The backbone of the MFP PLUS project is URV's MFP programme that was born in 2012 as a natural evolution of the doctoral programme offered for the last decade by the departments of our university. It was designed to unify and boost the attraction of the most talented doctoral candidates that would work on ground-breaking research projects, in any of the 5 research areas of URV (Arts and Humanities, Legal and Social Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, Sciences, Health Sciences). However, it still had some inherent problems due to the regulatory frameworks that governed the programme at its inception, namely salary, working conditions, mobility for researchers and recruitment processes.
The MFP PLUS starts by offering one of the best salary, in Europe, for early stage researchers, and providing exceptional recruiting conditions: the selection process is transparent, open, merit-based, impartial and equitable, and provides equal opportunities for all. candidates. In fact, the participation of the latter is encouraged by reserving 2 positions (out of a total of 50), for candidates with disabilities.
Up to now, 49 candidates were recruited, from which 36% are women researchers.
First and foremost, the main goal of the MFP PLUS is to train the recruited doctoral students and for this, provides the most innovative training programme, which combines all the necessary skills training (both transferrable and research specific) such that at the end of the project, the fellow is fully prepared to continue their professional path either in academia, or in industry.
Part of the successful strategy is the mandatory secondment to another international institution, for a longer duration (between 3 and 6 months), which adds a new international and interdisciplinary dimension to the training programme.
The quality of the training programme guarantees the generation of very high skilled professionals at the end of the programme, which makes them very appealing for the local/regional academic and non-academic environment, as well as internationally.
The MFP PLUS is generating an increased visibility for our university, which, on one side, leads to a higher interest for international fellows to join our university's training programmes, and on the other side, strengthened our relationships with local and international partners, a the catalyst of new and important collaborations for future research opportunities.
