Quantum Computing Support Suffering Under Spain’s Socialist Party
Spain’s scientists burdened by legal uncertainty and lack of funding
Key points…
+ “After all these months, the situation has not advanced because the urgent measures have not solved all of the problems in science,” explains Serrano, who is a biochemist. SOMMa represents the elite of Spanish science, and the centers and units that belong to the alliance carry out cutting-edge research in areas including cancer, cardiovascular illnesses, astronomy and quantum computing. It represents around 7,000 employees dedicated to research and accounts for more than €500 million in European funding alone.
Representatives from Spain’s most competitive research centers have come out to criticize the inaction of the government, eight months after the Socialist Party (PSOE) administration presented the urgent action it was going to take in order to remedy a situation of paralysis in the science sector.
+ In February, the science minister announced a package of urgent measures to “throw off the chains” that were oppressing the scientific laboratories in the country. The minister was referring to the bureaucracy and excessive funding control that had been imposed by the former Popular Party (PP) government of Mariano Rajoy, in a bid to control public spending as much as possible. Another of the star measures announced by Pedro Duque was the introduction of indefinite contracts for scientists, in a bid to end the abuse of temporary contracts and the instability that has been prevalent in the sector for years.
+ In addition to this problem, 15 centers and units face an imminent lack of financing. According to a calendar approved by the central government, the analysis and go-ahead for new funding requests will not be carried out until November 2020, meaning that several research centers could lose up to nine months of funding. Next year, another 13 centers will have the same problem. This will, Serrano states, “mean that people will have to be fired.” His organization calculates that the contracts of at least 236 people are in doubt for 2020.
Source: EL PAIS. Nuno Dominguez, Spain’s scientists burdened by legal uncertainty and lack of funding…
Content may have been edited for style and clarity.
