhINIT Incoming fellows.
Check out the PhD open positions offered by the host institutions participating in the 2023 call.
You can apply for a Doctoral INPhINIT fellowship through ”la Caixa” Foundation's fellowship application website.
If you'd like to be notified when the next call begins, sign up!
For any suggestions or doubts, you can contact: fellowships@fundacionlacaixa.org.
The selection process is made up of three consecutive phases:
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Phase 1 - Eligibility
All applications are reviewed to check the accomplishment of the eligibility criteria published in the rules for participation.
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Phase 2 - Preselection
Each eligible application is assessed remotely for at lest two evaluators with relevant experience in the same discipline. The criteria governing the evaluation in this phase are as follows:
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Academic record and curriculum vitae (50 %): the candidate's qualifications will be evaluated as well as the academic and/or professional curriculum in relation to the career stage and the opportunities they may have had.
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Motivation and statement of purpose (30 %): the excellence of the ideas introduced in the statement of purpose will be assessed, considering their originality, innovative approach and their potential impact as well as the suitability of the host institution chosen and the studies or research to pursue.
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Reference letters (20 %): the reference letters received will be assessed, considering both the specificity of their content regarding the candidates as well as the profile of the referees.
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Phase 3 - Selection interviews
Preselected candidates are invited to a personal interview before a multidisciplinary committee, which evaluates them according to the criteria listed below:
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Candidate's potential (40 %): the candidate's potential will be assessed considering their soft skills, such as clarity, consistent discourse and articulation of ideas, ability to express complex and independent reasoning, originality, entrepreneurship, leadership and teamwork.
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Motivation and statement of purpose (30 %): the excellence of the ideas introduced in the statement of purpose will be assessed, considering their originality, innovative approach and their potential impact as well as the suitability of the host institution chosen and the studies or research to pursue.
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Academic and professional background (30 %): academic and professional background of the candidate in relation to the career stage and the opportunities they may have had.
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Join
Each year, the Fellowship Programme benefits from the collaboration of a large number of experts from different disciplines who are involved in evaluating applications to ensure rigour and transparency in the selection process.
If you're interested in forming part of our database and would like to be involved in evaluating future fellowship calls, please contact us by sending an email to fellowships.evaluators@fundaciolacaixa.org along with your CV in PDF format or a link to the website where this can be found.
Documents of interest regarding the call for applications
Programme guidelines
All the information you need regarding the details of this fellowship, the application and selection process.
Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette)
Call for applications published in the BOE.
(Only in Spanish)
Documents of interest regarding the evaluation process
Selection process guidelines
Code of Conduct
List of evaluators in the 2022 call
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No713673.
The co-funded part of the programme runs from 01/10/2016 to 30/09/2021 and finances the researchers recruited under Call 2017 and 2018.
