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Universidad Pontificia Comillas Department: Institute for Research in Technology Research Field: Juridical sciences » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions – Bachelor Positions Country: Spain Application Deadline: 30 Dec 2025 – 10:29 (Europe/Madrid) Type of Contract: Other – Full time Annual Contract Job Status: Full‑time Hours Per Week: 37.5 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number: 24020 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?: No

Two Ph.D. Scholarships for the Doctoral Programme in Business and Regional Competitiveness, Innovation and Sustainability (CETIS)

*subject to update in Spring 2025

Requirements: Bachelor or Degree+Master, English level C1.

Deadline for applications: continuous.

The purpose of this call is to promote doctoral training through official doctoral studies leading to the degree of Doctor by Comillas Pontifical University, within the framework of the CETIS Doctoral Programme. The research will necessarily integrate subjects belonging to the areas of research of the Programme's faculty.

One of the scholarships corresponds to the agreement established with the University of Strathclyde Glasgow; in which case the candidate's section will be carried out by the two institutions. This contract will be co‑supervised by a member of each university and the candidate will have to spend three months at that university in order to obtain the International Mention.

The signatory of the contract will have the opportunity to join the team of researchers at Universidad Pontificia Comillas, training in an environment that will allow him/her to join R+D+i tasks in academic and professional fields, after the completion of his/her doctoral studies. These are carried out within the framework of a program integrated by three universities: our university, University of Deusto, and Ramon Llull University, all three with a marked orientation towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

The CETIS Doctoral Programme emerged under the initiative "Aristos Campus Mundus 2015 (ACM 2015), committed to socially responsible and sustainable innovation". This initiative also has an advanced strategic cooperation agreement with Georgetown University, Boston College and Fordham University. The strategic aggregation Aristos Campus Mundus, as a result of the trajectory carried out since its recognition in 2011, obtained in 2016, on behalf of the then Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, the definitive seal of Campus of International Excellence of European regional scope with the best of the qualifications.

More specifically, the doctoral student will have the opportunity to join a research group with recognised prestige and a track record of publications, will be eligible for research stays in partner universities, in addition to being able to participate in training activities for teaching and research promoted by the University. All this will allow you to develop the skills associated with research and management of R+D+i, acquiring experience in research and teaching that will allow you to apply for teaching/research positions in private or public institutions.

Finally, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration is located in the centre of Madrid, a vibrant and welcoming city, full of intellectual and leisure life. For those candidates coming from outside Spain, it may be useful to consult the practical information on coming to Spain here.

Duration: The duration of the contract will be 36 months and, exceptionally, extendable to a maximum of 48 months, renewable every year and subject to the permanence in the PhD programme (with two annual reviews).

Endowment: During the contract period starting in the year 2025, the amount of the remuneration will be €21,486.54 gross for an annual period, or its equivalent part if the year is not covered in its entirety. This amount is to be revised in Spring 2025.

In addition, the beneficiaries will be exempt from paying 90% of the fees corresponding to the credits taken at Comillas during the period of training for the PhD.

Dedication: The beneficiary of the grant will carry out his/her work with exclusive full‑time dedication (37.5 hours per week), having the right to the vacation periods corresponding to the staff personnel of Universidad Pontificia Comillas.

The activities that the candidate must develop within the framework of these contracts will be primarily research and must always be associated with the student's training in the doctoral programme. Where appropriate, support tasks for the dissemination of research (organisation of congresses, conferences and seminars, publication of publications, etc.) may also be carried out.

Under no circumstances may these activities include management support tasks not related to research, and teaching tasks are allowed up to a limit of 6 ECTS per year, and always under the direction of a professor.

Hiring under this call is incompatible with any other grant, contract or aid of a similar nature. Those hired shall sign a statement that they are not under an incompatibility regime that legally prevents them from being hired under this modality.

