Almost a third, or 32.8 per cent, of the 58 top researchers who won places on Spain’s ATRAE (Attract) scheme had been working in the UK.
Designed to attract the top brains from around the world, the programme offers scientists €1 million (£868,500) each to set up a team and carry out research at academic institutions in Spain.
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Luis Muñoz Gonzalez, an investigator into AI security systems who has joint British and Spanish nationality, left Imperial College London in 2023 to take up a job in Spain. He will now head a research project connected with ATRAE at the University of Alcalá in Madrid.
“Spain is a country which typically has problems attracting foreign academic talent. I don’t know if it is Brexit or it is the cost of living crisis. Possibly it is a combination of things.”
Luis Muñoz Gonzalez, a British-Spanish dual citizen, moved from the UK to start an investigation programme in Madrid
“I had many concerns from a professional point of view about whether Britain could take part in investigative programmes like Horizon Europe, run by the European Union,” he said.
Horizon Europe is the €93.5 billion (£81bn) EU research and innovation programme. After Brexit, Britain was not able to join, but this changed in 2024.
“In my opinion, the best universities in Britain benefited enormously from European students. The question of visas imposed after Brexit stopped some European post-doctoral students,” he said.
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As a result, when he received an offer from a Spanish telecoms company, he did not hesitate.
Professor Rauh, a father of two, is about to start work at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Barcelona.
“Some concerns about the NHS and housing became concerning – if we could afford to live in the UK. Especially with the cost of childcare. Salaries at the University of Cambridge, given the cost of living, are not easy. Buying a house – we could forget that.”
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