Madrid does not find researchers under the age of 40 rewarded with 21 thousand euros | Madrid | Spain

Madrid does not find researchers under the age of 40 specializing in biological sciences who could be rewarded for their work with €21,000. This happened at the end of 2023. The Margarita Salas Award, which had five nominees, was invalid. Since there was no official explanation, an angry citizen demanded a justification in the council. “It is necessary to find out the reasons that led to such a radical decision in order to confirm, if possible, whether the scientific level of researchers under 40 years of age in Madrid…

Madrid does not find researchers under the age of 40 specializing in biological sciences who could be rewarded for their work with €21,000. This happened at the end of 2023. The Margarita Salas Award, which had five nominees, was invalid. Since there was no official explanation, an angry citizen demanded a justification in the council. “It is necessary to know the reasons that led to such a radical decision to confirm, if possible, whether the scientific level of researchers under 40 years old in Madrid is so dismal and mediocre as to announce the cancellation of the award,” he says. In a written statement addressed to Parliament, the opposition received confirmation of the problem. Because yes, Madrid actually allocates 2% of its GDP to R&D research―This makes it the most invested region after the Basque Country-…But it turns out that most of these efforts have private origins. In fact, in In 2018, Madrid spent only 0.63% of its budgets on research, development and innovation. (Fifth region from the bottom), as stated in the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, published by the central government. Little has improved since then, according to the left in Madrid.

“There was no candidate of sufficient quality,” explains Angel Carracedo, professor of legal medicine at the University of Santiago de Compostela and president of the court that made the decision not to award the award. “With awards like this, a lot depends on the publication you're presenting, and maybe a lot of people haven't found out about that, and that might have something to do with it,” he says, implicitly pointing to community responsibility. “Madrid has great researchers, many of whom deserve the award, but they have to step up. Let's hope for next time.” [edición]…”.

Madrid will reach 5,130 million euros in internal R&D spending in 2022, 26.5% of the national total and 1.96% of regional GDP, according to data presented on Thursday by Díaz Ayuso's team after… Intervention by the president In the forum Investors day in Spain. With 64,470 people dedicated to R&D activities, including 40,576 researchers, the region, celebrated by the regional executive, is also a leader in dedicated staff and scientific production. In addition, the community includes six science and technology parks, and the seven research centers of IMDEA institutes to implement and promote excellent research, development and innovation activities in the region.

However, Margarita Salas was left abandoned, angering the opposition.

“It's bad and unbelievable news,” says Hector Tejero, Mas Madrid's member of the regional parliament, who emphasizes that the community is the region that invests the least amount of its own money per inhabitant in research and development (about 22 euros compared to 55 euros on the national average). “In the Community of Madrid there are many wonderful and excellent young researchers, although it is Ms. Ayuso's government that invests the least amount of its own money per inhabitant in research and development,” he complains, because the executive is committed to public-private cooperation and with the formula that a third of investment It comes from his own money and the rest from corporate money. “If the proposed researchers do not meet the requirements, it is only because the Ministry of Education and Science and the universities have not done enough to advertise and publicize this,” the MP complains. “Another example of advisor incompetence.” [Emilio Viciana] And the little affection that the community government has for science and research.

Tejero denounced that regional investment in research and development in Madrid represents only 0.58% of the 2024 budgets. The regional government, which this newspaper consulted, did not specify this information before publishing this article, under the pretext that the total figure is distributed over multiple items, and therefore its detail needs to be detailed. more time. But the complaint of the Mas Madrid representative is also shared by Juan Lobato's PSOE party.

“It is a way of implicitly acknowledging that, according to this jury, and according to the Ministry, there is not an adequate level of research and science in Madrid for people under 40,” laments Esteban Alvarez, a Socialist MP in the Spanish Parliament. Madrid Association. “It seems a bit strong to me,” he confirms. “This award should be of great importance in Madrid, and the fact that it remains abandoned is another sign of the importance that CAM attaches to research, development and innovation, and to science,” he adds. He denounces: “The research budget has been reduced by 7% in 2024. The Spanish government is investing in R&D in Madrid more than twice as much as the Ayuso government.”

Awards Designed in 2021 by Díaz Ayuso Executive “To distinguish the excellence and quality of scientific and research works developed by researchers under the age of forty.” It's part of the commitment the leader made: “We will maintain and increase the commitment to knowledge and research on which the future of the region depends,” Díaz Ayuso herself promised. In addition to meeting age criteria, applicants must be doctors and work at universities or research centers in Madrid. Although they cannot introduce themselves, the citizen who asked for clarifications in the Assembly describes the system of endogamy: “In all the proposals, in addition to their local character and their isolation from the international scientific community, a common derivation or endogamy is seen.” , where coworkers propose to each other as a tribal group.

This is how they explain what happened at the Ministry of Education: “The research awards jury saw that the voluntary nominations submitted by a third party did not meet the quality requirements required to award these prestigious awards, so they decided to leave them blank unanimously. In the same year, the Miguel Catalan Prize in the Under 40 category was awarded equally to researchers Alejandro Mangavacas and Marina García for the quality and excellence of the work developed by both.

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