Applicants are competing for the first 20 positions at Galician research centres.
The strong response to the first call confirms the programme’s international appeal and reinforces Galicia’s position as an increasingly competitive destination for research careers.
By continent, the highest number of applications came from Asia, followed by Europe, America and Africa.
The first call of the Xunta de Galicia’s TALENTGAL programme received 313 applications from excellent researchers representing 52 countries to work at Galician research centres. The researchers who applied through this talent attraction initiative launched by the Regional Ministry of Education, Science and Universities are competing for 20 excellence positions within the CIGUS Network, which brings together ten research centres across Galicia. The applications received represent 52 nationalities in this first talent attraction call under the Galician Government’s programme, which aims to attract research talent and further strengthen the region’s R&D&I ecosystem.
The high level of participation confirms the international interest generated by this initiative and positions Galicia as an increasingly competitive destination for developing a high-level research career. This figure represents a strong endorsement of a programme being launched by the Xunta for the first time, which has received a highly positive response for the Galician R&D&I ecosystem.
The international nature of the call is also reflected in the origin of the 313 applicants: 282 correspond to researchers from countries other than Spain. By continent, Asia accounts for the largest number of applications, with 141 (45%), followed by Europe with 89 (28%), America with 47 (15%), and Africa with 36 (12%). By scientific field, Science and Life Sciences accounted for the largest share of applications, with 172 submissions (55%). Engineering and Technology ranked second with 99 applications (31.6%), followed by Health and Biomedicine with 42 applications (13.4%).
Joining the CIGUS Network in March 2027
Following the closure of the application period, the programme now enters the evaluation phase, which will be carried out in accordance with the criteria and procedures established in the call guidelines, ensuring a competitive and transparent process based on scientific excellence. To guarantee the highest quality in this process, TALENTGAL launched a specific call to recruit external evaluators, which will remain open throughout the duration of the programme. At present, the evaluator database already includes almost 500 experts from different fields of knowledge, whose profiles are currently undergoing validation.
The evaluation process for this first call is expected to conclude by the end of 2026, allowing the 20 selected researchers to join the CIGUS Network centres from March 2027.
The second call of the programme is scheduled for May 2027 and will follow the same evaluation and implementation process to award further 20 excellence positions at Galician research centres, bringing the total number of positions across both calls to 40. Last June, the Xunta announced at the weekly meeting of the Regional Government that it will allocate more than €9 million to the Galician universities and the Fundación Empresa Universidade Galega (FEUGA) to recruit the 40 international researchers who will work at Galician research centres through the TALENTGAL programme. Made possible through the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND programme, this project represents a new milestone for Galicia Calidade. Researchers awarded positions within the CIGUS Network will be able to focus their work on strategic areas for Galicia, including biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, nanomaterials, ICT, environmental engineering, and marine and physical sciences.
CIGUS Network
The CIGUS Network is made up of ten research centres across Galicia’s three universities and brings together more than 1,600 researchers. Under this initiative, the Xunta funds, promotes and strengthens University research excellence. Over the past five years, the network has secured more than €221 million in competitive research funding, representing a significant economic return on an investment of almost €68 million provided by the Xunta.
The CIGUS centres include five at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC): the Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS), the Centre for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS), the Centre for Research in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS), the Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE), and the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Environmental Technologies (CRETUS). At the University of A Coruña (UDC), the network includes the Centre for Information and Communications Technology Research (CITIC) and the Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (CICA). At the University of Vigo (UVigo), it includes the Centre for Telecommunication Technologies Research (atlanTTic), the Marine Research Centre (CIM), and the Centre for Research in Nanomaterials and Biomedicine (CINBIO).