We are seeking a candidate for a 4-year FPI contract to work at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Barcelona) on the ENCASA project “Just like at home: community, care and ageing in residential innovations for older people in Spain” (Ref. PID2025-175017NB-I00), led by Daniel López Gómez. The candidate is expected to join the project between late 2026 and the first half of 2027.
What are we looking for?
We are looking for someone who is intellectually curious and committed to the project’s subject matter. The candidate will have critical thinking and research skills, be thorough and creative, and be able to work both independently and collaboratively within a research team. The candidate will have the following profile:
Qualification: Bachelor’s degree and Official Master’s degree (totalling at least 300 ECTS) in disciplines related to the social sciences, such as psychology, anthropology, sociology, geography and science, technology and society (STS) studies.
Academic record: excellent.
Aspects that will be given particular consideration:
- Proven experience or a strong background in mixed-methods research and/or ethnography.
- Expertise in any of the following areas: ageing; disability; care; science, technology and society; housing and places of ageing; material culture; human–animal relationships. Having a Master’s thesis on any of these topics will be regarded as an advantage.
- Proficiency in Spanish and learning Catalan, if not already known, in order to carry out fieldwork. A good level of English is also essential.
Project
The FPI pre-doctoral contract is linked to the ENCASA project (“At home: community, care and ageing in innovative residential care for older people in Spain”).
The project explores, from a historiographical, ethnographical, and forward-looking perspective, new, adapted, and supported living environments for older people. These Residential Innovations for Ageing at Home (IRECs) are presented as alternatives to traditional home living and care homes, providing a response to the current housing, environmental and care crises. We will address at least three types of innovation: supported housing; collaborative housing or co-housing; and home-like assisted living environments (shared living units).
The project has three main objectives:
- To understand the historical development of IRECs in Spain, in comparison with that of other European countries;
- To understand the ways in which people ‘make a home’ in old age from an intersectional perspective (gender, class, migration), a life-course perspective, and a ‘more-than-human’ perspective, taking into account the role of spatial design, material culture and companion species (pets, plants, etc.)
- Rethinking environments for ageing with care and within the community of the future.
The findings of ENCASA will have a direct impact on policies aimed at deinstitutionalising care and on the creation of more inclusive environments in which people can age with care and within their communities.
What does the job involve?
The selected candidate will join the ENCASA research team and take on the following responsibilities
- Cross-cutting support for the project: Active participation in the three objectives of the ENCASA project.
- Ethnography at IRECs (Core of the Thesis): The selected candidate will play a central role in the ethnographic study of various residential innovations designed to enable people to age at home and within the community (serviced flats, collaborative housing or co-housing, shared living units, etc.). It is expected that their doctoral thesis will be based on this empirical work.
- Dissemination of results: Contributing to the drafting of scientific publications, presenting papers and undertaking activities to disseminate results.
- Organisation and academic management: Direct involvement in the organisation of academic activities linked to the project and to the day-to-day running of the CareNet research group.
What training do we offer?
- PhD Programme and Supervision: The selected candidate will undertake their doctoral thesis within the Society, Technology and Culture PhD programme at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, under the supervision of Daniel López Gómez, the project’s principal investigator.
- Methodological and Academic Training: The doctoral programme will include advanced research courses, such as ‘Research Design in the Social Sciences’ (5 ECTS) and, depending on prior learning, ‘Advanced Qualitative Studies’ (5 ECTS). In addition, complementary practical courses such as ‘Academic Writing’ and ‘Academic Presentations’ will be offered.
- Practical training: Integration into the working dynamics of the CareNet research group, which focuses on crises, care and technoscience, and of the Centre UOC-TRANSIC (Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Social and Cultural Transformations). Active participation in the seminars organised by the research group and the centre.
- Supervision: Annual presentation of the progress made on the thesis to the research group and the thesis committee
- International mobility: A research stay at a leading international centre in the field of the project.
Expression of interest
Interested applicants should send the following documents to Daniel López (dlopezgo[at]uoc.edu), stating the subject line: “FPI ENCASA Application – [First Name and Surname]”.
- Curriculum Vitae (without a photograph).
- Official academic transcript showing the detailed average mark (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees).
- A brief letter of motivation (maximum 1–2 pages) explaining your interest in the subject matter of the project, your academic background and previous research experience, as well as your motivation for undertaking a doctoral thesis in this field.
