One hundred ”la Caixa” Foundation fellowships to attract and retain young research talent

A total of 100 researchers will carry out their projects in Spain and Portugal thanks to the 60 fellowships awarded under the INPhINIT doctoral programme and the 40 fellowships from the ”la Caixa” Foundation’s Junior Leader postdoctoral programme.

The ”la Caixa” Foundation has awarded 100 new doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to outstanding researchers so that they can carry out their projects at universities and research centres in Spain and Portugal. Through the INPhINIT doctoral fellowships and the Junior Leader postdoctoral fellowships, the ”la Caixa” Foundation pursues the dual objective of retaining and attracting talent to foster research excellence in these countries.

These fellowships not only offer competitive salaries, but also include a robust cross-disciplinary training programme. In the case of the doctoral fellowships, the programme strengthens areas such as scientific communication, researchers’ emotional wellbeing, leadership, and funding opportunities. The postdoctoral fellowships, meanwhile, are designed to support the development of an independent scientific career, promoting innovation and leadership as key pillars of professional development.

“Doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships are a recognition of the talent and effort of the researchers who have been awarded them. Each of these projects has the potential to generate new knowledge, open up new avenues for innovation and provide answers to challenges that directly affect citizens’ wellbeing and the building of a better future for all. At the ”la Caixa” Foundation, we want to support these brilliant minds so they can develop their ideas under the best possible conditions and promote a scientific ecosystem capable of transforming realities,” explained Josep Maria Coronas, the foundation’s general manager, during the fellowship award ceremony held at the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona.

The ”la Caixa” Foundation Fellowship programme is one of the most significant initiatives promoted by private organisations in Spain and Europe, both in terms of the number of fellowships awarded and the diversity of disciplines they cover. In total, the organisation will allocate more than 22 million euros to this cohort of doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships. Both programmes have been co-funded by the European Commission through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND Actions, within the context of the Horizon 2020 framework programme.

Profile of the fellows

Of the 100 fellows selected in this edition, 41 are Spanish and 59 are international, representing 25 different countries. Among these, the country with the largest number of fellows is Italy with 14, followed by Portugal with 12, Germany with 5, and Belgium and Poland with 3 fellows each.

The fellowships have been distributed across more than 70 research centres and universities in Spain and Portugal. In terms of fields of specialisation, engineering and biomedical technology top the list with 8 fellows. These are followed by astronomy and astrophysics, as well as cell biology, with 6 fellows each. Basic neuroscience, theoretical and mathematical physics, molecular biology and biochemistry, and oncology each account for 5 fellows.

Two fellowship schemes to attract and retain talent

The ”la Caixa” Foundation doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships comprise two categories. The Incoming category is aimed at young researchers of any nationality who wish to carry out their work at centres of excellence in Spain – accredited as Severo Ochoa, María de Maeztu, or Carlos III Health Institutes – or at Portuguese units rated Excellent by the FCT. To be eligible, candidates must not have resided in Spain or Portugal for more than 12 months during the previous three years. 

The Retaining category, meanwhile, is aimed at researchers who have already lived for more than 12 months in one of these countries during the same period and who wish to continue their research at any research centre or university in Spain or Portugal.