BIST signs Horizon 2020 Cofund agreement

EC logoThe Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology has received a prestigious cofund grant from the Horizon 2020 research initiative.

This February, it was announced that the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology was awarded with a prestigious Cofund grant from the Horizon 2020 Cofund Program. On Friday, the funding agreement was made official, signed by BIST Director Miquel A. Pericàs and the Commission.

BIST is honoured to be among the recipients of this year’s Cofund grants and thrilled that the additional funding will allow more PhD students and post-doctoral fellows than ever before to complete cutting-edge research in one of the five participating BIST centres of excellence (ICFO, ICIQ, ICN2, IFAE, IRBB) while also receiving world-class professional development and career training opportunities.

The Cofund Program gives BIST the opportunity to provide fully funded positions to 28 PhD students and 61 post-doctoral fellows. PhD students will be selected based on two calls (between 2017-2018) for project proposals towards a PhD thesis. Post-doctoral fellows will be selected based on four calls (between 2017-2019) for post-doctoral project proposals. These calls will be structured by four thematic areas: biomedical, chemistry, experimental physics, and interdisciplinary.

We encourage you to keep an eye on the BIST website for further information about the program and for the calls for proposals when they open up.

PhD students and post-doctoral fellows will be funded with an annual salary and a one-time relocation allowance (if relocation is necessary). Funding for these positions will be a combined amount from the BIST, from each participating BIST centre, and from the cofunding grant. In total, both the Cofund grant and the BIST (including the participating BIST centres) are each contributing approximately €10 million to the programs.

About the program
The cofunding program is part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 initiative, the biggest ever EU research and innovation program with almost €80 billion of funding available over 7 years. Cofund grants provide additional funding to excellent proposals for new or existing PhD and post-doctoral programs to help give those programs an even bigger international and interdisciplinary dimension, and boost their opportunities for training and career development.