SPAIN: 10 PhD positions available within the FLIGHT fellowship program
CFO offers PhD-fellowship positions to well-qualified graduate students, who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics covered at ICFO.
The positions are offered in the scope of the FLIGHT Program, a MCSA-COFUND doctoral program explicitly focused on intersectoral research training in collaboration with Industrial or Clinical Partners.
Our PhD Fellowship Program welcomes applications from individuals with a degree in a field of mathematics, science, engineering or medical sciences related to the ICFO research activities.
Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists, benefiting from the extensive course offerings of local universities and focused instruction by ICFO professors, in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment. PhD-students have the opportunity to take advantage of our network of excellence, consisting in partners of national and international research institutes and universities, as well as industrial partners in the field.
Recruited Fellows will have a choice of 3 PhD tracks:
Clinical to develop a project in collaboration with one of Clinical Partners
Industrial to develop a project in collaboration with one of Industrial Partners
Enhanced to develop a project with one of ICFO’s Research Groups
Fellows in the Industrial and Clinical tracks will be embedded in both organisations, undertaking secondments of 6-18 months at the Partner during their Fellowship.
Research projects in the Clinical and Industrial tracks on offer in this call are the following:
Clinical track:
CT001: New neuro-monitoring tools for theranostics in neuro-critical care. Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Maria Poca and Dr. Juan Sahuquillo at Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (Barcelona)
CT002: “Thyroid cancer screening with new multi-modal tools”. Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Mireia Mora at Fundació Clínic Barcelona.
CT003: “Prefrontal brain activity to understand and act against the development of dementia in aging” Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Marco Inzitari at Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili (Barcelona).
CT004: “Accelerating therapy development for neuromuscular diseases”. Prof. Dr. Pablo Loza-Álvarez at ICFO and Dr. Cecilia Jimenez Mallebera. Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu.
Industrial track:
IT001: “Swift leaf: engineering faster molecular switches in plants to optimize their response to sunlight changes”. Prof. Dr. Nicoletta Liguori at ICFO and Dr. Marta da Silva at Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA)
IT002: “Continuous variable quantum key distribution with discrete modulation”. Prof. Dr. Antonio Acín at ICFO and Dr. Marco Cofano at LuxQuanta.
Please, browse our website for details about the research projects on offer in the Industrial and Clinical tracks.
Enhanced track:
Up to 4 fellowships are available to work with one of ICFO’s 24 Research Groups
Research lines in the Enhanced track will be offered across all ICFO research groups. Research lines include, but are not limited to theoretical and experimental aspects of:
Medical Optics
Biophysics, Biophotonics & Super-Resolution Imaging
Photovoltaics, Thermal Photonics & Solar Fuels
Quantum and Low-Dimensional Materials
Optical Sensing & Optoelectronics
Nonlinear Optics, Ultrafast Optics & Atto-Science
NanoPhotonics & NanoMechanics
Ultracold Quantum Gases
Quantum Communications, Sensing & Simulation
Quantum Optics & Quantum Information
Nanophotonics, Condensed Matter Physics & Light-Matter Interactions
Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/research/groups/. If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.
Important: During your application, you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) and the project(s) you are interested in accomplishing your PhD with.
Important: All candidates will be automatically considered for the fellowships they will be eligible for in the currently open call: “PhD-positions available within the ICFO PhD Program (spring 2023)“
Requirements
Master Degree or equivalent in a field of:
Mathematics
Science
Engineering
Medical sciences
The specific field should be related to the ICFO research activities.
Additional Information
Benefits
ICFO PhD Fellowships are offered for a period of 4.5 years. The conditions of the positions awarded in the scope of the ICFO PhD fellowship program are as follows:
Initial ICFO contract for a period of 6 months, while being pre-admitted to the PhD Program, with a follow-up/ renewal procedure at the end of this first stage. (1) During this period, students are fully integrated into an ICFO research group, take part in the ICFO working environment and training programs, and work with their supervisor to define and commence a research project. The annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions during this period is 20.500€.
After this initial period, students are formally enrolled in the UPC PhD Program in Photonics (2), and the FLIGHT COFUND PhD Fellowship is activated for a period of three years. Fellowships are renewable for an additional fourth year with ICFO Funding, and are formalized via a PhD-contract. Continuity and renewal are subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities, evaluated annually by the Thesis Director and the ICFO PhD Committee.
The annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions is 26.006,00€ for the FLIGHT COFUND PhD Fellowship and for the 4th year PhD fellowship, if required. (3)
All ICFO fellowships include medical care coverage and work accident insurance through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system.
Relocation Allowance: a one-off payment of up to 2.000€ to cover relocation expenses at recruitment.
Family Allowance: a one-off payment of up to 2.000€ for Fellows with family commitments to cover additional relocation expenses at recruitment. Eligibility will follow MSCA rules.
Training and Other Costs: up to 1.800€ per year to cover training and related costs, such as registration fees, travel, and subsistence costs for participation in national or international events, conference, meetings, schools, and/or other training activities.
Research Costs: up to 5.935,20€ per year for laboratory-based research projects. Funds can be used for consumables and other materials and equipment deemed necessary to carry out the research project.
The allocated funding for research, training, and other costs will be managed by the Group Leader of the group that hosts the Fellow and must be used in expenditures associated to the Fellow’s research activities.
(1) Note that in exceptional cases, e.g. when the candidate’s degree that gives access to the doctoral studies is older than three years, complying with the labor law in force, the initial trainee period might be shortened or not offered.
(2) In exceptional circumstances, a student may be enrolled in another local PhD program.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for an ICFO PhD position, candidates must:
Have an internationally-recognized Master-equivalent degree. The degree must be completed by the start of your prospective PhD at ICFO, at the latest, and must be in a field of mathematics, science, engineering or medical sciences related to the ICFO research activities. Degrees issued within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must have an equivalent to 300 ECTS, out of which a minimum of 60 ECTS must have been obtained in postgraduate studies. Please, if in doubt regarding your academic eligibility, contact us at jobs@icfo.eu
For candidates applying for a research project(s) in the Clinical track, a clinical background in neuropsychology, medicine, biology, etc. will be valued.
Candidates who have already been awarded a PhD are not eligible to apply.
Have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.
Have a high working knowledge of English.
For the candidates applying for a Clinical track project we will value, in particular, a clinical background (neuropsychology, medicine, biology etc).
In addition to the general eligibility criteria, candidates for the FLIGHT COFUND PhD positions must comply with the following EU-rules by the corresponding call deadline:
Fulfil the MSCA mobility requirements: the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months during the last 3 years by the call deadline. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not counted.
Selection process
In a first step of the selection procedure, applications will be assessed by the Selection Committee based on merit and potential, measured in terms of the academic record and personal achievements. Academic excellence is a must. Pro-activity, participation in community activities, and capacity for team-work are also taken into account.
Application Deadline: 6 February 2023
Applicants will be notified the results of the first evaluation stage by the end of February 2023.
In the second step of the selection procedure, shortlisted candidates will receive invitations to visit ICFO for personal interviews with the Selection Committee and Matching Interview Panels, planned to take place by the end of March 2023 and the beginning of April 2023.
Please note that that the visit to ICFO for personal interviews may have to be replaced by online interviews depending on the circumstances. Applicants will be notified accordingly.
Note: If you are from a country with visa-obligations for Spain, please be advised to already inquire (only inquire) regarding the documentation necessary (usually inviting letter ICFO, plus travel and accommodation bookings) and the potential appointment-situation at the local Spanish Embassy/ visa-office.
The final list with candidates recommended for fellowship concession, as well as reserve candidates, will be available by the beginning of April 2023. Being the last condition that shortlisted candidates find a hosting group at ICFO, candidates are then asked to contact the Group Leader(s) of choice to negotiate directly a potential PhD in their group, on a fellowship. Candidates and Group Leader should confirm within two weeks whether an agreement has been reached. Candidates without a match cannot be confirmed the fellowship.
A dedicated, external and independent Appeals Panel will be established to rule on the outcome of appeals from the applicants.
At all stages of the process, candidates may contact ICFO Human Resources and Education via jobs@icfo.eu ; for complete information about the PhD Admissions process at ICFO, please see https://www.icfo.eu/studies/phd-program/
For complete information visit the FLIGHT fellowship program (MSCA-COFUND action at ICFO).
Website for additional job details
ICFO
SPAIN: 10 PhD positions available within the FLIGHT fellowship program
CFO offers PhD-fellowship positions to well-qualified graduate students, who wish to obtain a doctoral degree in any of the research topics covered at ICFO.
The positions are offered in the scope of the FLIGHT Program, a MCSA-COFUND doctoral program explicitly focused on intersectoral research training in collaboration with Industrial or Clinical Partners.
