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]
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]
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.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
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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]
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]
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.
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)