The FPI-ICIQ 2026 Call targets outstanding postgraduate students worldwide to support their participation in a training and research programme in chemistry, ultimately leading to a Doctoral Thesis. The Doctoral Thesis will be linked to a research project funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, la Agencia Estatal de Investigación, and the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE+) under the framework of the Call 2025 of Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento.
The PhD students granted will have the opportunity to develop their professional careers in the fields of academia and industry. This objective is achieved by:
- The performance of an individual research project under the direction of an internationally renowned Group Leader, in a creative and stimulating scientific environment.
- A complementary training programme in both technical and soft skills. The educational framework is designed to ensure a successful career: scientific seminars, hands-on training in the use of state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation, IP management, entrepreneurship, research integrity, knowledge and technology transfer, grant applications, project management, communication skills and career development. ICIQ provides a personalized annual training program for PhD students called SHARP (Severo Ochoa PhD Training Program), which occurs over two weeks each academic year, and focuses on their specific PhD year.
- Opportunities for short stays in distinguished international research institutions.
The programme is addressed to highly qualified, motivated and talented graduate students with a strong interest in research in Chemistry or related fields. Candidates should have an excellent academic record, a deep commitment to scientific research and a solid working knowledge of English.
The process of evaluation and selection guarantees the principles of competition, publicity and transparency.
I. Available positions: See Annex 1
II. Application process
The entire application process will be completed online. Applicants must apply via the ICIQ’s Career Portal. Applications sent by email or any other means will be ineligible.
Candidates must apply to one project, with the possibility to include a Second Option, in the event that they are not selected for their first choice. In addition, candidates who only wish to apply for one position, can waive the second option.
After completing the online form, applicants must attach the following documents:
1) Required documentation
a. A full Curriculum Vitae (in PDF format). It should include the academic background, work or research experience, publications, conferences, grants and awards, previous participation in ICIQ programmes, and other relevant merits and references.
b. A personal statement that describes the applicant’s academic background, research experience and career goals (maximum two (2) DIN A4 pages, in PDF format). The candidate must be able to communicate their interests and how these would align with ICIQ and the PhD training programme. Candidates should also mention the research group where they would like to carry out their PhD and the reasons why they are interested in a particular research project.
c. Official transcripts of BSc and MSc studies in PDF format. A scanned copy of the certified academic record of the studies granting access to the PhD programme (BSc and MSc). Candidates must have completed their Master’s degree at the time of enrolment in order to be eligible for the PhD programme (please refer to section III. Eligibility Criteria for further information on the eligibility requirements). For academic records not issued in Catalan, Spanish or English, a certified translation in English should be provided; otherwise, they will be ineligible and, therefore, not taken into consideration. For degrees obtained in foreign institutions, the academic record must include the range of marks used in the corresponding countries and the minimum mark to pass, as well as the hours or ECTS and marks for each subject.
d. Contact details for letters of recommendation of two University professors, Researchers in industry or other relevant individuals who can assess the candidate’s potential for research. ICIQ will contact the people listed as references only if a candidate is shortlisted. We suggest informing your references.
e. English proficiency level: Applicants must provide evidence of their proficiency in written and oral communication in the English language. Preferably, by the submission of a B2 certificate, First Certificate, IELTS 6 or equivalent. This certificate is not mandatory but desirable, and alternatively, late-stage candidates will be interviewed to assess their English level. Applicants from the Anglosphere (UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) are exempt from this requirement.
Once the application has been successfully completed, an acknowledgement e-mail will be automatically sent. Candidates must ensure that all information is included before the deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
III. Eligibility criteria
The programme is open to graduate students from any nationality who fulfil the following eligibility criteria:
a. Candidates must have a master’s or an equivalent degree in the areas of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Chemical Engineering or related disciplines, that allows them to be admitted in a Spanish PhD Programme by the time the fellowship starts. The fellowship will start between January 1st and July 1st, 2027, on a date agreed by the fellow and the PI, preferably on the 1st of the month.
When in doubt regarding the eligibility criteria, applicants should contact ICIQ’s HR Unit at [email protected] before submission of the application.
Candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria will be evaluated according to the Evaluation Criteria described in point IV.
IV Evaluation criteria:
Criteria 1. Academic and/or scientific-technical career path of the candidate (up to 50 points).
Sub-criteria
1. a) Scientific-technical contributions (up to 45 points). The academic record and other curricular merits of the candidate will be assessed, as well as their suitability for the tasks to be carried out based on training and professional experience.
1. b) Mobility and internationalisation (up to 5 points). Short stays in national and international institutions, universities, and industry will be assessed based on the prestige of the hosting entity and the activities conducted during the stay. Additionally, the impact of the research stays on the candidate’s career will also be considered.
Criteria 2. Adequacy of the candidate to the research activities to be carried out (up to 50 points).
The adequacy of the candidates for the program, project or research activities to be carried out will be assessed based on their previous training and experience. For that purpose, consideration shall be given to the added value that carrying out the project will represent for their research career, as well as the value contributed to the institution and the host research group.
V. Evaluation and Selection Process
The evaluation and selection of the candidates will be performed by the project supervisor, supported by the Human Resources team, and following the procedure below:
1. Submitted applications will be checked for eligibility, and those not fulfilling all the criteria will be rejected. It will not be possible to modify the application or to add missing documentation after the call deadline.
