The Ramón y Cajal Scholarship (RyC) is a Spanish post-doctoral scholarship, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, that allows outstanding early career researchers in foreign countries to establish themselves in Spanish research institutions.[1] Together with the more junior Juan de la Cierva scholarship, it is the most prestigious nationally-funded research scholarship to follow a scientific career in Spain.[2] In fact, it is considered the main talent attraction strategy[3] for Spain to counteract its scientific brain drain.[4]

History

The scholarship honors the Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal. It started back in 2001,[5] and it has been awarded every year since then, to date (January 2023).[6] It provides 5 years of funding, after which the institution is encouraged to open a permanent position to the researcher,[1] although this is often not guaranteed.[7][3]

During the European debt crisis, the funding was drastically reduced, reaching a 40% cut,[8] and even skipping a call.[1] Especially since then, there have been regular complaints about the RyC program, concerning its bureaucracy,[9] employment instability,[10] unfair process,[11][10] harsh conditions,[12] obscurity,[13] precarity,[14] or gender discrimination.[15]

In 2022, and thanks to Next Generation EU funds, the RyC budget increased to 138 million euro, with 647 positions opened,[16] although the increase won't continue in 2023.[17]

Impact

Research on the programme[18] shows the applicants are typically in their mid-thirties, highly productive and highly mobile, over the national average. An early evaluation of the programme[19] found positive outcomes in its three main goals: the return of Spanish researchers, attracting foreign researchers, and the improvement in employment conditions and career prospects in Spanish science.[19]

The scholarship has been funding prestigious researchers in Spain, typically bringing them from overseas, across all disciplines, including Biology,[20][21] Physics,[22] Mathematics,[23] Medicine,[24][25] History,[26][27] Geology,[28] Ecology,[29][30] Social sciences[31] or Engineering.[32] The scholarship supports institutions across all Spanish regions, although Catalonia concentrates the most, with 26% of the total as of 2023.[33]

Some notable Ramón y Cajal scholars are Carlota Escutia Dotti, Brian Vohnsen, Aditi Sen De, Mayo Fuster Morell, Carolina Mallol, Mercedes Vila, Maritza Lara-López, Nanda Rea, Mercedes López-Morales.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rivera, Alicia (2012-10-17). "El Gobierno no hará contratos de científicos Ramón y Cajal este año". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  2. ↑ "Spanish science: still suffering". the Guardian. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. 1 2 "Los investigadores del Ramón y Cajal, en la cuerda floja | Ciencia | elmundo.es". www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  4. ↑ Aunión, J. A. (2013-05-20). "Not so much a brain drain as forced exile". EL PAÍS English Edition. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  5. ↑ "BOE.es - BOE-A-2001-7688 Orden de 18 de abril de 2001 por la que se establecen las bases y se hace pública la convocatoria para financiar la realización de proyectos singulares de investigación que se ejecuten por nuevo personal investigador contratado por centros de investigación científica y desarrollo tecnológico (Programa Ramón y Cajal)". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  6. ↑ "BOE.es - BOE-B-2022-40157 Extracto de la Resolución de 21 de diciembre de 2022 de la Presidencia de la Agencia Estatal de Investigación, por la que se aprueba la convocatoria 2022 de las ayudas Ramón y Cajal". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  7. ↑ Acebes, Raquel Pascual Cortés, Laura Salces (2018-09-24). "El 40% de los trabajadores de I+D tiene un empleo temporal". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Rivera, Alicia (2012-04-04). "Los contratos de ciencia se reducen este año en un 43%". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  9. ↑ Caballero, Daniel Sánchez (2022-02-12). "La pesadilla de pedir un contrato público para investigar en España". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  10. 1 2 "Los Ramón y Cajal se alzan contra la precariedad". La Verdad (in Spanish). 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  11. ↑ "Más País acusa al Gobierno de dejar a los investigadores más jóvenes "sin opciones" en las ayudas Ramón y Cajal 2022". Europa Press. 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  12. ↑ "Menos excelencia y más trabajo digno en la investigación científica". www.elsaltodiario.com. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  13. ↑ Meneses, Nacho (2022-11-24). "La difícil tarea de recuperar el talento investigador que un día hizo las maletas". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  14. ↑ "Manuel Nieves Cordones: "La carrera laboral de un científico es muy injusta"". La Verdad (in Spanish). 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  15. ↑ Salguero, Marta (2019-02-13). "Las científicas con baja de maternidad el último año no pueden acceder a uno de los contratos de investigación más prestigiosos de España". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  16. ↑ "La Moncloa. 25/11/2022. El Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación concede más de 138 millones de euros a contratos Ramón y Cajal [Prensa/Actualidad/Ciencia e Innovación]". www.lamoncloa.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  17. ↑ AGENCIAS, EL PAÍS / (2012-04-19). "Economía intentará eliminar algunas restricciones de contratación de científicos". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  18. ↑ Cañibano, Carolina; Otamendi, Javier; Andújar, Inés (1 March 2008). "Measuring and assessing researcher mobility from CV analysis: the case of the Ramón y Cajal programme in Spain". Research Evaluation. Oxford University Press. 17 (1): 17–31.
  19. 1 2 Cruz-Castro, Laura; Sanz-Menéndez, Luis (1 February 2005). "Bringing science and technology human resources back in: the Spanish Ramón y Cajal programme". Science and Public Policy. Oxford University Press. 32 (1): 39–53.
  20. ↑ Bacchus, Camelia (2023-01-23). "Uciel Chorostecki, Ramón y Cajal Scholarship recipient, joins the Department of Basic Sciences at UIC Barcelona". SmallCapNews.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  21. ↑ "UCF's Sherlock Holmes of Microbiology: Salvador Almagro-Moreno". University of Central Florida News | UCF Today. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  22. ↑ Liberal, Iñigo; Engheta, Nader (2022-03-01). "How does light behave in a material whose refractive index vanishes?". Physics Today. 75 (3): 62–63. doi:10.1063/PT.3.4968. ISSN 0031-9228.
  23. ↑ CSIC (2022-07-05). "Eloísa del Pino presenta al nuevo equipo directivo del CSIC". Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  24. ↑ "New insights on the mechanisms of transmission of bacterial pathogen that causes listeriosis". News-Medical.net. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  25. ↑ "Una científica de la UAM, premiada por la Real Academia Nacional de Medicina". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2023-01-13. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  26. ↑ "Tools reveal patterns of Neandertal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  27. ↑ Barcelona, University of. "Bronze Age eating, social habits in the Balearic Islands documented in study". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  28. ↑ guest (2022-12-04). "Neanderthal Footprints Found in Spain Could Be 275,000 Years Old". GreekReporter.com. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  29. ↑ "CosmoCaixa explores the functioning of the oceans and how climate change affects them in a new series of talks". Atalayar. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  30. ↑ Criado, Miguel Ángel (2022-12-25). "Esther Sebastián: "Vamos hacia una primavera silenciosa en la que casi no hay sonidos"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  31. ↑ Domínguez, Francisco Javier Aguado; Canosa, Jennifer Paz; Vázquez, José L. Pardo. "¿Tomamos peores decisiones con el frigorífico a rebosar?". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  32. ↑ "La Universidade da Coruña quintuplica en tres años la lista de científicos Ramón y Cajal". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2022-03-29. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  33. ↑ elEconomista.es. "¿Quién recibe las Ayudas Ramón y Cajal? - elEconomista.es". www.eleconomista.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-28.
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