The Ramón y Cajal 5-year tenure track contract (RyC) is funded by the
Spanish Ministry of Science, that allows outstanding mid-career researchers in foreign countries to establish themselves in Spanish research institutions.
Together with the more junior
Juan de la Cierva scholarship
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...
, it is the most prestigious nationally-funded research contract to follow a scientific career in Spain. In fact, it is considered the main talent attraction strategy
for Spain to counteract its scientific brain drain.
History
The contract honors the Spanish neuroscientist
Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Santiago Ramón y Cajal (; 1 May 1852 – 17 October 1934) was a Spanish neuroscientist, pathologist, and histologist specializing in neuroanatomy, and the central nervous system. He and Camillo Golgi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or M ...
. It started back in 2001, and it has been awarded every year since then, to date (January 2023). It provides 5 years of funding, after which the institution is encouraged to open a permanent position to the researcher,
although this is often not guaranteed.
During the
European debt crisis
The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...
, the funding was drastically reduced, reaching a 40% cut, and even skipping a call.
Especially since then, there have been regular complaints about the RyC program, concerning its bureaucracy, employment instability,
unfair process,
harsh conditions, obscurity, precarity, or gender discrimination.
In 2022, and thanks to
Next Generation EU
Next Generation EU (NGEU) is a European Commission economic recovery package to support the EU member states to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those that have been particularly hard hit. It is sometimes styled NextGenerationEU ...
funds, the RyC budget increased to 138 million euro, with 647 positions opened, although the increase won't continue in 2023.
Impact
Research on the programme shows the applicants are typically in their mid-thirties, highly productive and highly mobile, over the national average.
The contract has been funding prestigious researchers in Spain, typically bringing them from overseas, across all disciplines, including Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Medicine, History, Geology, Ecology, Social sciences or Engineering. The scholarship supports institutions across all Spanish regions, although
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
concentrates the most, with 26% of the total as of 2023.
[{{Cite web , last=elEconomista.es , title=¿Quién recibe las Ayudas Ramón y Cajal? - elEconomista.es , url=https://www.eleconomista.es/ecoaula/noticias/8918166/02/18/Quien-recibe-las-Ayudas-Ramon-y-Cajal.html , access-date=2023-01-28 , website=www.eleconomista.es , language=es]
Some notable Ramón y Cajal scholars are
Carlota Escutia Dotti,
Brian Vohnsen,
Aditi Sen De,
Mayo Fuster Morell
Mayo Fuster Morell (born 1975) is a social researcher. Her research has focused on sharing economy, social movements, online communities and digital Commons, frequently using participatory action research and method triangulation. She has be ...
,
Carolina Mallol,
Mercedes Vila,
Maritza Lara-López
Maritza Arlene Lara-López is a Mexican astronomer whose research interests include metallicity in galaxy formation and evolution and extragalactic astronomy. She is a participant in the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey, and a researcher and Ram ...
,
Nanda Rea
Nanda Rea is a scientist in the field of astrophysics, currently based in Barcelona, Spain working as a research professor for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya.
Education and car ...
,
Mercedes López-Morales.
References
External links
Call for Ramón y Cajal Scholarships
Scholarships in Spain
Government scholarships