• Requirements for applicants
• a) In general, in order to be eligible for this call, the candidate must meet the requirements necessary to apply for an official doctoral programme, established in Article 6 of Royal Decree 99/2011, of January 28, which regulates official doctoral studies, i.e:
• - To be in possession of the official Spanish Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and Master's degree, or equivalent, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the set of these two teachings;
• - To be in possession of an official Spanish university degree, or from another country belonging to the European Higher Education Area, which enables access to a Master's Degree in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29, 2007, and to have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in the set of official university studies, of which at least 60 must be at the Master's Level;
• - To be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems, without the need for its homologation, after verification by the University that it accredits a level of training equivalent to that of the official Spanish Master's Degree and that it qualifies in the country issuing the degree for access to doctoral studies. This admission will not imply, in any case, the homologation of the previous degree held by the interested party, nor its recognition for purposes other than access to doctoral studies.
• - To be in possession of an official university degree that has obtained the correspondence to level 3 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, in accordance with the procedure established in Royal Decree 967/2014, of November 21.
• - It will be highly valued, in addition, that the candidate has completed an Official Master's Degree with a research profile or MRes.
• b) Applicants must accredit by means of academic transcript certification, excellent grades in their Bachelor's and Master's Degree studies.
• c) To accredit sufficient knowledge of the English language corresponding to level C1 ("Dominio operativo eficaz" / "Effective Operational Proficiency or upper intermediate") according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, in particular in its application to the issues of the lines of research for which this position is called. The accreditation may be verified through the presentation of the documentation supporting the required level, or through the tests provided by the Institute of Modern Languages of the University. The doctoral programme is taught in English.
• d) A sufficient knowledge of Spanish is appreciated corresponding to level B1 ("Intermediate") according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The accreditation may be verified through the presentation of the documentation supporting the required level, or through the tests provided by the Institute of Modern Languages of the University. Although the doctoral programme is taught in English, the dominant language for daily communications is Spanish.
• Formalisation of applications:
• The formalisation of applications will be done in two phases.
• First phase: The candidate must submit the following documentation:
• • Photocopy of ID card, valid resident card or Foreigner's Identity Number (NIE), or passport.
• • Photocopy of the detailed academic certification showing all the academic qualifications obtained by the applicant and the dates they were obtained. In the case of having studied at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, an informative note issued by the Secretary's Office of the University is sufficient.
• • Motivation letter reflecting the candidate's aptitudes and attitudes, as well as previous experiences, achievements and strengths, interest in the position for which he/she is applying and future plans (in English).
• • Research proposal (in English) including, as far as possible, the following sections:
• • Title of the research.
• • Brief description of the research, including the problem or research gap it intends to solve (maximum 500 words).
• • Research objectives (maximum 500 words) and research questions (maximum 150 words).
• • Literature review (maximum 1000 words). This is to provide a critical analysis of the literature and use it to justify the research idea. In particular, it should address these questions: What literatures will be used in the research and why? Where is the research positioned in the discipline? What are the main debates and fields of work on the topic? What are the problems in the literature and how do you intend to address them?
• • Method (240 words maximum). Description of how data collection and analysis would be approached.
• • Research Impact (maximum 800 words). This is to explain who the research will benefit and how it will be transferred to stakeholders.
• There is no application deadline and we evaluate applications on a first‑come, first‑served basis. Applicants will be notified of the decision and it will be published in accordance with the grant programme.

Pre‑selected applicants will be invited to a personal or online interview with the programme managers.

Second phase: Applicants who have passed the first phase must officially request admission to the CETIS programme. The granting of the scholarship implies automatic admission to the programme. However, the documents required for admission to the CETIS PhD programme must be submitted.

Likewise, it is the applicant's responsibility to obtain the corresponding visas in order to be able to join the programme on September 1st.

The evaluation of the applications will be carried out through a single procedure by an Evaluation Committee that will be composed of the Vice‑Dean of Research and Internationalisation of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the Universidad P. Comillas and the members of the Academic Subcommittee of the CETIS PhD Programme.

The following criteria will be taken into account for the evaluation of the merits of the candidates:

• Applicant's academic record.
• Certificate of English level, equivalent to level C1 ("Effective Operational Proficiency or upper intermediate") of the European Union Framework of Reference for Languages, particularly applied to the research lines of the proposal. The English level will be verified by sending the corresponding certification, but also by means of tests carried out by the Institute of Modern Languages of the University.
• Having obtained any of the following distinctions: Extraordinary End of Degree Award at their university, awards from the autonomous communities, collaboration scholarships and other awards obtained in competitive calls.
• Complementary training merits: other official university degrees, stays in other university centres with collaboration grants (for example, Erasmus or Socrates grants), accredited knowledge of other languages.
• Professional experience.
• Motivation letter reflecting their aptitudes, attitudes and vocation to adequately perform teaching, management and research functions, as well as their previous experiences, achievements and strengths, together with their interest in the position for which they are applying and future projects.