INPhINIT · Innovative doctoral programme for talented early-stage researchers in Spanish host organisations excellent in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Innovative doctoral programme for talented early-stage researchers in Spanish host organisations excellent in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

INPhINIT was a doctoral fellowship programme devoted to attracting international Early-Stage Researchers to the top Spanish research centres in the areas of Bio and Health Sciences and STEM disciplines. INPhINIT is promoted by "la Caixa" Banking Foundation (FBLC) with the aim of supporting the best scientific talent and fostering innovative and high-quality research in Spain and Europe. INPhINIT targeted the most motivated PhD candidates by addressing the STEM research areas in which Spain excels. The programme awarded 114 fellowships of 3 years each in 2 calls for applications. FBLC is a Spanish non-profit organisation whose mission is to contribute towards the progress of people and society. Since 1982, FBLC has offered its fellowships programmes—through which more than 5,000 talented young people have received fellowships to take up postgraduate studies or begin their research careers in Spain and abroad. FBLC fellowship programmes are well-known for their prestige, the reliability and rigour of the selection processes, the fellows’ excellent academic level and the impact that the fellowship has on their future academic or professional careers. The INPhINIT programme was selected in the 2015 COFUND call and and had a duration of 60 months. FBLC acted as funding organisation and directly manageed the selection process for each annual call, while the participating host organisations (certified as excellent by Spanish nation¬al research systems) recruited, hosted and provided scientific training for the selected fellows. In addition to the interdisciplinary training activities offered by the host organisation, the INPhINIT programme set up a comprehensive complementary skills training scheme that included sessions on Technology Transfer, Entrepreneurship and Professional and Career Development. FBLC performed a preliminary bibliometric analysis with the gathered information about the scientific publications produced by the INPhINIT fellows during their fellowships, specifically between January 2018 and September 2021. The results are outstanding and show the following: - The excellent scientific training the fellows received at their host organisations. - The excellence of the selection processes carried out by means of which the best ESR researchers were recruited - The exposure of the INPhINIT fellows to the top research groups of Europe and beyond that boost fruitful international collaborations and, consequently, led to publish results in the best scientific journals. Furthermore, the excellent research published by the INPhINIT fellows directly impacted on their host organisations contributing to improve the quality of their research and to increase their international recognition and strategic positioning. To conclude, the INPhINIT fellowships programme has been a massive success and, beyond the COFUND project duration, FBLC decided to continue to invest on its continuity with its own funds. Since call 2019, LCF grants 65 PhD fellowships each year bringing top global talent to Spain and Portugal. The host organisations participated to the INPhINIT programme are currently more than a hundred excellent research centres and units, maximizing the opportunities for fellows and broadening their career perspectives.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union