This is Spain's plan to recruit prestigious researchers "despised" by Trump.
The Ministry of Science strengthens the ATRAE program with 45 million euros and additional funding for scientists who leave the US for Spain.
BarcelonaThe Spanish government is moving to attract renowned researchers from around the world, especially those currently working in the United States. The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday a call for proposals worth up to 45 million euros within the ATRAE program, first launched three years ago, with the aim of attracting foreign talent. The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, stressed that the focus is on researchers "despised" by the Donald Trump administration, which is cutting project funding and censoring certain lines of research related to gender perspectives, diversity, and the climate crisis, among other areas.
The unrest caused in the scientific community by the new administration's measures was expressed last week in an open letter signed by 2,000 researchers warning of the loss of global leadership and the interruption of numerous projects and trials. Furthermore, according to a survey published in the journal Nature, almost three out of four researchers currently working in the United States are considering leaving because Trump is canceling scholarships, cutting funding, and censoring some lines of research. Therefore, Morant explained that scientists from this country selected for this program will receive additional funding of €200,000 for each project.
The third edition of the ATRAE program, which is part of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities and managed by the State Research Agency, will have €15 million more than the previous edition. In fact, the first two editions received a total of €55 million (combined). The objective is to facilitate the incorporation of established research talent with internationally recognized prestige and who have recently developed a significant period of their activity abroad "in order to promote a more globally competitive Spanish science, technology, and innovation system," according to the program's guidelines.
Thus, the call is aimed at researchers who are among the top 10% of professionals in their area of specialization, leaders of scientific projects of the European Research Council (ERC), and all those who have made "contributions of great relevance and impact" in their field. In previous editions, some leading scientists have been selected in areas such as early cancer detection and the development of personalized therapies, the molecular regulation of obesity, the study of neural circuits, or the generation of tools to analyze stellar populations in the galactic disk.
Morant explained that the program funds each selected researcher with an average of one million euros so they can carry out their work and form a team at a Spanish research center or university. The initiative, she added, includes a commitment to stabilization by the institutions that host the researchers, so that after the initial contract of up to four years funded by the program, the host institutions offer stable jobs to the scientists.
Terrabastall Trump
Several countries have recently made moves to recruit scientific talent. The Generalitat (Catalan government) announced last week that it was launching a 78-position program in Catalonia this year for "high-level" researchers working in the United States. As reported by ARA,The Catalan government has drawn up a plan to hunt down American researchers who would be harmed by Trump's policies., called Catalunya Talent Bridge, and has allocated €30 million for the next three years.
The European Commission has also received requests from parliamentarians, member states, and companies to strengthen talent acquisition programs to attract researchers currently working in the US with an increase in funding (from €1 to €2 million) for principal investigators who move to the EU.
On the other side of the coin, however, is the potential impact of Trump's crusade against science. In Catalonia, of the 42 research centers of excellence (CERCA), 28 have some kind of relationship, agreement, or stable collaboration with US organizations. Most are with public institutions, such as universities.
