ValER successfully concludes its first call for applications and brings world-class research talent to the Valencian Community

The ValER programme – Valencian Excellence in Research – was launched with a very clear vision: to compete, on equal terms, with major international talent recruitment programmes, offering stability, attractive conditions and an environment that enables cutting-edge science to be led from the Valencian Community. And we are doing so with a long-term perspective, because excellence cannot be improvised: it must be planned, funded and sustained.

ValER has an ambitious target for the 2024–2029 period: to recruit 30 distinguished researchers, through competitive public calls, across five major fields of knowledge: Experimental Sciences and Mathematics, Engineering, Life and Health Sciences, Social and Behavioural Sciences, and the Humanities.

In the 2025 call, focusing on the areas of Experimental Sciences and Mathematics and Engineering, a total of 73 applications were received, of which 63 were ultimately put forward for evaluation. There were expressions of interest from 12 host institutions in Valencia – universities and research centres – and applications from 25 countries.

The key to ValER’s success lies in the evaluation and selection of candidates, with scientific excellence and leadership as the sole criteria. The evaluation panels were composed of both Spanish and foreign scientists.