Our PhD Fellowship Program welcomes applications from individuals with a degree in a field of mathematics, science, engineering or medical sciences related to the ICFO research activities.
Our PhD-program brings together top-level training and teaching for young scientists, benefiting from the extensive course offerings of local universities and focused instruction by ICFO professors, in a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary environment. PhD-students have the opportunity to take advantage of our network of excellence, consisting in partners of national and international research institutes and universities, as well as industrial partners in the field.
Recruited Fellows will have a choice of 3 PhD tracks:
-
Clinical to develop a project in collaboration with one of Clinical Partners
-
Industrial to develop a project in collaboration with one of Industrial Partners
-
Enhanced to develop a project with one of ICFO’s Research Groups
Fellows in the Industrial and Clinical tracks will be embedded in both organisations, undertaking secondments of 6-18 months at the Partner during their Fellowship.
Research projects in the Clinical and Industrial tracks on offer in this call are the following:
Clinical track:
-
CT001: New neuro-monitoring tools for theranostics in neuro-critical care. Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Maria Poca and Dr. Juan Sahuquillo at Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (Barcelona)
-
CT002: “Thyroid cancer screening with new multi-modal tools”. Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Mireia Mora at Fundació Clínic Barcelona.
-
CT003: “Prefrontal brain activity to understand and act against the development of dementia in aging” Prof. Dr. Turgut Durduran at ICFO and Dr. Marco Inzitari at Parc Sanitari Pere Virgili (Barcelona).
-
CT004: “Accelerating therapy development for neuromuscular diseases”. Prof. Dr. Pablo Loza-Álvarez at ICFO and Dr. Cecilia Jimenez Mallebera. Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu.
Industrial track:
-
IT001: “Swift leaf: engineering faster molecular switches in plants to optimize their response to sunlight changes”. Prof. Dr. Nicoletta Liguori at ICFO and Dr. Marta da Silva at Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA)
-
IT002: “Continuous variable quantum key distribution with discrete modulation”. Prof. Dr. Antonio Acín at ICFO and Dr. Marco Cofano at LuxQuanta.
Please, browse our website for details about the research projects on offer in the Industrial and Clinical tracks .
Enhanced track:
Up to 4 fellowships are available to work with one of ICFO’s 24 Research Groups
Research lines in the Enhanced track will be offered across all ICFO research groups. Research lines include, but are not limited to theoretical and experimental aspects of:
-
Medical Optics
-
Biophysics, Biophotonics & Super-Resolution Imaging
-
Photovoltaics, Thermal Photonics & Solar Fuels
-
Quantum and Low-Dimensional Materials
-
Optical Sensing & Optoelectronics
-
Nonlinear Optics, Ultrafast Optics & Atto-Science
-
NanoPhotonics & NanoMechanics
-
Ultracold Quantum Gases
-
Quantum Communications, Sensing & Simulation
-
Quantum Optics & Quantum Information
-
Nanophotonics, Condensed Matter Physics & Light-Matter Interactions
Please, browse our website for details about ICFO Research Groups and Group Leaders at https://www.icfo.eu/research/groups/. If you are interested in discussing possible research topics, please contact ICFO Group Leaders directly.
Important: During your application, you will be requested to indicate the research group(s) and the project(s) you are interested in accomplishing your PhD with.
Important: All candidates will be automatically considered for the fellowships they will be eligible for in the currently open call: “PhD-positions available within the ICFO PhD Program (spring 2023)“
Requirements
Master Degree or equivalent in a field of:
-
Mathematics
-
Science
-
Engineering
-
Medical sciences
The specific field should be related to the ICFO research activities.
Additional Information
Benefits
ICFO PhD Fellowships are offered for a period of 4.5 years. The conditions of the positions awarded in the scope of the ICFO PhD fellowship program are as follows:
-
Initial ICFO contract for a period of 6 months, while being pre-admitted to the PhD Program, with a follow-up/ renewal procedure at the end of this first stage. (1) During this period, students are fully integrated into an ICFO research group, take part in the ICFO working environment and training programs, and work with their supervisor to define and commence a research project. The annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions during this period is 20.500€.
-
After this initial period, students are formally enrolled in the UPC PhD Program in Photonics (2), and the FLIGHT COFUND PhD Fellowship is activated for a period of three years. Fellowships are renewable for an additional fourth year with ICFO Funding, and are formalized via a PhD-contract. Continuity and renewal are subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities, evaluated annually by the Thesis Director and the ICFO PhD Committee.
