Brain drain to Spain as world-leading scientists leave Britain after Brexit

Brain drain to Spain as world-leading scientists leave Britain after Brexit



Posted by theipaper

11 comments

  1. MADRID – Top minds are leaving Britain for Spain amid concerns over the effects of [Brexit](https://inews.co.uk/category/news/brexit?srsltid=AfmBOooTUD6GAWaDLLDMBNFh6B3LNesHV22iQaoEUS8MpIYdtmA7mTKq&ico=in-line_link) and the cost of living crisis in the UK.

    Almost a third, or 32.8 per cent, of the 58 top researchers who won places on Spain’s ATRAE (Attract) scheme had been working in the UK.

    Britain lost the largest number of scientists to [Spain](https://inews.co.uk/topic/spain?srsltid=AfmBOoqaAY2novnJQy_30OWGWsMwWx6SlbzYcdQafJUxxhBnJ5pdnPUL&ico=in-line_link), according to the countries whose scientists applied for posts on the ATRAE scheme. Almost all of those who left the UK were foreign scientists based in Britain.

    Designed to attract the top brains from around the world, the programme offers scientists €1 million (£868,500) each to set up a team and carry out research at academic institutions in Spain.

    Last week the Spanish government approved the last round for this year’s €45 million (£39m) scheme for leading scientists in their fields.

    The UK Research and Innovation budget will fall in 2025-2026 compared with the previous year, the government confirmed last week. The national research funding agency will be £8.811 billion for 2025-2026, £63m less than the £8.874bn last year. 

    The agency’s budget previously rose in cash terms for three consecutive years though this increase was wiped out by inflation.

    Luis Muñoz Gonzalez, an investigator into AI security systems who has joint British and Spanish nationality, left Imperial College London in 2023 to take up a job in Spain. He will now head a research project connected with ATRAE at the University of Alcalá in Madrid.

    “It is very significant the number of people who came from the UK. They are foreigners who were working there. It is the country with the highest number of people who won a place on this scheme,” he said.

    “Spain is a country which typically has problems attracting foreign academic talent. I don’t know if it is Brexit or it is the cost of living crisis. Possibly it is a combination of things.”

    Muñoz said that when he worked in London he was concerned about the difficulties European students had working in the UK because of Brexit.

    “I had many concerns from a professional point of view about whether Britain could take part in investigative programmes like Horizon Europe, run by the European Union,” he said.

    “These programmes have been one of the sources of finance for investigators in the UK. It was not until autumn 2023 that they [confirmed Britain could take part](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/horizon-programme-uk-rejoin-eu-science-research-2599057?srsltid=AfmBOoppKL2Hy5YfTuPRAJxLQxa81lNvsNX0JX10xpmfbesI3J5seb1g&ico=in-line_link).”

    [Horizon Europe](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/url-eu-horizon-science-research-brexit-uk-2901901?srsltid=AfmBOopDPRXsLZeORBxPfw9Q1_dpMUjs6btZI-hVqp5BDUGtTId9l6bl&ico=in-line_link) is the €93.5 billion (£81bn) EU research and innovation programme. After Brexit, Britain was not able to join, but this [changed in 2024](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/brexit-must-not-slow-uk-science-2901956?srsltid=AfmBOoqP5x0Afaxnp0OEOp0xQZwvwb7J1wL_N2wVyXut58vj7tiOpnzw&ico=in-line_link).

    Muñoz said fees for international students rose considerably after Brexit which had a significant impact on students studying for doctorates who are part of investigative teams in universities.

    “In my opinion, the best universities in Britain benefited enormously from European students. The question of visas imposed after Brexit stopped some European post-doctoral students,” he said.

  3. >Almost all of those who left the UK were foreign scientists based in Britain.

    So very likely they’d have only been in the UK temporarily anyway.  Top scientists move around.  That’s just how it works.  This is a non-story.

  5. Unsurprising. The EU does a lot of research grants that our facilities are no longer part of.

  6. Spain, that place with the atrocious demographic collapse?

  7. My wife works in a virology lab contracted to the government. About half her colleagues are spanish from when they underwent their millennial brain drain to the UK, she’s having so say bye to one or two every couple of weeks as they now all go back home to take up science jobs

  8. Non STEM PhD, and if it wasn’t for our parents, my partner and I would move to Spain in a heartbeat. Much better way of life, and academia is not quite in the mess it is here, and being in the EU provides far more opportunities.

  9. Headline: *Luis Muñoz Gonzalez, a Spanish scientist goes home.*

  10. “Top Minds” in what!?

    Top minds in Europe we’re doing so well aren’t we. /s

Comments are closed.