Call for applications for the Pre-doctoral CINET Scholarship

The scholarship is initially awarded for a period of one year, extendable for equal periods, up to a maximum of four years, subject to satisfactory evaluation of the work plan and the submission of the corresponding follow-up reports.

The funding for the scholarship will comply with the provisions of Article 21 of Law 14/2011, of 1 June, on Science, Technology and Innovation, and Royal Decree 103/2019, of 1 March, approving the Statute of Pre-doctoral Research Staff in Training, consolidated text (last amended on 11 January 2023) and will consist of €33,000 gross per annum for the first two years. In the third and fourth years, the amounts will be €35,000 and €36,000 gross, respectively.

The funding includes the intern’s gross remuneration and any Social Security contributions that the contracting entity may incur.

Applications must be submitted in a single PDF document that includes the following information:

1. Thesis project (maximum 4 pages). The background, objectives, activities to be carried out and timetable must be specified. Details of the research project or projects being funded in which the scholarship holder would be involved must be indicated, including a commitment from the principal researcher that the scholarship holder will be given the necessary resources to carry out their thesis work.
2. Applicant’s full curriculum vitae. The grade point average for the bachelor’s and master’s degrees (calculated on a scale of 0-10) must be specified, as well as the level of English proficiency and other relevant merits.
3. Thesis supervisor’s abridged curriculum vitae (maximum 4 pages). Contact details, professional details (including the employment relationship with the entity at which the thesis work will be carried out), experience in training doctoral students, research projects funded over the last seven years, number of six-year periods, up to ten relevant publications with impact indicators, and other merits that you consider appropriate to highlight must be specified.
4. Copy of Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Certificates or proof of application.
5. Digital copy of full academic transcripts including undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Applications may only be submitted through the platform set up for such purpose at the following link: www.fundaciontatiana.com

The deadline for submitting applications is 15 May 2026 at 23:59. No applications will be accepted with incomplete documentation or sent by any means other than those indicated in the preceding paragraph.

The applicant may be required to provide original or certified copies of any documents deemed appropriate relating to the information provided in the application, as well as reference letters from teachers or other relevant individuals who know the applicant from an academic or professional standpoint.

Applications will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary selection committee appointed by the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET). The evaluation will be carried out in two phases:

• The first phase will evaluate academic merits, the scientific quality of the project, its interdisciplinary nature, and its alignment with strategic lines. Candidates who pass this phase will be invited to a personal interview.
• The second phase will consist of a personal interview with the shortlisted candidates.

The Tatiana Foundation’s Board of Directors will make the final selection of the candidate based on the selection committee’s report and the outcome of the interview. It may appoint substitutes in the event that the selected person declines the scholarship. The Board’s decision will be final.

The beneficiary will be notified if they have been awarded the scholarship within an estimated maximum period of three months from the closing date of the call for applications. It will also be published on the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET) website. Once the award of the scholarship has been announced, the recipient must confirm acceptance of the scholarship by email within a maximum of 15 calendar days from the date of notification of the award. The beneficiary must expressly mention the renouncement of any other scholarship, contract or aid granted by another public or private institution, if applicable. If, after this period, acceptance has not been confirmed, it will be understood that the applicant has declined the scholarship.

In the event of resignation during the first six months after the scholarship has been awarded, the vacancy may be offered to the next candidate on the waiting list in the established order of priority.

• After accepting the scholarship, the beneficiary must send:

1) scholarship acceptance document, duly completed and signed.

2) document of enrolment or acceptance into the doctoral programme specified in the application for the academic year 2026–2027.

Within a maximum period of 15 days from the date of notification of the award of the scholarship. Scholarship holders who have not submitted the required documentation within the established period will be deemed to have tacitly renounced the scholarship.

• Universities or host centres must hire beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of Law 14/2011, of 1 June, on Science, Technology and Innovation, under the pre-doctoral contract modality, and in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 103/2019 of 1 March, consolidated text (last amended: 11 January 2023).
• The contract and the incorporation of the scholarship recipient into the research group will take place before 31 October 2026.
• In the tenth month of the first year and subsequent years, the scholarship recipient must submit a report on the work carried out to the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET). This report must include the approval of the thesis supervisor, the director of the doctoral programme, and the head of the host university or centre.
• The receipt and approval of the annual reports mentioned in the previous paragraph are an essential requirement for the annual extensions of the scholarship.