2. The selection will be based on the evaluation criteria described in Section IV.
3. At the late stages of the selection process, short-listed candidates will be contacted for a personal interview.
4. All applicants will be notified of the final selection decision when the selection process has been completed and the candidate has been selected and accepted. Candidates may submit allegations they deem to be appropriate, within 10 days of the date of the publication.
Successful candidates will be requested to inform ICIQ whether they accept or decline the offer within five business days of being notified. If the applicant does not respond during this time, the offer will be considered declined.
ICIQ follows a gender equality opportunity policy and a non-discrimination policy based on age, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language, and disability in its selection process.
ICIQ is committed to promoting a work-life balance for its employees and, as such, offers flexible working hours.
V. Fellowship Conditions
1. The awardees of an FPI-ICIQ PhD fellowship will be considered research personnel in training, and they will have an employment contract (a pre-doctoral contract) which is regulated in the Spanish Law 14/2011, of June 1st, of Science, Technology and Education.
2. The Fellowship Conditions are regulated in the 2025 call of “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento” and fellowships for predoctoral researchers associated with these projects, within the framework of the “Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027”, Articles 3, 12 and 13.
3. The fellowship includes the salary, the enrolment fees to a PhD program (up to 4 years) and the opportunity to carry out fully funded short stays in other institutions, companies or universities abroad.
4. Predoctoral contracts are renewed annually for up to 4 years. Renewal is subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities. The time spent with previous pre-doctoral contracts will be deducted from the 48 months granted.
The gross annual salary will be divided into twelve monthly payments. At the time of publishing this call, the gross yearly salary is set at 25.456,10 euros. This amount may be adjusted in the event of an increase in the remuneration established by the Statute of Predoctoral Research Staff in Training (EPIF). In any case, the remuneration of the contract may not be lower than 75% of the salary established for equivalent categories under the applicable collective agreements during any of the funded years. It shall also not be lower than the minimum interprofessional wage established annually under Article 27 of the Revised Text of the Workers’ Statute Law.
To determine these remunerations, the minimum reference category shall be that corresponding to Professional Group M3 of labour personnel. The provisions of Article 12.4 of the 2025 call for “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento” shall also apply.
5. The fellowship includes full social security coverage through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system and pension and unemployment benefits.
6. Recipients of the FPI-ICIQ fellowship may enter a postdoctoral orientation phase if they successfully defend their PhD thesis before the end of the fellowship period. In this case, the PhD student and the supervisor may agree to continue the existing contract for up to 12 months, within a postdoctoral orientation phase. The combined duration of both the doctoral and postdoctoral periods must not exceed 48 months.
7. The fellowship holder is entitled to temporarily interrupt the fellowship in the situations regulated in Article 21. C) of the Spanish Law 14/2011, of June 1st, of Science, Technology and Education and in Article 25.7 of the 2025 call of “Proyectos de Generación del Conocimiento” and fellowships for predoctoral researchers associated with these projects, in the framework of the “Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027”. The time elapsed during this interruption will not be accounted for against the total time.
8. The contract will take effect on the date when the awarded student joins the centre.
9. The PhD fellowship awardees will work full-time at ICIQ and may not receive any other fellowship with the same purpose or regular income.
VI. Scientific reporting of the actions for the training of predoctoral researchers associated with the projects.
Pre-doctoral researchers in training are required to report their activities and achieved objectives to the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. They must use the templates available on the website of the Agencia Estatal de Investigación. Researchers are obligated to submit two reports: one intermediate report due at month 20 of the fellowship and a final report that covers the entire duration of the fellowship, including the POP phase, if applicable.
Calendar
CALL OPENING: July 20th 2026
CALL DEADLINE: September 20th 2026
EVALUATION & SELECTION PROCESS: September 21st to November 1st
NOTIFICATION TO CANDIDATES: Mid November
Annex 1: Available positions
Supervisor: Prof. Antonio M. Echavarren Pablos
Project (PID): Superelectrophilic Gold Carbenes: Synthesis and Synthetic Applications (CARBENGOLD)
PID Project Reference: PID2025-167953NB-I00
Number of positions: 1
Reference: FPI-ICIQ 2026-02 AE
Supervisor: Prof. Antoni Llobet Dalmases
Project (PID): Molecules and Hybrid Molecular Materials for Sustainable Electrocatalytic Energy Applications (Molenergy)
PID Project Reference: PID2025-168560OB-I00
Number of positions: 1
Reference: FPI-ICIQ 2026-03 ALL
Supervisor: Prof. Emilio J. Palomares Gil/Dra. Eugenia Martínez Ferrero
Project (PID): Self-assembled molecules for efficient solar cells to power CO2 electro-reduction catalysts (SELFCO2)
PID Project Reference: PID2025-168671NB-I00
Number of positions: 1
Reference: FPI-ICIQ 2026-04 EP/EMF
Supervisor: Prof. Julio Lloret Fillol
Project (PID): Renewable Electrosynthesis of Fine Intermediates and New Energy-carriers: From Mechanisms to Solar Devices (REFINE)
PID Project Reference: PID2025-168677OB-I00
Number of positions: 1
Reference: FPI-ICIQ 2026-05 JLL
Supervisor: Prof. Marcos García Suero
Project (PID): Stereoselective late-stage construction of chiral centers with a catalytic carbyne transfer platform (LATE-CHIRAL)
PID Project Reference: PID2025-168668NB-I00
Number of positions: 1
Reference: FPI-ICIQ 2026-06 MG
For further information, you can visit our HR Excellence in Research page at: HR Excellence in Research (iciq.org)
