Spain increased the weight of R&D investment on GDP, from 1.19% in 2016 to 1.43% in 2021, according to the latest CYD 2023 report. This same study highlights that companies and institutions private non-profit organizations are the most promoted. this investment (56.2% of expenses).
And even if the level of excellence and international collaboration maintains a positive trend, the truth is that we are still well below the average investment of the European Union – 2.15% of GDP – and the OECD – 2.71% of GDP -.
It is precisely to promote and support research talents that ComFuturo was born, a public-private collaboration program that directs the CSIC General Foundation and which is supported by Banco Santander, which contributes with support of 300,000 euros to this third edition. An amount that is in addition to the 80 million euros that the company has dedicated to university research programs in Spain over the last 5 years, in collaboration with the Spanish universities Crue and the CSIC. The objective? Attract and support young researchers with exceptional scientific profiles, to enable them to develop their ideas and integrate into the Spanish R&D&I ecosystem.
Selected researchers have the opportunity to develop your ideas in competitive environments for three years, in addition to collaborate with companiescarry out industrial stays and receive transversal skills training complementary to their research activity. In total, 16 projects participated in this edition. One of them is that of José Carlos García-Abadillo Uriel, researcher at the Institute of Materials Sciences in Madrid, whose topic is “Scaling Quantum Computing with Energy Efficiency”. This is a project based on quantum mechanics (a branch of physics that studies the behavior of atomic and subatomic particles) and seeks to propose an alternative to “traditional” computing and with greater potential to operate with more efficient algorithms at the numerical level.
From curiosity to independent research
García-Abadillo Uriel chose to study physics inspired by the passion that his teachers had transmitted to him for this subject at a time when there was not as much scientific dissemination as today. “It was a question of curiosity,” he explains. “I read about black holes or subatomic particles or relativity, and I wanted to know more about that, to know the details.” From the first moment, he knew that this desire to understand these questions which border on the limit of what we do not know would lead him headlong into research.. Although he was initially interested in astrophysics and cosmology, when he became interested in quantum mechanics it was clear to him: “In the quantum world, things happen that break with our intuition -comments the researcher-; A nanoscopic object may have properties that seem incompatible, such as being in two places simultaneously. These phenomena not only have academic value, but can also be used to create quantum technologies, which I am working on.
Did his thesis at CSIC and then it happened five years abroad with predoctoral contracts, first at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States and then at CEA Grenoble, in France. Thanks to ComFuturo he was able to return to Spain and, moreover, do it as principal investigator of own project. “Normally, when you’re involved in other projects, you investigate to achieve their goals,” he says. However, ComFuturo allows you develop your own ideas and having independence, something very important in a scientific career. The financial support that the participants receive also translates into means to carry out the research: “I was able to acquire scientific equipment which, in my case as a theoretical physicist, are above all computing nodes with which I can carry out realistic simulations of the systems that interest me,” says García-Abadillo Uriel.
Complements to excellence: the role of transversal training
On the other hand, the ComFuturo program teaches transversal training which, according to this expert, is also important for those who dedicate themselves to scientific research. “We tend to think that scientists are super-specialized people who are locked in their laboratory without interacting with anything and that is very far from reality. We must investigatebut also write articles about our discoveries, write projects, draw And produce figures and graphs “They can explain physics in a simple way or give lectures to disseminate our results,” he explains.
Finally, this program also a plot to make networking which allows its participants to attend conferences or meet other colleagues in the field of their research.
The ComFuturo program is another clear example of how collaboration between the public and private sectors can leverage talent. Thanks to initiatives like this and the support of entities such as Banco Santander, it is possible to opt for very significant improvements with a great social impact. This is what García-Abadillo Uriel warns with reference to his field of research: even if he recognizes that he is still far from large-scale quantum computers capable of correcting errors, he knows that reaching this milestone will be truly revolutionary . “I think we will help overcome these challenges and improve understanding of the physics behind them,” he says hopefully.
This action is part of Santander’s commitment to education, employability and entrepreneurship through programs and initiatives that the entity has been promoting for more than 27 years through Santander universities. This bet has already paid off an investment of more than 2.3 billion euros and the supporting more than 1.5 million people and businesses through collaborations with more than 1,200 universities and institutions in 26 countries.
This commitment has been recognized internationally by Fortune magazine, which included Banco Santander in its latest “Change the World” list, which highlights companies that contribute significantly to solving social challenges.