• The management and administration of the scholarship/contract is the responsibility of the host university or centre.
• The scholarship amount will be paid to the university or host institution upon receipt of the acceptance document and the enrolment document for the doctoral programme.
• The university or host institution must allocate the full amount of the scholarship to the scholarship holder’s remuneration and to cover Social Security contributions.

The beneficiary of this pre-doctoral scholarship/contract has the opportunity to undertake a research stay in another national or international laboratory, with the aim of improving their training and furthering the development of their thesis. Stays requested will last between 1 and 3 months, to be carried out between months 13 and 42 of the scholarship period.

The funding will be used to cover travel, accommodation and living expenses. The amount of the scholarship will be as follows:

• Accommodation: €25 per day for stays in Spain and €45 per day for stays abroad.
• Travel:
• Travel within Spain: Up to a maximum of €90 within the Peninsula; up to a maximum of €120 to Ceuta, Melilla and the Balearic Islands; up to a maximum of €150 to the Canary Islands.
• Travel abroad: Up to a maximum of €600 when the destination is a European country; up to a maximum of €1,200 when the destination is a country elsewhere in the world.

The funding will be paid to the university or host institution of this scholarship/contract (70% at the beginning of the stay and the remaining 30% at the end of the stay).

To apply for this short stay at another centre, the beneficiary must send the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET) an application report of no more than three pages at least six weeks before the planned start date. The report must include details of the host centre, the planned work programme and reasons justifying the stay. This report must be signed by the scholarship holder, the thesis supervisor, the head of the scholarship holder’s host university/centre, and the head of the host group.

Once the stay has ended and within fifteen days from the day following the beneficiary’s return, they must submit a report detailing the stay, including:

1. Certificate from the head of the host group stating the start and end dates of the stay.
2. Proof of expenditure for travel from the place of origin to the host centre for the stay and return journey.
3. Report on the work carried out (maximum length 1,000 words), which must include the approval of the thesis supervisor.

1. The scholarship recipient must enrol or be enrolled in the postgraduate programme specified in the application for the 2026-2027 academic year and subsequent years.
2. The scholarship recipient undertakes to submit the thesis to the university at which they are enrolled, at the latest within the final year of the scholarship/contract. If they are unable to meet this requirement, the scholarship recipient may request a duly justified extension.
3. Upon completion of the doctoral programme, the scholarship recipient must submit supporting documentation, including a copy of the doctoral thesis written in Spanish or English in both digital and physical formats.
4. The scholarship recipient must state in their doctoral thesis and in all publications derived from their thesis work that they are a scholarship recipient of the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET), of the Tatiana Foundation.
5. The scholarship recipient undertakes to participate in any events organised by the International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET) in relation to this call, including participation in the specific training programmes offered.
6. The scholarship recipient, the host university, and the thesis supervisor undertake to report any incident that affects the normal course of the thesis’s execution and completion.
7. In the event of resignation from the scholarship after having received any monthly payments, the beneficiary must justify this in writing within 15 days of the date of resignation. If they fail to do so, or if there are insufficient grounds, the scholarship holder will be required to repay the amount received up to that point. In any case, the university or host centre undertakes to return the remainder of the corresponding annual payment in respect of the pre-doctoral scholarship-contract for that beneficiary.

• Recipients of this scholarship may not receive any other public or private scholarships or contracts. Furthermore, this scholarship is incompatible with any contractual or statutory obligations that prevent full-time commitment to research.

In the event of a conflict of interest arising, the university or host institution of the scholarship holder must report it in order to terminate the scholarship.

• The beneficiary may, with the prior approval of the research director, be authorised to assist in teaching activities within the university department associated with the host research group, for training purposes, for up to 60 hours per academic year.
• Only income derived from teaching activities (courses, lectures or presentations), research (books or articles) or professional activities (e.g. medical consultations) directly related to the research carried out by the scholarship holder may be authorised, provided that such activities are sporadic and not habitual. These activities may not exceed 30% of the total gross annual amount of the scholarship. Authorisation for these activities will be granted by the university or host institution, which must notify the Foundation accordingly.
• The scholarship/contract will have the duration indicated in the section DURATION AND ALLOWANCE (page 1).

