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Opinion and analysis on the research career, evaluation and science policy.
Research stays abroad and scientific maturity: when the system mistakes the means for the end
No serious person disputes that going abroad enriches a researcher. The question is a different one: is the system measuring the maturity it claims to want, or merely its easiest-to-count shadow?
NewsMSCA 2026: the deadline is 9 September, but your real deadline is earlier
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call closes on 9 September. It is the date everyone searches for, and the one that matters least. The real application starts months earlier, with the internal deadlines of host institutions, and for many of them that deadline is now.
NewsIUNE 2026 report: public universities lead research while private ones triple their faculty
The new IUNE Observatory report portrays two university systems growing in opposite directions: private institutions are adding professors at a historic pace, while public ones, which still concentrate scientific output, are losing them.
NewsFP10: Europe debates cutting the research budget it promised to double
The tenth Framework Programme was born with the promise of nearly doubling Europe's research budget. A year later, the first proposal from governments cuts it, and university organisations speak of an error Europe will regret for years.
NewsSpain's universities decree: what it now takes to be called a university
Royal Decree 905/2025 toughened the requirements to create and maintain universities in Spain. Beyond the public-versus-private controversy, its research requirements sketch what the State understands a university to be, and create demand for research profiles where there was little before.
NewsRamón y Cajal 2026: what changes and how to arrive prepared
Spain's national research agency has redesigned its flagship consolidation programme. More funding, interviews and a merger with Consolidación Investigadora. Here is what is known so far and how to prepare.
NewsFP10: where Europe's next research programme stands and what it means for MSCA and ERC
The Commission proposed 175 billion euros for the 2028-2034 framework programme. A year on, the debate is no longer the number, but where that money lives. What is at stake for anyone eyeing an MSCA or an ERC.
NewsERC 2027: the Starting Grant opens and the new ERC Plus Grant arrives
The European Research Council published its 2027 Work Programme on 20 July and opened the 2027 Starting Grant two days later, with a deadline of 14 October 2026. The same package introduces a brand new scheme, the ERC Plus Grant. Here is what changes for anyone starting to lead their own research.
NewsThe R3 certificate: what Spain's established researcher seal is and why it matters
Spain's State Research Agency resolved its second call for the R3 certificate in 2026, the seal that recognises someone as an established researcher. It hands out no money, but it decides who enters stable hiring with an advantage. Here is what it certifies, who it serves and how to prepare it.
NewsCan you use AI in your EU grant proposal? What Brussels requires in 2026
Using generative AI to prepare a Horizon Europe proposal is not forbidden. But the official application form demands transparency, sources and full responsibility, and careless use can make your proposal ineligible. Here is what the official documents say, as updated in May 2026.
NewsFPU 2025: the provisional resolution for the 870 predoctoral grants is out
Spain's University Teacher Training programme (FPU) 2025 now has a provisional resolution. There are 870 predoctoral contracts on the table, the appeals window closes at the end of July, and it pays to know exactly what to do before August.
NewsAES 2026: Spain's ISCIII publishes its first provisional resolutions, worth 45 million
Spain's Carlos III Health Institute has provisionally resolved much of the Strategic Health Action 2026. The postdoctoral and consolidation contracts now have a provisional list. The predoctoral ones, however, will have to wait until the second half of the year.
NewsFewer places, record cut-off marks: Spain's predoctoral squeeze in 2026
The FPU 2025 call hands out 870 contracts, thirty fewer than the previous year, while cut-off marks hit record highs and thousands of applicants are left out. This is not a one-off stumble, it is the shape the entry to a research career in Spain is taking.
NewsGeneration of Knowledge 2025: 697 million euros for 3,422 projects and 1,156 predoctoral contracts
Spain's State Research Agency has published the provisional resolution of the 2025 Generation of Knowledge call, the largest in the programme's history. Here are the numbers that matter and what they mean for people starting or consolidating a research career.
NewsERC Starting Grant 2026: a record 4,807 applications, with results due by the end of August
The European Research Council's flagship grant for early-career researchers received its highest number of applications ever. With final results expected by the end of August 2026, here is what the numbers say and what they mean if you are building toward your first independent project.
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