The European Union funds Ikerbasque to the tune of 5 million euros in order to contract researchers who will work in the Basque Country

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The European Union funds Ikerbasque to the tune of 5 million euros in order to contract researchers who will work in the Basque Country Source: Irekia

The European Commission has selected Ikerbasque among the best organisations that are driving forces behind science.

Celaá stressed "the greatest importance of this European support, both for its backing of the Basque strategy to attract talent and for its significant economic contribution".

The European Union has recognised the work by the Ikerbasque Foundation to consolidate the positioning of the Basque Country as an international research and knowledge hub when it chose the foundation's programme to attract researchers as one of the best European initiatives for scientific development. Thus, the European Commission will inject 5 million euros to fund the contracting of researchers worldwide to work in the Basque Country over the coming four years.

The Basque Government's Minister for Education, Universities and Research, Isabel Celaá, announced this subsidy in Bilbao this morning. As she explained, this subsidy is "the largest granted so far by Brussels within the Marie Curie programme and will enable the Basque Foundation for Scientific Research to recruit 43 researchers" who are currently working around the world for its own network, already made up of 120 first-rate researchers working in different areas in different centres of the Basque Country.

During the unveiling of the agreement, the Minister stressed "the greatest importance of this European support, both for its backing of the Basque strategy to attract talent and for its significant economic contribution". Celaá also pointed out that Ikerbasque seeks to position the Basque Country "among the European research hubs of excellence".

412 scientists already registered

The call for applications for the contracting processes is open until 30 September. Among these new contracts, the Foundation will particularly stress in recovering Basque talent. 412 scientists from around the world have registered so far.