The ”la Caixa” Foundation attracts and retains talent with a hundred fellowships for young researchers

The ”la Caixa” Foundation has awarded 100 new doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to outstanding researchers to carry out their projects at universities and research centres in Spain and Portugal. Through the doctoral INPhINIT fellowships and the postdoctoral Junior Leader fellowships, the ”la Caixa” Foundation aims to both retain and attract talent to foster excellence in research in these countries.

The fellowships not only offer competitive salaries, but also include a robust cross-disciplinary training programme. In the case of doctoral fellowships, the focus is on strengthening areas such as scientific communication, researchers’ emotional well-being, leadership and funding opportunities. Meanwhile, the postdoctoral fellowships are designed to foster an independent scientific career, promoting innovation and leadership as key pillars for professional development.

“These fellowships represent a first-class opportunity for the researchers who have received them, but also for society as a whole. Because with the support of their research we’re investing in disciplines that contribute to the well-being of citizens and the construction of a better future for all,” explained the general manager of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Josep Maria Coronas, during the fellowship award ceremony at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona.

The ”la Caixa” Foundation Fellowships are the most prestigious among those promoted by private entities in Spain and Europe, both in terms of the number awarded and the diversity of disciplines covered. In total, the Foundation will allocate more than 21 million euros to this cohort of doctoral and postdoctoral fellowship recipients. Both programmes have been co-funded by the European Commission through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Actions, as part of the Horizon 2020 framework programme.

Profile of the fellowship recipients

Of the 100 fellowship recipients selected in this edition, 53 are Spanish and 47 are international, representing 19 different countries. Of these, the country with the highest number of recipients is Italy, with 15, followed by Portugal with eight and Germany with four.

The fellowships awarded have been distributed among nearly 60 research centres and universities across Spain and Portugal. In terms of specialisations, molecular biology and biochemistry lead the list with 12 fellowships, followed by theoretical physics and mathematics with six fellowships, mathematical and computational biology with five, and cell biology with four.