Five-year contracts and a minimum salary of 50,000 euros to bring back researchers from the Islands

The Ministry of Education presented this Monday to the heads of research centers in the Balearic Islands the 'Talent Júnior 2026' call, to which it allocates 1,426,489 euros, to hire five postdoctoral junior researchers for five years, who have spent at least two years outside the islands.The objective of this call is to strengthen scientific excellence and promote the attraction, retention and, where appropriate, the return of research talent, "as a key element for the scientific, social and economic progress of the archipelago", the regional department has highlighted in a statement.The call will allow the incorporation of researchers with a distinguished postdoctoral career to develop their activity in research groups in the Balearic Islands, through five-year contracts.Candidates must have between three and ten years of postdoctoral research experience, a consolidated scientific reputation, and have carried out research activity outside the Balearic Islands for at least two years after obtaining their doctorate, Efe reports. Each selected researcher will receive a minimum gross annual salary of 50,000 euros, a grant of 20,000 euros for the launch of the research project, and an additional grant of up to 5,000 euros for mobility expenses.Competitive concurrency

The Ministry of Education will finance 75% of the researcher's annual remuneration, while the host research center will assume the remaining 25%. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and applications will be evaluated by the Balearic Agency for University Quality (AQUIB)through an external scientific-technical evaluation process, in accordance with the excellence of the researcher's curriculum, the quality of the research project, and the candidate's integration into the destination center.The call also provides for an 'ex post' evaluation mechanism during the last year of the contract, the result of which will be a key element in future merit assessment processes aimed at obtaining an indefinite contract.