The Talent4Iberia programme launched one International Call for Applications to recruit postdoctoral candidates. The scientific and technical evaluation of each qualified application was carried out by internationally recognized industrial and/or scientific experts specialized in the research areas of the Talent4Iberia project. All evaluation activities were conducted remotely, and the recruitment process has been enhanced through the implementation of an online application platform and the integration of gender balance principles within the selection committees. So far, 4 out of 10 postdoctoral positions were successfully filled.
Talent4Iberia project has attracted young talents both from Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy) and from outside (Pakistan), strengthening the internationalization of European research. The postdoctoral researchers and their supervisors were officially introduced in a face-to-face introduction meeting with the technical staff of the programme, where essential initial information and guidelines regarding the programme and next steps were shared, enhancing shared understanding of the programme’s goals and expectations, and providing an opportunity for early networking and collaboration among all postdoctoral fellows and supervisors.
Training and Career Development
The Talent4Iberia Training Programme aims to provide high quality training in research and transversal skills development to the fellows, exposing them to interdisciplinary training from academic and industry in an international environment. All fellows have been working on the first version of a personal career development plan (PCDP) to provide an overview of both short-term and long-term professional and personal objectives, along with the strategies to achieve them. It outlines the skills and knowledge they consider necessary to reach these goals, including research techniques, management abilities, dissemination and communication skills, networking, and other relevant competencies. Additionally, it specifies the means and tools for acquiring these skills, such as training, research activities, secondments, and dissemination efforts, while identifying key milestones and outputs (e.g. research results and publications) to monitor their progress and demonstrate impact.
These training activities were initiated offering the first online training courses on Artificial Intelligence applied to research and Gender Aspects in research, accessible for them through the virtual training platform CAPACYT (
https://capacityt.fundecyt-pctex.es/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)) designed by the programme’s Training Coordinator (TCO). Individualized mentoring and regular meetings with supervisors have been established to support them throughout their postdoctoral journey. Further training activities to be followed.
The aim is that each fellow will have secondment periods in their individual project of up to 12 months in academic partner organization and in non-academic partner organization. The academic and industry secondments offer a unique training platform for the fellows, and are considered as an important part of the training, offering experience on interdisciplinary and intersectoral environments. The first secondments will take place in 2026.
