The applicants are applying for a place on the Martí i Franquès program, in its Standard, Banco Santander and MSCA-COFUND editions. The successful candidates will take up their positions at the University as from December 2021 and will be given contracts of up to three years

The deadline for applications for the 65 places for predoctoral researchers as part of the URV’s Martí i Franquès program was last Monday. The call has enjoyed great international success (91% of the candidates are from outside Spain) and has aroused considerable interest, as 897 valid applications have been received, 39% of which are from women.

For the Standard mode, 202 people registered on the website, of whom 166 submitted an application. The applicants are from 38 different countries and only 27% have Spanish nationality. For the MSCA-COFUND mode, 796 people registered on the website, of whom 597 correctly submitted an application. In this category, the candidates are mostly international and come from about 70 different countries. Only 2% are Spanish citizens. Finally, for the Banco Santander mode, 185 people registered on the website, of whom 131 submitted an application. Again, the majority of applicants are international and only 18% have Spanish nationality.

A special effort was made to increase international awareness of the call in an attempt to reach more and better candidates and maintain the number of applications, despite the current situation of significant restrictions and difficulties for international mobility.

The candidates are from all areas of knowledge – Science, Arts and Humanities, Social and Legal Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, and Health Sciences – and involve about fifteen departments and a hundred URV and IRTA lecturers (supervisors and co-supervisors). Of the 65 places, one is reserved for people with disabilities, in the MSCA-COFUND programme.

Now that the deadline for applications has closed, the selection and evaluation phase involving international experts and URV selection committees. The 65 successful candidates are expected to join the University as from December 2021. During their stay at the URV, the candidates will work on their doctoral theses, will be given multidisciplinary and intersectoral training and, the candidates for the MSCA-COFUND programme will be able to engage in international research visits at universities, research centres, companies and institutions.

One of the 32 places in the Standard category has been provided with the support of the I2Cat Foundation (Internet and Digital Innovation in Catalonia). For their part, MSCA-COFUND places are co-financed by the European Union through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program and the URV. And in the Banco Santander category, the bank has financed all 13 places with a total contribution of € 880,000.