Application & Selection process
Eligibility criteria
PhD eligibility:
Must have obtained your PhD within 8 years before the call deadline
Mobility rule:
Must not have lived or worked mainly in Spain for over 12 months within the last 36 months
Publications requirement:
Two peer-reviewed papers, with at least one as first or corresponding author
Candidates of any age, gender and nationality are eligible to apply.
Additional considerations:
- Each candidate is allowed to submit only one application.
- All applications must be submitted in English
- Late submissions will not be considered (deadline Call 1: 23/07/2026)
- Applicants are free to propose a research project aligned with their career goals and select the host institution and supervisor that best fits their profile.
- Unsuccessful applicants from the first call may reapply in the second call with a revised or a new proposal.
Evaluation process
Redress procedure
A Redress Procedure is available to applicants who consider that procedural errors may have occurred at different stages of the evaluation process, namely: eligibility check, Evaluation Phase 1 and Evaluation Phase 2. Requests for redress must be submitted within 10 working days from the date of notification of the relevant decision.
Evaluation criteria
| Dimension | Subcriteria | Scoring (%) |
|---|---|---|
| PHASE I. CANDIDATES' PROFILE + RESEARCH PROPOSAL EVALUATION | ||
| Curriculum vitae (CV) | Academic merits: awards, honours, and competitive fellowships or grants; research and professional experience: postdoctoral work (if applicable), teaching, leadership roles, participation in scientific projects, peer-reviewed publications, and conference contributions; and other merits: public engagement, technology transfer and innovation activities, patents, language proficiency, soft skills, and other relevant competences. | 35% |
| Motivation letter | Motivation: motivation to join the programme; alignment between the applicant’s profile, research interests, and the programme’s objectives; expected impact on the applicant’s career trajectory and research independence | 5% |
| Research Proposal | Excellence: Scientific quality, ambition and originality of the project; capacity to go beyond the state of the art; sound methodology (including interdisciplinarity, gender & diversity dimensions and Open Science); mutual knowledge transfer with host; relevance of the candidate’s backgrounds, research outputs. Appropriateness of proposed collaborations and secondments (international, intersectoral, interdisciplinary). | 30% |
| Impact: Potential scientific, societal and economic impact of the project; suitability and quality of measures to maximise expected results; impact on the fellow’s career development. | 15% | |
| Implementation: quality and feasibility of the work plan, including risk assessment; suitability of the host group, research environment and infrastructure. | 15% | |
| Total scoring phase 1 (threshold 70%; weight: 60%): 100% | ||
| Dimension | Subcriteria | Scoring (%) |
|---|---|---|
| PHASE II. INTERVIEW | ||
| Project and Career Development: | Presentation of the project by the fellow. Scientific discussion of the proposed research. Alignment with the fellow’s career trajectory and the host institution. Motivation. Professional development and future employability. Ethical considerations (if applicable). | 60% |
| Transversal skills | Clarity of presentation; ability to communicate complex reasoning; ability to work both independently and collaboratively; creativity and innovation skills; leadership potential. | 40% |
| Total score for Phase 2 (threshold: 70%): 100%. | ||
| Total Phase 1 (60%) + Phase 2 (40%) | ||
Evaluators Open Call
TALENTGAL relies on an international pool of independent external experts to ensure a transparent and high-quality evaluation process in line with the principles of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).
External experts may participate in the remote evaluation of applications, online interviews and other evaluation-related activities within the programme. Evaluators are selected on the basis of their scientific and/or professional expertise, evaluation experience, international profile and intersectoral background.
Who should apply?
Experts in Health & Biomedicine, Science & Life Sciences, or Engineering & Technology
Researchers and professionals with a strong scientific or professional track record
Experts with previous evaluation experience in competitive R&I programmes
Academic and non-academic professionals with international and/or intersectoral experience
More information in our
Applications for participation in the evaluation process of the first TALENTGAL call should preferably be submitted by: 20 July 2026