The Ministry of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya will open a new Serra Húnter Programme (SHP) call for applications on 18 September. The aim is to recruit teaching and research staff for Catalan universities based on criteria of international excellence. This call, which is the second held this year, will cover a total of 48 posts – 47 for tenure-eligible lecturers and 1 for an associate professor position.

This programme aims to recruit highly qualified teaching and research staff with qualifications meeting international standards to join the staff of Catalan public universities. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and have an excellent academic record, preferably with international experience. At least three years of postdoctoral experience is required for associate professor vacancies. 

The applicants selected by committees composed of renowned Spanish and international academics will have to carry out teaching tasks and work with existing research groups and/or develop new complementary lines of research.

The vacancies are within the following fields of study: sciences, life sciences, social sciences, engineering and humanities, and the four universities offering positions are the University of Barcelona (UB), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and Rovira i Virgili University (URV).

The application period will be between 18 September and 13 October for the tenure-eligible lecturer positions, while for the associate professor position it will be from 16 October to 2 November.

The funding for this year’s SHP amounts to 18.6 million euros, which is included in the more than 138 million euros that the Ministry of Research and Universities has earmarked for promoting talent in the budget for 2023, which has seen an increase in its own funds of 13.5%.

About 900 applications for the first call

The year’s first SHP call for applications in 2023 closed last April, with a total of 889 applications received – an average of 16 per vacancy. A total of 52 positions were offered in this first call for applications – 49 in the tenure-eligible lecturer category and 3 in the associate professor category.

New additions to the Serra Húnter fellows for the 2023-2024 academic year

This academic excellence plan has become an important way for Catalan universities to attract and retain talent. A total of 63 people who were chosen to be part of the SHP in previous calls will join the university system in the coming 2023-2024 academic year; 58 will be recruited as tenure-eligible lecturers, and 5 as associate professors.

The SHP selection process is open to people from all over the world, and is divided into two parts. The first is the international call and the second is the competitive process at the university.

20 years of the Serra Húnter Programme

The SHP, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, is part of the new model for academic staff that the Ministry of Research and Universities is promoting to enhance the social openness and internationalisation of Catalan universities. The goal is to move towards a more flexible teaching structure that is more open to the world, while adapting to the needs of the system and the universities, without overlooking their objective.

More information is available on the website of the Serra Húnter Programme.