However, when the contract is entered into with a person with a disability, the contract may have a maximum duration of six years, including extensions, taking into account the characteristics of the research activity and the degree of limitations on the activity.

Situations of temporary incapacity and periods of time spent on full-time leave due to gestation, pregnancy, risk during gestation, pregnancy and breastfeeding, birth, maternity, paternity, guardianship for the purposes of adoption or foster care, or accumulated breastfeeding on a full-time basis, or for similar situations related to the foregoing, as well as full-time leave due to work-life balance or care of minors, family members or dependents, and time spent on leave to care for a child or family member or due to a decision by the worker who is forced to leave their job as a result of being a victim of gender-based violence during the term of the contract will interrupt the calculation of the duration of the contract. Any increase in the employer’s Social Security contribution as a result of the extension of the contract period due to such situations will be borne by the university or host centre.

Periods of time spent on part-time leave due to birth, maternity, paternity, guardianship for the purposes of adoption or foster care, and the reduction of working hours for reasons of breastfeeding, the birth of a premature or hospitalised child after childbirth, legal guardianship, caring for minors affected by cancer or serious illness, caring for relatives affected by accident or serious illness or of dependent persons, or due to gender-based violence, or reductions in working hours for reasons similar to the foregoing, as well as due to work-life balance or care of minors, relatives or dependent persons, during the term of the contract will result in the contract being extended for a period equivalent to the number of hours of work lost. Any increase in the employer’s Social Security contribution as a result of the extension of the contract period due to such situations will be borne by the university or host centre.

• Submission of the application implies that the signatories are familiar with the content of this call for applications and undertake to comply with its terms and conditions if the scholarship is awarded.
• If the beneficiary, thesis supervisor or host university fails to comply with the commitments set forth herein, the Foundation reserves the right to take any action it deems appropriate, including requesting the repayment of any amounts paid.
• The Foundation reserves the right to use images or audiovisual material provided by scholarship recipients as a result of their doctoral thesis, within the framework of its founding objectives and institutional communication.

It is not mandatory to submit a copy of your English language certificate when you submit your application, as your English level will be assessed during the interview if you are shortlisted, regardless of whether or not you have submitted a certificate.

To be eligible for this pre-doctoral scholarship-contract, applicants must hold a master’s degree or meet one of the other requirements for admission to doctoral studies indicated in the APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS section of the call for applications on the closing date of the call.

Given that acceptance into a doctoral program may not have been finalized by the application deadline, only a document of pre-admission to a doctoral program from the host university is required. However, for the scholarship to be effective, the candidate must submit the document of admission or enrollment in the doctoral program specified in the application, which must correspond to the 2026-2027 academic year, within the period established in the terms and conditions of the call for applications.

The document certifying acceptance into a postgraduate program refers to a document that proves that the candidate has been or will be accepted into an official doctoral program affiliated with a university.

The terms and conditions of the call for applications stipulate that the application must include a section corresponding to the thesis project (page 3 of the terms and conditions), which may indeed be written in English.

The section entitled “Duration and Funding” in the terms and conditions of the call for applications specifies that “the initial duration of the scholarships is one year, extendable for equal periods, up to a maximum of four years.” Applications in which the duration of the thesis project is less than four years will also be accepted.

In applications sent to the Foundation, it is preferable to have a single thesis supervisor in order to ensure that there is one person responsible for the execution of the thesis work. There may be a co-supervisor, but the Foundation prefers to have a single point of contact, which would be the doctoral thesis supervisor.

The head of the host university will be responsible for hiring and training research staff in training, who is usually the Vice-Chancellor for Research or Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies at that university. However, if the thesis work is carried out at a research center (whether or not it is linked to the university), the person in charge will be the director of that center, who will be responsible for both the scholarship holder’s contract and the financial management arising from it.

The terms and conditions of the call for applications do not establish any limitation on the same thesis supervisor submitting more than one application in this call.