Key points

• 30 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, chemistry, mathematics, health and life sciences).

• Maximum duration: 4 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 not have carried out more than four years of research activity before the closing date of the call.

• Studies pursued: at the time of recruitment, candidates must have completed the studies that allow them to enrol in an official PhD programme in Spain/Portugal. The verification of the required level of studies will be carried out by the host university when the admission procedure begins.
  Candidates can not have started doctoral studies prior to the start of the fellowship.

• 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 accredit the required level of English by submitting one of the certificates specified in the rules for participation.

 

Centres of Excellence

Those receiving an Incoming Doctoral INPhINIT fellowship must carry out their doctorate at one of the Spanish research centres that have obtained a Severo Ochoa or María de Maeztu accreditation of excellence from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, 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.

This includes the following research centres and centres of excellence:

• Severo Ochoa Research Centres

• Maria de Maeztu Units and Centres

• Carlos III Health Research Institutes

• Units of Excellence – FCT

 

FAQ

If you have any doubts about the call, please consult the list of frequently asked questions.

You can apply for a Doctoral INPhINIT fellowship through the application website of the ”la Caixa” Foundation Fellowships Programme.

On the application website you can also request to receive a notification when the next call for applications opens by clicking on the "Receive a notification" button.

For any suggestions or doubts, you can contact: [email protected].

The selection process is made up of three consecutive phases:

• Phase 1 - Eligibility

  All applications are reviewed to check the accomplishment of the eligibility criteria published in the rules for participation.




• Phase 2 - Shortlisting

  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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.
      

• Phase 3 - Selection interviews

  Shortlisted candidates are invited to a personal interview before a multidisciplinary committee, which evaluates them according to the criteria listed below:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

 

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 [email protected] along with your CV in PDF format or a link to the website where this can be found.

Download materials

With the aim of creating synergies and informing as many people as possible about the doctoral INPhINIT fellowships call for applications, we'd be grateful if you could help us disseminate the communication materials among the students.

• Call posters

• Informative mail

• Posts to publish on Social Media

• Recommendations for promoting the call on Social Media

 

More information

• How should the communication materials be disseminated?

  To ensure effective communication, first of all we'd recommend a mailing to explain the details of the call to the students.

  Then we'd suggest publishing the downloadable posts about the call on all social media channels, taking into account the texts proposed for publications contained in the Recommendations for promoting the call on Social Media.

  We'd also recommend printing the posters in A4 or A3 format to publicise the call at the university or centre.

• How should the results of the publications be shared?

  ”la Caixa” Foundation is very grateful for your help in promoting calls among the students. To optimise the communication materials, we'd like you to help, as far as possible, by providing us with some important data on the pieces published on your digital channels: a description of the audience reached, screenshots of your publications on social media and the language in which your posts were published.

 

Contact

You can send any doubts or suggestions to: [email protected].