The Fundación General CSIC (FGCSIC) has opened the call for applications for the third edition of its ComFuturo programme, which aims to attract the best young research talent and to enable them to develop innovative research projects in response to problems and challenges of industrial and social interest. The programme is based on the alliance of the FGCSIC and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) with leading private entities committed to science and its decisive role in the future.
After two previous editions aimed at young scientists at a national scope, the third edition of Comfuturo is part of the COFUND programme of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), thus broadening its international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach.
This call offers 15 ComFuturo fellowships that include a three-year employment contract for the beneficiary researchers, with a competitive salary and financial complements to cover moving expenses, housing or family obligations; and an annual allowance for expenses associated with the development of their research. The ComFuturo projects will be carried out within the CSIC, the largest research institution in Spain, which will hire the researchers and provide them with all its infrastructure, resources and scientific and technical capabilities.
Of the 15 fellowships, nine will be awarded to research projects in specific research lines, as defined in the call itself, and which fall into various themes such as personalised medicine, green energy, the chemical or steel industry, water cycle management, or quantum technologies for the digital society. On the other hand, another six fellowships will be awarded in the general research line, which will be open to any scientific-technical discipline as long as the proposed project is aligned with one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda.
Researchers of any nationality who have obtained a doctoral degree within the last 10 years and who have not resided or carried out their main activity (work or studies) in Spain for more than 12 months in the last three years may apply for this call. Research projects must have a maximum duration of three years and be carried out in one of the more than 120 CSIC institutes distributed throughout the Spanish territory. Each candidate must demonstrate in their application that the CSIC institute they propose for the development of their research activity is the most suitable and that they are willing to host them in the event that they are finally awarded with a ComFuturo fellowship.
ComFuturo fellows will be selected following a transparent, merit-based, rigorous and fair selection procedure, which will include a first phase of peer review by scientific and technological experts, as well as a second phase of personal interviews. Special consideration will be given to the originality and innovative nature of the research project, its applicability and potential for transfer to the productive fabric, and the entrepreneurial profile of the candidates, as well as their ability to set and achieve far-reaching objectives.
The beneficiaries of the programme will act as Principal Investigators (PIs) of their research projects and will be required to undertake at least one compulsory secondment in the non-academic sector of two to six months’ duration, in order to enable them to acquire new research skills, broaden their career and personal development, and have the opportunity to apply their skills in a different environment. The programme will also offer them a comprehensive training package in a wide range of topics useful for the reinforcement of their research activity, as well as in transversal skills.
Ultimately, ComFuturo aims to generate a pool of researchers with scientific profiles of excellence that, at the same time, provide capacities and initiatives for knowledge transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship. In line with the objectives of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, ComFuturo aims to improve the employability prospects of the beneficiary researchers and foster the successful development of their professional careers, whether in the public sector or by making the leap to the private sector.
The third edition of ComFuturo has the essential support of CSIC and such outstanding entities as Banco Santander, Acerinox, Fundación Cepsa, Fundación Domingo Martínez, Lilly, Agbar or the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT).
Applications must be sent through the online form for this purpose, accessible at the following link: https://cutt.ly/iGvemkx
The deadline for submission of applications is 23 June 2022 at 10:00 a.m. CEST.
More information and Call guidelines: www.comfuturo.es and https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/778145
