UPV/EHU approves 131 open competition positions and 102 for…

The Governing Council of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) approved the 2026 public employment offer and internal promotion on October 8th, for the entire collective of teachers and researchers. The agreement was published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, issue number 217, on Thursday, November 12, 2026, under the “Oppositions and competitions” section of the Government and Labor department, with official reference 2026/4802. The decision releases 131 positions in the open call and another 102 positions for internal promotion, figures that directly affect the stability of the university teaching and research career.

Context: replacement rate and 2025 vacancies

The basis of the agreement is the extension of the General State Budgets for 2026: as a result, article 20.Uno.1.a) of Law 31/2022 establishes a replacement rate (tasa de reposición) of 120% in priority sectors, and sections 20.Uno.3.l) include University Professors (Catedráticos), University Associate Professors (Profesores Titulares), and contracted doctoral university teachers in that list, provided that the competent administrations have authorized the calls. The starting point for the calculation is the vacancies that occurred in 2025: 109 permanent teacher and researcher posts became vacant, which set the limit to propose 131 positions.

The University Faculty Committee (Comisión de Profesorado Universitario) reported, with a favorable report, the positions that would make up the employment offer during the meeting on September 18, 2026, both through the replacement rate and through the internal promotion provided for in article 71.2 of Organic Law 2/2023.

Open call: 131 positions

According to the annex, the entire offer consists of positions in group A1, and the classification is as follows:

Associate Professors (Profesorado titular): 25 positions.
Aggregated Professors (Profesorado agregado): 73 positions.
Permanent Doctoral Research Personnel, who have completed the Ramón y Cajal program and hold I3 or R3 certification: 20 positions.
Linked Full, Associate, and Aggregated Professors: 4 positions.
Reserve for persons with disabilities, in the previous mixed category: 9 positions.

Internal promotion: 102 positions

The second annex specifies the positions for internal promotion, totaling 102, enabled by article 71.2 of Organic Law 2/2023. In this case, the procedure is a merit-based competition, and candidates must have at least two years of effective service in the original post, in addition to having the accreditation for the category they wish to be promoted to. Distribution:

University Chairs (Cátedras de universidad): 36 positions.
Full Faculty (Profesorado pleno): 52 positions.
Research Faculty (Profesorado investigación): 14 positions.

The regulations set a limit: the positions for internal promotion cannot exceed the number of positions offered in the open call for the same year.

Reserves, limits, and deadlines

The agreement specifically includes two legal reserves. Firstly, the quota for people with disabilities is set at 7% of the offer, as mandated by Article 65.2 of Organic Law 2/2023 and Article 59 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees. Secondly, at least 15% of the positions must be reserved for the hiring of permanent doctoral researchers holding an I3 certification or an R3 accreditation; if this reserve remains unused, it may be directed toward researchers from other excellence programs. The third agreement specifies that unfilled reserve positions will be added to the free turn, and the same number will be added to internal promotion.

Regarding deadlines, Article 20.Tres of the General State Budget —linked with Article 70 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees— establishes that positions must be included in a public employment offer before the end of the year, and the call must be published within a three-year period, without extension.

Signature and publication

The agreement was signed in Leioa on October 8, 2026, signed by the university rector José Ramón Bengoetxea Caballero and the general secretary Leire Garmendia Arrieta. The fourth agreement mandates the publication of the text in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, which was done in the mentioned issue number 217.

As for the impact, this offer is one of the main milestones of the stabilization process for the teaching and research career at UPV/EHU in 2026: on one hand, the 20 new positions for permanent doctoral researchers help establish the subsequent path for programs such as Ramón y Cajal; on the other hand, the 102 internal promotions for own positions open the promotion path within the university, and the 73 aggregated positions strengthen the base of that collective. In any case, the actual impact of the positions will depend on the publication of the calls, as the law provides a three-year window to do so.

Source: BOPV, issue 217, November 12, 2026, Part I (Orders and Personnel), official reference: 2026/4802.