The CIGUS Network, made up of ten centers of excellence from Galicia’s public universities (USC, UVigo, and UDC), has reached a new milestone for research in Galicia by gaining access for the first time to the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) COFUND program of the European Union.

The project, called TALENTGAL, was selected from among 136 proposals and is one of only three winning proposals in Spain, the second country with the highest number of applications submitted.

With a budget of over €11 million—€5.6 million contributed by the European Union and the remainder by the Xunta de Galicia and the CIGUS centers themselves—TALENTGAL will enable the recruitment of 40 postdoctoral researchers over the next five years, who will develop their careers in one of the CIGUS Network’s centers of excellence.

Participants in this initiative will be able to focus their projects on strategic research areas for Galicia. In addition, they will receive complementary training, personalized mentoring, and undertake mandatory placements in universities, companies, and public administrations to foster cross-sector collaboration and broaden their professional opportunities.

The program is supported by more than 40 partners from different sectors and countries, facilitating international mobility, interdisciplinary collaboration, and knowledge transfer to industry and society.

FEUGA, as the managing entity of the Network, coordinated the preparation of the proposal in collaboration with the Xunta de Galicia, the public universities, and the CIGUS centers.

TALENTGAL strengthens Galicia’s strategy for attracting research talent and helps consolidate the region as a hub of research excellence, boosting the visibility and impact of the CIGUS centres..