If you’ve been hunting for a postdoc that doesn’t feel like surviving on scraps while trying to do world-class research, the AuSpire Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2026 (MSCA COFUND) just put itself on your shortlist. This is a European Union co-funded postdoctoral training program designed for outstanding researchers of any age and any nationality, with a bold, international setup: you’ll be employed full-time in Spain for 36 months and can add a serious career boost through international and/or intersectoral co-supervision plus secondments with partner organizations in Spain and Australia.
And yes—this one is built like a “real job” postdoc: full-time employment contract, social security benefits, and salary levels stated to be above the average postdoc salary in Spain, plus additional stipends meant to cover the stuff that usually drains your bank account (relocation, travel, and family support). If your next chapter needs to be bigger than “just another fellowship,” AuSpire is pitching exactly that: a multi-country research experience with structured training, networking, and the kind of professional environment that’s meant to accelerate you—not exhaust you.
What AuSpire Is Offering?
AuSpire is a postdoctoral training program co-funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), built around excellent working conditions and a research experience that’s both international and impact-driven.
Selected fellows are employed in Spain by renowned companies, research centres, and universities, while benefiting from a unique setup that can include secondments with counterpart organizations in Spain and Australia for up to 12 months—meaning you’re not just publishing, you’re expanding your network, exposure, and career options across sectors and borders.
Benefits of Winning AuSpire Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2026
Winning the AuSpire Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2026 is like getting a postdoc package that actually understands reality: you need salary, stability, mobility support, and a research pathway that upgrades your career—not just your workload. AuSpire offers a full-time employment contract in Spain for 36 months, with attractive salary + social security benefits, and it explicitly states salaries are above average for postdoctoral researchers in Spain (final net amounts depend on Spanish tax rules).
On top of that, fellows receive a EUR 4,000 relocation stipend (paid monthly as a salary top-up) to help cover costs like flights/visa/insurance, a EUR 9,000 secondment relocation stipend for compulsory project-related travel and accommodation tied to secondments, a EUR 314 monthly family allowance for eligible fellows with family obligations, and a EUR 3,000 travel stipend to support participation in required training and networking events in Spain across the three-year program.
Add the program’s intersectoral/international supervision, structured secondments, and training focus—including Planetary Wellbeing—and you’re looking at a postdoc experience designed to be prestigious, practical, and seriously future-facing.
Eligibility Criteria (Who Can Apply?)
AuSpire is looking for outstanding researchers across backgrounds, but you must meet all core eligibility rules below.
- You must be available to work exclusively for the action and cannot benefit from another MSCA during the employment period.
- You must hold a doctoral degree by the call deadline (or have successfully defended your PhD with an unconditional outcome before the deadline, even if the formal award is pending).
- You must not be permanently employed by your chosen Employing Entity.
- You must not already be permanently employed by your chosen Employing Entity.
- You must meet the mobility rule for Spain: you must not have resided or carried out your main activity in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the deadline (i.e., since 26 January 2023).
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You need to demonstrate English language proficiency.
Apply: https://auspire.eu/selection-process/
Last Date to Apply
The last date to apply for the AuSpire Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2026 (MSCA COFUND) in Spain is 26 January 2026 (11:59 pm CET).