"The curricula of current researchers are much better and competitiveness and pressure are increasing"

Since his appointment as head of Ikerbasque, Fernando Cossío combines chemical research with the management of the scientific system. He says that to make research in the Basque Country more competitive, it is necessary to attract leading researchers internationally. It also considers it necessary to strengthen the quarry and build a network of infrastructure suitable for scientific travel.

"The curricula of current researchers are much better and competitiveness and pressure are increasing"


Three years ago he was appointed president of Ikerbasque. Do you have time for chemistry?

Yes, because the Ikerbasque team is very good and effective. In this case, it is possible to reconcile research and management.

The European Commission has awarded Ikerbasque for its work of attracting leading researchers for the development of scientific research in the Basque Country. Congratulations.

The criteria and conditions have been met. There are very well defined procedures for evaluation, and we in all steps have followed these regulations very well to ensure the outcome.

Ikerbasque aims to strengthen the Basque scientific system. How is it done?

It is difficult. It should be noted that here 40 years ago the research was not very developed. The Basque Government began developing the scientific system about 30 years ago. Although history is very short, development is evident. I think the level of research we have here today is worthy and in some areas is very good.

How is the research situation in the Basque Country?

Some natural sciences are highly developed: physics, chemistry, mathematics, molecular biology, biochemistry... The level of research we currently have in these areas is good, since these natural sciences are very consolidated and have a tradition of their own. There are other more recent but highly developed areas in the Basque Country, such as nanosciences and neurolinguistics.

The Basque Country has numerous technological centres and recently new scientific facilities have been built. What tour do you see in this scientific network?

It is important to implement coordinated management. We have a multi-center network and the development of coordination between these centers will be very important. But it is also important to guarantee the autonomy of the centres. And if we implement a bureaucratic system, this can be very negative for both centers and the network.

Will there be sufficient critical mass in the future for all research centres, i.e. sufficient researchers, funding and resources?

Scientists always think we don't have enough resources. But it must be taken into account that Euskal Herria is small, so it is not possible to achieve the necessary critical mass in all areas. We have to choose in which field we are going best and in which we want to improve. It is impossible for everything to develop well. I believe that in the most developed areas we have barely reached the necessary critical mass: To match the level of other European centers, we still have to attract researchers, but the goal is close. However, in other areas it will be difficult to get that critical mass you mention.

Ed. Jon Urbe
What are these areas of difficulty?

In the field of biomedicine, for example, we have to be able to attract researchers. This framework is very important and we need to do something more to get the level of research needed.

With the aim of attracting international experts, Ikerbasque offers 20 permanent positions each year and last year 427 researchers from around the world signed up.

Ikerbasque appears in international radars. As a foundation for science, Ikerbasque enjoys prestige and is very interesting for researchers. I want to emphasize that the goal is to make 20 contracts, yes, but for us the important thing is quality. That means if there are 13 high-level researchers, we will hire those 13; we will not lower the level to reach twenty. The goal is quality, not the expected number.

"Euskadi should attract over the next few years 200 other international researchers to reach ratios of researchers by number of European inhabitants." That is what you have said.

That would be a stop. To date we have hired 99 researchers. As I said before, for us the most important thing is the level and not the mere number. In any case, it would be okay to achieve this goal.

Have you found discrepancies among researchers here regarding the conditions of researchers attracted from outside?

Yes, and it is also logical. Some researchers say: "What does Ikerbasque do to improve the teams and infrastructures of the researchers present here? ". On the one hand, our intention has been to integrate the scientists always attracted in a local research group, to take advantage of the experience that this research group brings to the researcher. It is understandable that the researchers here want the conditions that Ikerbasque researchers have; I also want, in some cases. But we have to create critical mass and, on the other hand, we have budget problems. I would like to help scientists here, but I have to recognize that today is difficult.

On the other hand, research centers complain many times about the lack of vocations to scholarship and thesis, which endangers the quarry...

Yes, it is true. Previously there was a condition that the researchers here could not participate in the Ikerbasque programs, but we eliminated it. Now they can also participate in our young and senior research programs here, as long as they do not have a stable contract. In addition, it aims to launch a new program of support to the quarry and recovery of young researchers abroad. We know that this time is not the best time, but we have already developed the program of recruitment of young researchers and now we want to launch this new project as soon as possible.

We hear a Nobel Prize in Physics that the best formula for awakening vocations is to offer enough wages and working conditions. Do you agree?
Ed. Jon Urbe

I don't think salary is the most important criterion. Of course, it is necessary to have a living wage, but the conditions for developing the research must also be worthy. This implies the need for a scientific journey, adequate infrastructures, contacts, a favorable environment... And freedom of investigation is also necessary. The Ikerbasque criterion is excellence, but no area is defined if it is a high-level research.

Will young people who are doing their doctoral thesis have a scientific background in Euskal Herria?

It is difficult to guarantee. Over time the route can be stabilized. But I do not think that from the beginning it is convenient to have everything guaranteed and have a fixed position. People are changing, but it is important that the environment offers opportunities to the researcher so that he can take the path that interests him.

The research career involves a nomadic life. Should I?

Yes, at first that race is very nomadic. But it is inevitable. Where can you learn how to make a science of excellence? MIT, Hardvard, CERN... It is essential to go and learn. It is about taking advantage of the experience that is achieved there. How? Recovering these researchers.

A few years ago it was possible to be a professor without moving from the university, but today geographical mobility has become an essential condition.

Yes, it is. And in addition, curricula are much better and competitiveness is increasing. And the pressure is enormous.

Is research properly valued in society?

I think so. According to the study conducted by Elhuyar, society values researchers very positively. Another thing is how young people see research as a way of life. I think they see it as an unstable profession, perhaps a little bohemian, and they see other professions more stable and easy. There are two opposing views.

Personally, would you like to go back to full-time research or have long-term management challenges?

What I like is research. Fortunately, in Ikerbasque it is possible to unify management and research. In any case, I believe that scientists have to participate in the management of science. That is my contribution. In the coming years other scientists will come to contribute to the management of research. I think it's our responsibility, because management is important. Research and management are two important things and scientists should commit to collaborating in the management of the scientific system.

Fernando Cossío
Fernando Cossío (1960) was born in Cantabria and grew up in Huesca. He studied chemistry in Zaragoza and from there he obtained his doctorate from the Faculty of Chemistry of the UPV. He studied Basque in Donostia. After a postdoctoral stay in France and California, he returned to the Faculty of Chemistry at UPV/EHU in Donostia. He has been dean of this faculty and is currently a professor. He has been vice-rector of the UPV/EHU and has received numerous awards for his research career. In 2009 he was appointed president of the Ikerbasque agency of the Basque Government. Ikerbasque aims to develop scientific research in the Basque Country, attracting and retaining leading researchers internationally.

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