Call 2 is now open ! Apply by 21 November, 2024

Calling for international postdoctoral researchers

AECC Talent is an individually driven mobility programme fellowship, open to applicants of any nationality willing to join an excellent Spanish host organisation in cancer research. Here you will find all the information about the eligibility criteria and the application process.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

Applicants will freely propose a research project to be carried out at one of the available host organisations of their choice, following a bottom-up approach.

The subject of the proposed project must focus on cancer research but may range from basic to translational, clinical or innovative research in the areas of prevention, screening and early diagnosis, treatment, and cancer patient care

To be eligible for this call, applicants must meet the following requirements:

At the deadline of the programme’s call, candidates must:

  • Hold a doctoral degree
  • Have a maximum of 8 years of research experience
  • Not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the programme’s call deadline
  • English proficiency
  • At least one first author publication in a peer-reviewed international journal

Read the Guidelines for applicant for detailed description of the eligibility criteria.

How to apply

Get ready to submit your application

Applications will be submitted via the Grant Management System (GMS) of the Scientific Foundation ending on November 21st 3:00pm (GMT+1).

  • Valid national ID (Spanish applicants) or passport (all nationalities)
  • Scanned Doctoral Degree
  • Scientific proposal
  • Letter of motivation
  • Ethics issues table
  • Curriculum Vitae of the applicant
  • Curriculum Vitae of the Project Director

To ensure transparency and equal opportunity to all applicants the proposals will undergo a two-step evaluation process. First, they will be peer reviewed by a panel of independent experts of the AEI that will rank the applications according to their excellence, impact, and implementation. After that, shortlisted applicants will be invited to personal interviews to assess their professional career, motivation, potential and impact of their project.

Detailed information about the scoring weights can be found in the Evaluation guidelines 2025.

At every stage of the evaluation applicants will have the right to appeal within two weeks after the notification of rejection. This procedure will be used to address at procedural and administrative errors, but not at the to question the evaluation panel’s decisions, ratings, or comments.

Call opening:
September 26th 2024

Call closure:
November 21st 2024 15h CET

PLEASE NOTE: During the submission make sure to carefully read and use the latest version of the documents available on GMS as these may be subjected to minor changes.

Steps and timeline

September – November
2024

  • Online application

    Applicants will submit their applications via the available online portal

December
2024

  • Eligibility check*

    The Scientific Foundation team will evaluate whether the submitted applications meet all the eligibility criterial

January – March
2025

  • Evaluation*

    Eligible applications will be subject to a scientific-technical evaluation by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) ensuring transparency and equal opportunity to all applicants

May
2025

  • Interview of shortlisted applicants*

    Applicants will be interviewed by a selection committee in the presence of the Scientific Foundation representatives

July
2025

  • Final ranking

    After the evaluation process has been completed the final ranking list will be elaborated and ratified by the Board of trustees from the Scientific Foundation for its public communication

September
2025

  • Admission

    Awardees will sign acceptance letters and confirm their starting date with the Scientific Foundation team. Collaboration Agreements will be signed with the host organisations to formalise the terms and conditions of the grant

(*) At every stage of the evaluation applicants will have the right to appeal within two weeks after the notification of rejection.

Final ranking

Final awardees of AECC Talent 2024

The final ranking list for the first call of AECC TAlent 2024 has been ratified by the Board of trustees from the Scientific Foundation and is now public.

FAQs

Grant Management System GMS