“La Caixa” Foundation promotes 60 PhD grants, and INESC TEC may be one of the host institutions

The initiative is called Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships and is promoted by the “La Caixa” Foundation. In total, the Foundation is providing 60 grants, across two schemes: Incoming and Retaining. INESC TEC may be one of the host institutions.

There are 30 opportunities available under each scheme. In the first, Incoming, INESC TEC may host candidates interested in STEM fields, as it is one of the Portuguese institutions holding the Seal of Excellence awarded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

The 30 grants available under this scheme are open to researchers of any nationality who wish to pursue a PhD in STEM fields at research centres located in Portugal or Spain. Only institutions holding the Seal of Excellence awarded in each country are eligible – as is the case with INESC TEC. All admission criteria are available here.

Applications are now open and the deadline for the Incoming scheme is 28 January 2028 at 2:00 p.m. (Spain time, or 1:00 p.m. in mainland Portugal and Madeira). Applications must be submitted via the Foundation’s website, here. Results and interview invitations will be announced on 27 April. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place on 20, 21 and 22 May, and results will be communicated on 29 May.

“As with any other potential host institution, INESC TEC is not involved in the evaluation of candidates. During the selection phase carried out by the La Caixa Foundation, INESC TEC’s role is to provide an opinion on the candidates who are selected and who have chosen us as their host institution,” explained Andreia Passos, manager of the International Relations Office at INESC TEC.

There are also 30 grants available under the Retaining scheme, which may be awarded in any field at a university or research institution – such as INESC TEC. Although applications for this scheme are also already open, the deadlines are different. The application deadline is 18 February; the list of results and interview invitations will be announced on 20 May; interviews will take place on 11 and 12 June; and the results will be published on 23 June. All admission criteria are available here.