ULL and Tenerife Island Council Boost Science with 5 Million Euros and 19 Projects

The Talentum program aims to provide stability and funding for 91 Canary researchers to enhance scientific development on the island.

Generic image of a microscope and a culture dish in a laboratory.
IA

Generic image of a microscope and a culture dish in a laboratory.

The University of La Laguna (ULL) and the Tenerife Island Council have joined forces to promote scientific research on the island through the Talentum Program. This initiative will allocate over five million euros to fund 19 projects and offer stability to 91 Canary researchers for four years.

The program is divided into two main lines: Talentum Transferencia (Talent Transfer), which seeks to connect local companies with six proposals from pre-doctoral researchers, and Talentum Investigación Aplicada (Talent Applied Research), focused on 13 institutes dependent on the Tenerife university. The common goal is for the science developed in laboratories to have a tangible and measurable impact on Canary society, addressing the island's most pressing challenges.
The initiatives focus on three major challenges: sustainability, health, and digital transformation. One example is the project by researcher Ana Elena Rodríguez, from the University Institute of Biomedical Technologies, which seeks solutions to mitigate the kidney consequences of diabetes, a prevalent disease in the Canary Islands. