PD 2026-20 JS - ICIQ Fully-Funded PhD Programme 2026 – THIRD CALL

ICIQ; Tarragona; On-site; EUR 19,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully funded PhD

Full social security coverage

Pre-doctoral contract (Spanish law)

4-year duration

Job summary

The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona offers a Fully-Funded PhD Programme in collaboration with Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) for outstanding graduates worldwide. The program combines independently led research under a Group Leader with international short stays and broad skill training.

Holders will be on a pre-doctoral contract under Spanish law, receive full social security, and pursue the project AI-Accelerated Photochemical Upgrading of Pollutants in Flow.

Qualifications

• Master’s or equivalent degree in Chemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Chemical Engineering or related disciplines completed by enrolment time.
• Excellent English (written and spoken).
• Solid foundation in synthetic organic chemistry; exposure to catalysis, organometallic chemistry, or reaction development is an asset.
• Interest in automation, robotics, or flow chemistry; willingness to learn programming.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute experiments using automated platforms and microfluidic reactors.
• Set up, operate, maintain and troubleshoot continuous-flow reactors.
• Plan, collect, and curate datasets for training and validating machine learning models.
• Analyze results and translate findings into actionable insights.
• Prepare reports and contribute to scientific publications.

Skills

English communication

Automation interest

Programming basics

Education

MSc degree in Chemistry or related

Job description

The Fully-Funded PhD Programme offered by The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) is aimed at exceptional graduate students from all over the world, to support their enrolment in a training and research programme in the field of chemistry, ultimately leading to the completion of a Doctoral Thesis in partnership with the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). The programme will also contribute to their professional career development, in the fields of academia and industry. This objective is achieved by:

• The performance of an individual research project under the direction of an internationally renowned Group Leader, in a creative and stimulating scientific environment.
• Opportunities for short stays in distinguished international research institutions.
• Opportunities for complementary training in both technical and soft skills. The educational framework is designed to ensure a successful career: scientific seminars, hands-on training in the use of state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation, IP management, entrepreneurship, research integrity, knowledge and technology transfer, grant applications, project management, communication skills and career development. ICIQ offers a yearly personalized training programme for PhD students, SHARP, which takes place during the course of 2 weeks, with training focused on their given PhD year.

The programme is addressed to highly qualified and talented graduate students with a keen interest in chemical research. Candidates should have an excellent academic record, strong commitment to scientific research and a solid working knowledge of English.

Admission to the programme is on a competitive basis.

Available positions

See Annex 1

Eligibility and evaluation criteria

The programme is open to graduate students, from any nationality that fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• Candidates must have a Master’s or an equivalent degree in the areas of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Chemical Engineering or related disciplines that must be completed by the time of enrolment in the PhD programme.

Evaluation criteria

• Curriculum vitae.
• Personal statement.
• Academic marks.
• English level.
• Personal interview for short-listed candidates.

Evaluation and Selection Process

• Submitted applications will be checked for eligibility and those not fulfilling all the criteria will be rejected. It won’t be possible to modify the application or to add missing documentation after the application has been submitted.
• The selection will be based on the evaluation criteria described in Section III.
• At the late stages of the selection process, only short-listed candidates will be contacted for a personal interview.
• All applicants will be notified of the final selection decision by mid November 2026.

Successful candidates will be requested to inform ICIQ whether they accept or decline the offer within five business days after being notified. The offer will be considered declined in the event that the applicant does not respond during this time.

ICIQ follows in its selection process a gender equality opportunity policy and a non-discrimination policy on the basis of age, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, language and disability.

ICIQ is committed to promoting a work-life balance for its employees and, as such, offers flexible working hours.

Grant Conditions

• The awardees of an ICIQ Fully-Funded PhD position will be considered research personnel in training and they will have an employment contract (a pre-doctoral contract) which is regulated in the Spanish Law 14/2011, of June 1st, of Science, Technology and Education.
• Pre-doctoral contracts are renewed annually for up to 4 years. Renewal is subject to satisfactory performance in the PhD studies and related research activities.
• The gross yearly salary of the contract shall be split into 12 monthly payments and distributed as shown below:
• First and Second year of PhD: 19.007,22€ /year
• Third year of PhD: 20.364,88€ /year
• Fourth year of PhD: 25.456,10€ /year
• The fellowship includes full social security coverage through the Spanish Social Security system, providing access to the Spanish public health care system and pension and unemployment benefits.
• The grant holder is entitled to temporarily interrupt the fellowship in the following situations: temporary disability, risk during pregnancy, maternity, paternity and adoption or foster care. The time elapsed during this interruption will not be accounted for against the total time.
• The contract will take effect on the date when the awarded student joins the centre.
• The Fully-Funded PhD includes the costs of enrolment in the PhD programme. These costs will be paid by each beneficiary to the university, and later they will be refunded by ICIQ. The PhD thesis has to be completed within 4 years.
• The PhD awardees will work full-time at ICIQ and may not receive any other fellowship or regular income.
• The Fully-Funded PhD position is incompatible with any other fellowship with the same purpose.

Calendar

Call opening: October 5th 2026

Call deadline: November 8th 2026

Notification to candidates: As from November 9th 2026

Start of fellowships: 2027

Supervisor

Dr. Jesus Sanjose-Orduna & Prof. Monica Perez-Temprano

Project Title

AI-Accelerated Photochemical Upgrading of Pollutants in Flow

Number of positions

1

Reference

PhD 2026-20 JS

Description of the project

The newly established research group of Dr. Sanjosé-Orduna is seeking a highly motivated candidate to pursue a doctoral degree in collaboration with the Pérez-Temprano group at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) in Tarragona (Spain). The project focuses on the development of automated, data-driven workflows for the discovery and optimization of catalytic chemical transformations in continuous flow. The research will integrate robotic experimentation, microfluidic platforms and machine learning to systematically explore reaction space, generate high-quality datasets, and accelerate the optimization of synthetic methods for the recycling of harmful pollutants.

Tasks to be performed by the PhD student

• Design and execute experiments using automated platforms and microfluidic reactors.
• Set up, operate, maintain and troubleshoot continuous-flow reactors.
• Plan, collect, and curate high-quality, standardized experimental datasets for the training and validation of machine learning models.
• Analyse experimental results and translate findings into actionable insights.
• Prepare project reports and contribute in the draft of scientific publications.
• Present research findings at group meetings and at national/international conferences.

Preferred skills or background

• MSc degree (or equivalent) in Chemistry or a closely related discipline.
• Excellent communication skills in English, written and spoken.
• Solid foundation in synthetic organic chemistry; prior exposure to catalysis, organometallic chemistry, or reaction development is an asset.
• Interest in automation, robotics, or flow chemistry; hands-on experience is a plus but not required.
• Willingness to learn programming skills and curiosity about data-driven approaches.Enthusiasm for sustainable chemistry and a genuine interest in bridging academic research with industrial application.