Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Talent Work is now accepting applications to establish new postdoctoral research workstations for the year 2026.

The program aims to advance the integrated development of education, technology, and talent, accelerate Shanghai's push to become a high-level talent hub, and better use postdoctoral research to deepen the integration between technological innovation and industrial innovation.

Application details are listed below.

I. Criteria for establishing a workstation

Enterprises, research institutes, new R&D institutions, and other public institutions engaged in scientific research and technological development that are registered in Shanghai and are operating in the city, and that intend to establish a postdoctoral research workstation, must meet all the basic conditions and at least one recommended condition listed below .

(I) Basic conditions

1. Must have independent legal-person status (an independent legal entity) and demonstrate sound operations or stable performance.

2. Must meet a certain scale and have a dedicated research and development institution.

3. Must have a high-level research team, including a certain number of full-time in-house senior researchers with professional titles or equivalent qualifications who can serve as postdoctoral supervisors.

4. Must be able to provide favorable research conditions and necessary living conditions for postdoctoral researchers, ensure they receive the same employment benefits as the institution's staff, and guarantee an annual remuneration no less than that of employees with equivalent qualifications. The remuneration must also meet the Level C funding standard under the national program supporting postdoctoral researchers (120,000 yuan, about $17,317, per year), administered by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.

5. Must have a clear postdoctoral recruitment plan and clearly defined postdoctoral research projects with innovative value, and show readiness to co-recruit postdoctoral researchers with an existing postdoctoral research mobility station.

6. Must be able to establish practical and feasible internal postdoctoral management measures and designate dedicated personnel familiar with postdoctoral policies to handle management and services.

(II) Recommended conditions

1. Must host national-level scientific research and innovation platforms such as national laboratories, national key laboratories, key national defense science and technology laboratories, national emerging industry innovation centers, national manufacturing innovation centers, national technology innovation centers, national clinical medical research centers, national defense science and technology industry innovation centers, national industrial technology engineering centers, "Belt and Road" joint laboratories, national major science and technology infrastructure facilities, national science and technology resource sharing service platforms, national field science observation and research stations, national industrial design centers, and national high-end think tanks.

2. Must belong to strategic, foundational, or pioneering industries that support national economic and social development and safeguard national strategic security, be in a leading position within the industry, or demonstrate outstanding performance in key core technology fields with recognition from relevant national authorities. This includes organizations that have received national-level science and technology awards in the past five years, have been recognized as a national-level outstanding demonstration enterprise in manufacturing by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or serve as the primary contractor for national AI application pilot-scale verification bases.

3. Must have appeared in prestigious domestic or international rankings within the past three years, such as major rankings of China's listed companies by market value, or the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce's Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises.

4. Must be a national-level "little giant" enterprise — small and medium-sized enterprise recognized for being specialized and innovative — with an annual operating revenue exceeding 400 million yuan and profitability for three consecutive years.

5. Must have operated a postdoctoral research workstation sub-station or been hosted in a postdoctoral innovation practice base for more than two years, having cumulatively recruited more than two postdoctoral researchers who were neither in-service employees nor beyond the age limit, and having obtained high-quality patents, technical solutions, achievements in commercialization, or theoretical publications as research outcomes during their tenure.

II. Application procedure

Qualified enterprises and institutions applying to establish a new postdoctoral research workstation must follow the procedure of independent application, recommendation by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Talent Work based on national and municipal strategic development needs, and verification by the National Postdoctoral Management Committee Office.

1. The applicants shall complete the application form for filing a new postdoctoral research workstation, which must be signed by the applicant and affixed with an official seal, and submitted according to the applicant's category.

- Enterprises and institutions registered in Shanghai that are under the administration of the central government, a ministry, or the municipal government as well as applicants not yet hosted in a postdoctoral innovation practice base (excluding those registered in the Pudong New Area), shall submit materials directly to the municipal-level receiving office.

- For applicants who are sub-stations of postdoctoral research workstations or those hosted in postdoctoral innovation practice bases, if they meet the recommended condition 5, they shall submit materials to the district-level receiving office of their registered location. District talent work bureaus will verify and recommend them before collectively submitting to the municipal-level receiving office.

- Enterprises and institutions registered in the Pudong New Area, excluding those under the administration of the central government, a ministry, or the municipal government, must submit their applications to the Pudong New Area receiving office. The Pudong New Area Talent Work Bureau will verify and recommend the applications before collectively submitting to the municipal-level receiving office.

Note: Relevant units and district talent bureaus must complete material submission by Feb 26, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted. District-level receiving offices must email both PDF and Excel versions of the summary recommendation form for applying to establish new postdoctoral research workstations with the official seal to the municipal-level receiving office's email address.

2. The municipal-level receiving office will verify the qualification of the applicants. The Shanghai talent authorities will organize an expert review to determine the recommended applicants.

3. Recommended applicants shall log on to the China Postdoctoral website (chinapostdoctor.org.cn), enter the "Application for New Postdoctoral Research Workstations" section, and complete the online application. Online application materials must be consistent with the physical application materials.

4. Shanghai Municipal Talent Work Bureau will verify the online and physical application materials before submitting them to the National Postdoctoral Management Committee Office.

5. The National Postdoctoral Management Committee Office will verify the application materials based on the recommended list and register eligible applicants online. Applicants who fail to meet the criteria or have issues regarding the authenticity or accuracy of the application materials will be issued a one-time notification and rejection.

III. Dynamic adjustment

A postdoctoral research workstation will have its qualification revoked under any of the following circumstances. Stations that have been revoked may not reapply within three years:

1. Receiving an unsatisfactory rating in the national comprehensive postdoctoral evaluation, which includes failure to recruit any postdoctoral researchers within two years of establishment.

2. Failing to recruit any postdoctoral researchers for three consecutive years.

3. Violating relevant postdoctoral regulations or having major academic misconduct issues.

4. Being unable to provide necessary research or living conditions for postdoctoral researchers, or being unable to continue postdoctoral work due to business adjustments, restructuring, bankruptcy, and other reasons.

Note: Applicants who require postdoctoral recruitment but do not yet meet the criteria for establishing a workstation may apply to the local district talent bureau to be hosted in a postdoctoral innovation practice base. Upon assessment and eligibility, they may commence postdoctoral recruitment and training.

IV. Relevant requirements

Talent work departments in all districts should attach great importance to this initiative and actively carry out publicity and organizational efforts. Priority should be given to recommending applications from enterprises in the three leading industries, namely AI, integrated circuits and biomedicine, future industries such as quantum technology and nuclear fusion energy, emerging industries, foreign-related fields, and enterprises with foreign-invested R&D centers in Shanghai.

 

Sources: Official WeChat account of the Shanghai International Talent website (ID: "sh-italent"), Shanghai Municipal Talent Work Bureau