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Brussels awards more than 4 million euros to Ikerbasque for hiring 30 researchers in the Basque Country

The European Commission has recognized the work carried out by lkerbasque since 2007 to reinforce the position of the Basque Country as a pole of knowledge and research at an international level with the election of its program to attract researchers as one of the best European initiatives for scientific development. In fact, Ikerbasque's proposal is among the 10 best valued at European level, specifically in position number seven.

The European Commission will finance the hiring of 30 researchers over the next 5 years with 4 million euros. They are researchers who come from anywhere in the world, from all areas of knowledge, with extensive research experience and who will carry out their research in the Basque Country on a permanent basis. Ikerbasque will place special emphasis on hiring women.

The selected people will carry out their work in research centers and universities in the Basque Country, in a total of 24 different institutions. These are experts in different areas of knowledge such as medicine, biosciences, chemical sciences, mathematics, physics, technology, environmental sciences, economics, linguistics or psychology.

SmartBRAIN3, the proposal presented by Ikerbasque, contemplates a research and professional consolidation program, focused on the triple I: international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary, and aims to contribute to the challenges and priorities set by both the RIS3 Smart Specialization strategy of the Basque Country as by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Horizon Europe program of the European Commission.

Fernando Cossio, scientific director of Ikerbasque, has highlighted “the great importance of this European support, both for the backing it represents for the Basque strategy for attracting talent, and for its important economic contribution. With this European support, the Basque Country has established itself as a European benchmark in science; We are already recognized internationally as a region with advanced research, with Basque research groups of international level and where the right conditions exist to develop research of international stature.”

The first call that will benefit from this aid is open until September 15: Researchers from all over the world, from all areas of knowledge and with extensive research experience can submit their applications through the IKERBASQUE website (www .ikerbasque.net). The applications received will go through an exhaustive international evaluation process based on the criteria of scientific excellence established by the European Commission. A panel of international scientists selects the best candidates.