Advertorial - Oportunius: A gateway to research excellence in Galicia
Over the last decade, Galicia, the north-west region of Spain, has progressively consolidated its position as a competitive and attractive region for research and innovation in Europe. One of the clearest expressions of its commitment to reinforcing the region’s R&I strategy is the Oportunius programme. It is an initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia and managed by the Consellería de Educación, Ciencia, Universidades e FP through the Axencia Galega de Innovación that aims to strengthen scientific excellence across the region by attracting and supporting European Research Council (ERC) grant holders, finalists and candidates.
Oportunius accompanies researchers from the moment they begin to shape an ERC proposal through to the consolidation of funded projects in the region. For researchers who secure an ERC grant, the programme offers competitive contracts to carry out their projects in Galicia, together with complementary funding that reinforces ERC grant funding both during and beyond the grant period. At the same time, the programme pays special attention to ERC finalists and candidates, providing training, expert proposal review and strategic guidance and interview preparation for those reaching the final evaluation stages. This continuous, hands-on support has not only improved success rates but has also strengthened Galicia’s international visibility as an attractive destination for research career development.
The results achieved so far underscore the programme’s impact. Since its launch in 2014, Oportunius has attracted and funded 41 ERC grantees with an investment of €22M. More than 50 ERC projects have been developed in Galician host institutions, and the programme has already supported 331 ERC applications.
Building on this success, the programme is now extending its support framework to include Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fellows, by providing advice on candidature preparation, further reinforcing its role as a gateway for international research talent. The strategic objective remains clear: to continue increasing the number of national and international researchers who choose Galicia as their host region to develop their research careers.
CIGUS: pillars of Galicia’s research and innovation ecosystem
The growth of Oportunius is closely linked to the strength of Galicia’s research environment, whose backbone is the Rede CIGUS, recognised for its scientific excellence and international competitiveness. This network brings together 10 leading research centres across the region’s three public universities: the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), the University of Vigo (UVigo) and the University of A Coruña (UDC). Together, they cover a broad range of priority research areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum communications and secure digital technologies, environmental and marine sciences, biomedicine and genomics, chemical biology, advanced materials and particle physics.
However, CIGUS is just the tip of the iceberg. Together, the three universities have 16 other research institutes, including three inter-university research centres, in fields as diverse as economics, mathematics, engineering, materials science, sociology and cultural studies. The Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC), the largest scientific institution in Spain, has four research institutes and two centres of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) in Galicia. The ecosystem also includes the four health research foundations, which belong to the Galician Health Knowledge Agency (Axencia Galega de Coñecemento en Saúde).
This landscape is completed by unique research infrastructures, such as the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA), which leads the Galicia Quantum Technologies Hub, one of the priorities of the Galician research strategy, and has recently been designated as one of the European AI factories, as well as nine technology centres with a substantial investment of resources in research, and various other public and private research centres, alongside an industrial fabric of more than 1,700 innovative companies. This fosters not only the transfer of knowledge and technology to society but also the career development possibilities of junior and senior researchers.
Galicia: a place to build a research career – and a life
Beyond its scientific infrastructure and support programmes, Galicia offers an environment that combines professional opportunity with a high quality of life. The region is characterised by mediumsized, well-connected cities, a strong sense of community and a privileged natural setting, with more than 1,500 kilometres of coastline, mountains and protected natural areas within easy reach.
For researchers at any stage of their career, working in Galicia means engaging in a collaborative and internationally connected research ecosystem, while enjoying a lifestyle that balances professional ambition with wellbeing. This combination of scientific opportunity, institutional support and living conditions has become one of Galicia’s defining strengths – and a compelling reason for researchers from around the world to choose the region as the place to develop both their research projects and their lives.