The “University of Salamanca Programme to Foster Research Excellence» (USAL4EXCELLENCE) is
an initiative of the University of Salamanca (USAL), which aims to attract 40 Experienced
Researchers (ERs) positions for 30 months in two calls of 20 positions per each. The main goal
of the programme is to build a critical mass of scientific leaders that will advance regional
competitiveness and European sustainable socio-economic development.
USAL4EXCELLENCE aims to achieve this purpose by fostering research collaboration
internationally and enhancing knowledge and technology transfer between academia and
industry.
Main features and benefits
● Duration: Each fellowship will last 30 months (significantly longer than usual postdoc
period of 24 months), assuring proper project implementation
● Bottom-up approach: Applicants can choose their research topic freely within all
academic areas and may involve (but not limited to) to USAL’s Interdisciplinary Research
Centers.
● Host institution: Fellows will be hosted at USAL and they will have the opportunity and
freedom to choose a destination for two secondments. Thus, fellows will have a
mandatory period at USAL during the first 24 months, except for the voluntary outgoing
phase, and a mandatory secondment during the last 6 months of the fellowship.
● Voluntary outgoing phase (secondment 1): Fellows will be encouraged to undertake a
stay in a partner institution for a period of up-to 6 months, which could be split into two
shorter periods depending on individual project schedule. This first secondment should
be scheduled between the first 24 months of the research project and the institution
will be freely selected by the candidate (either within the USAL partnership or not).
● Mandatory secondment (secondment 2) in industry/organizations of interest
(secondment 2): Fellows will spend up-to 20% of their fellowship in a large
company/SME for a more market-oriented period, lasting for a minimum of 3 months
and a maximum of 6 months. This secondment will be scheduled during the last 6
months of the fellowship and may involve (but not limited to) USAL Science Park.
Alternatively, fellows may also spend this secondment in non-profit or charitable
organizations, cultural institutions, museums and hospitals.
● Supervisors & mentors: Applicants will be assigned a suitable supervisor and mentor if
they are successfully admitted to USAL4EXCELLENCE. Both supervisor and mentor will
guide the ER in creating a Career Development Plan (CDP) and meet the ER to assess
his/her progress according to that plan.
● Training: USAL4EXCELLENCE will offer tailored support that will help ERs understand and
adopt best practice in research. All ERs will be expected to attend relevant courses (online training, face-to-face training or events) as part of their overall CDP. Many of these
courses will be delivered at a local level by departments, faculties and institutes, both
as part of the USAL teaching programme and as standalone courses.
Salary: Each fellowship includes funds for travel, reasonable research expenses as well as competitive salary in comparison to regional/national salaries in order to attract the best brains.The total cost of a fellowship is 4.855€/month or 4.355€/month (depending if researcher is eligible or not for family allowance) and the net salary of the ER will result from deducting employer and employee social contributions as well as direct taxes to these amounts.
