Deadline: 25-Sep-2025
The “la Caixa” Foundation is offering 20 postdoctoral fellowships for researchers of any nationality to carry out research in a STEM discipline at leading universities and research centres in Spain or Portugal. The fellowships are for a period of three years and must be conducted at institutions with recognized excellence, including those awarded the Severo Ochoa or María de Maeztu excellence awards in Spain, the Institutos de Salud Carlos III, or R&D units rated Excellent by Portugal’s Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.
The fellowships are focused on research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which also includes Bio and Health Sciences. The goal is to attract experienced researchers to conduct high-level research in these fields at accredited institutions.
Each fellowship is valued at a maximum of €320,100, which includes three annual payments of up to €102,500. Of this, a maximum of €64,000 is allocated to cover the full labour costs, including salary, which must be at least €47,000 gross per year. An additional €38,500 per year is designated for research project expenses such as equipment, travel, registration fees, IP management, secondment costs, and other related expenditures.
Fellows may also receive an annual family allowance of €1,200 for each dependent child. A mobility allowance of €5,400 gross will be provided at the start of the fellowship for relocation and housing if the fellow moves to a new location to join the host institution.
Applicants must be postdoctoral researchers of any nationality and must have obtained their PhD between 25 September 2018 and 25 September 2023. If the candidate holds multiple PhDs, eligibility is based on the date of the first PhD. The eligibility period can be extended in cases of illness, maternity, paternity, or compulsory national service, with documentation required for justification.
Mobility conditions apply. Candidates applying to institutions in Spain must not have lived or worked in Spain for more than 12 months in the three years prior to the application deadline. For those with at least two years of research inactivity, they must not have spent more than 36 months in Spain in the five years prior to the deadline. The same mobility conditions apply to candidates joining institutions in Portugal.
The selection process consists of three stages. First, an eligibility check is conducted to ensure all formal requirements are met. Then, eligible applications are reviewed by expert panels composed of two to four specialists in the relevant field. Finally, shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a face-to-face interview as the final stage of selection.
For more information, visit “la Caixa” Foundation.