-
The annual gross salary subject to the stipulated fiscal and social security deductions is 26.006,00€ for the FLIGHT COFUND PhD Fellowship and for the 4th year PhD fellowship, if required. (3)
-
All ICFO fellowships include medical care coverage and work accident insurance through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system.
-
Relocation Allowance: a one-off payment of up to 2.000€ to cover relocation expenses at recruitment.
-
Family Allowance: a one-off payment of up to 2.000€ for Fellows with family commitments to cover additional relocation expenses at recruitment. Eligibility will follow MSCA rules.
-
Training and Other Costs: up to 1.800€ per year to cover training and related costs, such as registration fees, travel, and subsistence costs for participation in national or international events, conference, meetings, schools, and/or other training activities.
-
Research Costs: up to 5.935,20€ per year for laboratory-based research projects. Funds can be used for consumables and other materials and equipment deemed necessary to carry out the research project.
The allocated funding for research, training, and other costs will be managed by the Group Leader of the group that hosts the Fellow and must be used in expenditures associated to the Fellow’s research activities.
(1) Note that in exceptional cases, e.g. when the candidate’s degree that gives access to the doctoral studies is older than three years, complying with the labor law in force, the initial trainee period might be shortened or not offered.
(2) In exceptional circumstances, a student may be enrolled in another local PhD program.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for an ICFO PhD position, candidates must:
-
Have an internationally-recognized Master-equivalent degree. The degree must be completed by the start of your prospective PhD at ICFO, at the latest, and must be in a field of mathematics, science, engineering or medical sciences related to the ICFO research activities. Degrees issued within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) must have an equivalent to 300 ECTS, out of which a minimum of 60 ECTS must have been obtained in postgraduate studies. Please, if in doubt regarding your academic eligibility, contact us at jobs@icfo.eu
-
For candidates applying for a research project(s) in the Clinical track, a clinical background in neuropsychology, medicine, biology, etc. will be valued.
-
Candidates who have already been awarded a PhD are not eligible to apply.
-
Have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.
-
Have a high working knowledge of English.
-
For the candidates applying for a Clinical track project we will value, in particular, a clinical background (neuropsychology, medicine, biology etc).
In addition to the general eligibility criteria, candidates for the FLIGHT COFUND PhD positions must comply with the following EU-rules by the corresponding call deadline:
-
Fulfil the MSCA mobility requirements: the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months during the last 3 years by the call deadline. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not counted.
Selection process
In a first step of the selection procedure, applications will be assessed by the Selection Committee based on merit and potential, measured in terms of the academic record and personal achievements. Academic excellence is a must. Pro-activity, participation in community activities, and capacity for team-work are also taken into account.
Application Deadline: 6 February 2023
Applicants will be notified the results of the first evaluation stage by the end of February 2023.
In the second step of the selection procedure, shortlisted candidates will receive invitations to visit ICFO for personal interviews with the Selection Committee and Matching Interview Panels, planned to take place by the end of March 2023 and the beginning of April 2023.
Please note that that the visit to ICFO for personal interviews may have to be replaced by online interviews depending on the circumstances. Applicants will be notified accordingly.
Note: If you are from a country with visa-obligations for Spain, please be advised to already inquire (only inquire) regarding the documentation necessary (usually inviting letter ICFO, plus travel and accommodation bookings) and the potential appointment-situation at the local Spanish Embassy/ visa-office.
The final list with candidates recommended for fellowship concession, as well as reserve candidates, will be available by the beginning of April 2023. Being the last condition that shortlisted candidates find a hosting group at ICFO, candidates are then asked to contact the Group Leader(s) of choice to negotiate directly a potential PhD in their group, on a fellowship. Candidates and Group Leader should confirm within two weeks whether an agreement has been reached. Candidates without a match cannot be confirmed the fellowship.
A dedicated, external and independent Appeals Panel will be established to rule on the outcome of appeals from the applicants.
At all stages of the process, candidates may contact ICFO Human Resources and Education via jobs@icfo.eu ; for complete information about the PhD Admissions process at ICFO, please see https://www.icfo.eu/studies/phd-program/
For complete information visit the FLIGHT fellowship program (MSCA-COFUND action at ICFO).
Website for additional job details
ICFO
