Tenerife Launches €5 Million ‘Talentum Program’ to Combat Scientific Brain Drain
The University of La Laguna and the Tenerife Island Council have launched the five-million-euro "Talentum Program" to combat brain drain by providing 91 researchers with long-term funding and institutional support for projects in health, sustainability, and digitalization.
Keeping talented scientists in Spain’s peripheral regions is a major structural challenge. To address this, the University of La Laguna and the Tenerife Island Council have launched the "Talentum Program," a multi-year initiative backed by over five million euros. The goal is to reverse the "brain drain" and build a stable research foundation in the Canary Islands.
The program provides four years of job security and funding for 91 professionals working across 19 different projects. It operates in two main ways: by connecting pre-doctoral researchers with local businesses and by utilizing the university's 13 research institutes to tackle real-world social, environmental, and technological issues.
The selected projects focus on three key areas:
- Health: Researching conditions common in the islands, such as diabetes and its complications, breast cancer treatment resistance, and identifying biomarkers for long COVID.
- Sustainability: Focusing on the "blue economy," managing organic waste, improving energy efficiency, and controlling pollution in tourism infrastructure.
- Digitalization: Exploring cloud cybersecurity, using artificial intelligence to detect gender bias, and digitally preserving Canarian linguistic and documentary heritage.
Beyond the funding, the program aims to provide the institutional stability that has historically been missing, often forcing highly qualified researchers to move abroad. During the program's launch at the Faculty of Fine Arts, researchers noted that scientific excellence depends on support and stability, not geography.
The Tenerife Island Council views this talent as a vital strategic asset for the region’s future. By supporting these scientists, they hope to ensure that future generations can build their careers at home. This effort strengthens the University of La Laguna—already ranked among Spain’s top 20 institutions—and aims to turn local expertise into a driving force for the archipelago’s economic and social progress.