PhD 2026-21 AK - ICIQ Fully-Funded PhD Programme 2026 – THIRD CALL

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

Job summary

The Fully-Funded PhD Programme at The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) supports outstanding graduates to join a 4-year research and training track, in collaboration with URV. It aims to develop careers in academia and industry.

Selected candidates work under a Group Leader, with international exposure, mobility opportunities, and training in technical and soft skills, including SHARP two-week sessions.

Qualifications

• CV, Personal statement, Academic marks, English level, Personal interview are evaluated.

Responsibilities

• Synthesis of monomers and polymers using standard preparative methods.
• Screening and optimisation of polymerisation processes.
• Detailed polymer analysis and catalytic degradation studies with mechanistic experiments.

Skills

English level

Education

Master’s or equivalent degree in Chemistry/Pharmacy/Physics/Chemical Engineering 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.

I. Available positions:

See Annex 1

III. 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.

When in doubt regarding the eligibility criteria, applicants should contact ICIQ’s Human Resources unit at [e-mail] prior to submission of the application.

Candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria will be evaluated according to the following evaluation criteria:

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

IV. Evaluation and Selection Process

The evaluation and selection of the candidates will be performed by the project supervisor supported by the Human Resources unit team, and following the below procedure:

• 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.

V. 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: Prof. Arjan Kleij
• Project Title: “Design, Synthesis and Application of Circular Polymers”.
• Number of positions: 1
• Reference: PhD 2026-21 AK

Description of the project:

The focus of the PhD work will be on the (catalytic) preparation of new types of circular polymers using both covalent and non‑covalent polymerization techniques. Circularity will be induced under mild process conditions allowing to maintain an attractive environmental footprint, and both recycling and upcycling of the original polymer atoms will be examined to maximize the atom usage post‑polymerization. Another aspect that will be an integral part of the PhD studies is the mechanistic understanding of the polymer degradation process providing thereby new impetus for novel catalyst designs that empower the envisioned circularity.

Tasks to be performed by the PhD student:

Synthesis of both monomers and polymers using standard preparative methods, screening and optimisation of polymerisation processes, detailed polymer analysis, catalytic degradation studies combined with mechanistic experiments and computational analysis, use of green metrics to understand the relative efficiency of the designed polymerisation and degradation processes.

Preferred skills or background:

A background and/or strong affinity with polymer synthesis and characterization, organic chemistry, strong analytical capabilities, experience with mechanistic analysis, sustainable development and the use of metrics‑based benchmarking.