A grant program allows professionals who left to study and work abroad to return.

Spanish scientists are leaving the country due to a variety of reasons including precarious job offers, low investment in the sector, and uncompetitive salaries, all in search of better opportunities. Since the 2008 recession, there has been a concerning trend of young talent loss. The Network of Associations of Researchers and Spanish Scientists Abroad estimates about 40,000 researchers are working overseas. While leaving Spain is easy for qualified professionals, returning is often hard due to a lack of public or private projects encouraging their return. However, some have managed to return, like 32- year-old theoretical physicist Pablo Cano, thanks to one of the 105 scholarships recently granted by La Caixa Foundation. These scholarships allow researchers to continue their projects in Spanish and Portuguese entities. The foundation’s project to retain and return talent is carried out through 65 doctoral scholarships and 40 postdoctoral scholarships, co-funded by the European Commission. Despite the majority of these scholarships being awarded to Spaniards, 56 foreign researchers have also benefited. The recipients, including researchers from Italy, Portugal, Germany, and the United States, are diverse but share a common goal: to retain and attract researchers with more funding and less bureaucracy. The most attractive countries for these scientists are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, where salaries can be three to four times higher than in Spain.