In order to further enhance the cultivation of outstanding postdoctoral researchers, establish a high-level talent hub, and upgrade postdoctoral services, the Shanghai Talent Work Bureau is accepting applications for the Shanghai Post-doctoral Excellence Program.

The details are as follows:

Eligibility

Applicants must be postdoctoral researchers who entered a postdoctoral research mobility station, workstation, or innovation practice base in Shanghai between Sept 1, 2024, and Aug 31, 2025, and are engaged in full-time research.

The following are not eligible: Postdocs in designated training programs, active military personnel, in-service R&D postdocs, standardized training postdocs, or other similar in-service postdocs occupied in postdoctoral research.

Applicants must also meet the following requirements:

Basic requirements

1. Demonstrate strong research potential, academic ethics, and comprehensive capabilities.

2. Have personnel relations registered at a postdoctoral research mobility station, workstation, or innovation practice base in Shanghai.

3. Be born on or after Jan 1, 1989. The age limit for applicants from workstations and innovation practice bases can be extended to those born on or after Jan 1, 1985. Female postdocs may have the age limit extended by one year per child born, up to three years.

4. Apply through the respective postdoctoral station or innovation practice base. During the funding period, changes to supervisors or status are not permitted.

Priority recommendations

Under equal conditions, the following applicants may be prioritized for recommendation:

1. Those engaged in research at national laboratories, key municipal laboratories, major scientific facilities, key research centers, or major specific projects, particularly in frontier basic and applied research or critical core technologies.

2. Those working within research teams led by top-tier talent, academicians, recipients of the Magnolia Award for innovative talent, the Eastern Talent Plan, and other leading talent programs recognized in Shanghai.

3. Those conducting research in fields such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, or other fundamental research disciplines.

4. Those conducting research in specialized industrial sectors within Shanghai's "Five New Cities" in Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang, Fengxian, and Nanhui (Pudong) districts. The subdivided tracks include low-altitude economy, medical equipment manufacturing, new resource facilities, biological medicine, and aircraft manufacturing.

5. Those with outstanding independent innovation research achievements, receiving one or above funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Social Science Fund of China, National Postdoctoral Support Program, or China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (special or general funding) in the year of application; Those having published as first or corresponding author in high-level journals that are influential in relevant research fields.

6. Finalists of the fifth Shanghai Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, including those who did not win awards.

Direct selection

Applicants meeting the following requirements (excluding priority conditions) will be directly selected. Priority recommendations are not included.

1. Those selected for the 2025 National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program who have not previously applied for the program.

2. Gold award winners of the fifth Shanghai Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

3. Those selected for the 2025 postdoctoral overseas talent recruitment programs in Shanghai.

Exclusion criteria

The following individuals are ineligible to apply:

1. Those already receiving support from national or municipal overseas postdoctoral programs, such as the Sino-German Postdoctoral Exchange Program, Hong Kong Scholars Program, or Macao Young Scholars Program.

2. Those currently receiving funding from other municipal comprehensive talent support programs, such as the Eastern Talent Plan or Magnolia Talent Plan.

3. Those enrolled in the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission's Teacher Postdoctoral Training Program.

Funding standards

1. Selected researchers will receive an annual grant of 150,000 yuan (about $21,000) per person for two consecutive years. Their host institutions must provide supporting funds greater than or equal to this amount.

2. Applicants who are also selected for the same year's National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program will receive an annual grant of 100,000 yuan per person for two consecutive years.

3. Those who are selected in the Post-doctoral Excellence Program first and later receive funding from the National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program shall have their combined funding capped at 200,000 yuan.

Application process

Application organization

Eligible postdocs must apply through their host institutions or innovation practice bases. Applicants should download and complete the required application form from the website of the Shanghai International Talent and submit one hard copy to their institution for consolidation.

http://en.sh-italent.com/

Institutional review and recommendation

Host institutions will conduct selection, recommendation, and publicity processes until Sept 30.

1. Research mobility stations

Recommend candidates based on allocated quotas.

Applicants meeting the following conditions do not count toward quotas:

• Current National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program recipients
• Postdocs supervised by top-tier talent, core members of the top-tier talent team, or academicians.

Note: There is no quota limit for applications recommended by supervisors who are top-tier talent. For supervisors who are core members or academicians, each supervisor can recommend only one candidate.

• Postdoctoral researchers who are foreign nationals or from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan

2. Research workstations

There are no quota limits. Recommendations should be based on review and selection.

3. Innovation practice bases

There are no quota limits for full-time R&D postdocs recommended by district talent bureaus.

Note: Recommended candidates must be publicized for at least three days. Responsible institutions or districts must submit electronic summary lists of applications to the Shanghai Talent Bureau via shpostdoctor@163.com before Sept 30.

Online individual application

• From Sept 5 to 25, recommended applicants must complete an online application form on the website of Shanghai International Talent, and submit the form and supporting documents. Late applications will not be accepted.
• National Postdoctoral Innovation Talent Support Program recipients need only complete personal information and upload the application form.

Institutional review and submission

From Sept 5 to 30, recommending institutions must review application materials for consistency and submit them online.

Formal review

Applications will undergo formal review. Ineligible applications will be rejected. Host institutions may not submit replacement or supplementary applications.

Expert evaluation

Experts will review applications and determine the final list of recipients for funding.

Publicity and grant disbursement

Final candidates will be publicized. Upon approval, grants will be disbursed to recipients.

Notes

1. District talent bureaus and other host institutions should actively organize and promote the program, recommend high-quality candidates, and adhere to the specified timeline.

2. Applicants must ensure the authenticity of their materials. Host institutions and district talent bureaus are responsible for verifying the accuracy, compliance, and consistency of submissions. Fraudulent or ineligible applications will be disqualified.

3. Applicants must submit all required materials in strict accordance with the specified requirements.

 

Source: Official WeChat account of Shanghai International Talent website at "sh-italent"