The Catalan plan to "steal" scientists from the US envisages 45 long-term contracts over three years.
The Government will expand the number of places to four calls for applications with 30 million euros, which will include tailored incentives.
BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump seems determined to declare war on science, and the rest of the world is looking at him with concern for the potential impact on global health, but also as an opportunity to attract research talent to his country. Given this scenario, the government doesn't want to lose momentum and has prepared a plan to attract 78 researchers over the next three years. To this end, it will allocate €30 million to four research calls to create specific positions for scientists currently working in the United States. 45 will be long-term (some indefinite) and 33 will be for three years.
The Catalunya Talent Bridge program will begin rolling out this year and will have annual calls until 2028, as explained this Wednesday by the Minister of Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat. The budget, of 30 million euros—announced weeks ago by President Illa—will serve to strengthen the research calls operating within the Catalan research system. For now, 17 new positions will be opened in 2025 under the Beatriz de Pinós and CERCA programs (11 and 6, respectively) exclusively for scientists currently working at research centers and universities in the United States.
Starting next year, the department plans to offer 26 new positions each year to attract researchers who welcome a change of scenery in the face of the Trump administration's scientific denialism, whether because they are Catalan and want to return home, or because they are foreigners who want to relocate to Catalonia. To this end, the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has increased the number of positions available for applications at the 12 Catalan universities, the 42 CERCA centers, and three leading infrastructure centers: the Alba Synchrotron, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - National Supercomputing Center, and the National Center for Genomic Analysis.
Different profiles and tailor-made incentives
The Minister explained that the plan's objective is to incorporate diverse research profiles, from promising young people to established veterans. For example, the Beatriz de Pinós grant, aimed at postdoctoral researchers, will increase from 54 annual positions to 65 until 2028. These grants are valid for three years and are designed for young scientists. Furthermore, the Serra Húnter Plan, aimed at teaching and research staff with international academic experience, will offer 14 positions, up from 10 previously. The ICREA program, for outstanding researchers, will increase from 20 annual positions to 25, and the CERCA research centers will have six new positions.
In total, the Catalan government will open 26 new positions over the next three years (a total of 78) for scientists from the United States, with whom it aims to "demonstrate that Catalonia is not a spectator of global changes, but an active participant," according to the minister. The program will also include personalized incentives for US researchers who join. The department will offer them "research funds, resources for international mobility, access to collaboration networks, training, and support" so they can integrate well into the Catalan system, although it has not clarified how it will do so or the financial allocation it will allocate. In principle, this budget should also come from the 30 million euros already announced.
"An unexpected opportunity"
During the program's presentation, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, explained that the Catalunya Talent Bridge seeks to "take advantage of an unexpected opportunity" following the decisions made by the Trump administration in scientific matters. Since his arrival, the administration has eliminated financial contributions to projects at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and censored lines of research related to scientific perspectives, which are essential for advancing knowledge worldwide.
Trump has also suspended more than 200 grants for HIV and AIDS research, cut funding for projects focused on COVID-19, and will reduce the aid that Columbia University has received so far by approximately $400 million following pro-Palestinian protests on its campus. In addition, the US government froze $2.2 billion in federal funds and suspended $60 million in federal contracts at Harvard after the center refused to yield to the new administration's campaign to try to control the functioning of universities.
The scientific impact of Trump's return goes beyond the exodus of workers, cuts in research, and the closure of journals. Worldwide, the situation is also one of concern and uncertainty regarding shared projects with US centers and the scientific information from large US databases used every day by hundreds of researchers. Losing access to this information would change the paradigm of science as we understand it today.
The ARA already reported on theoutcry of Catalan researchersThey are calling for European databases to be strengthened to ensure they can continue working even if the worst fears ultimately come true and they can't access information from US centers as they have until now. Meanwhile, governments around the world are rubbing their hands together to recruit all the scientists punished by Trump's measures.
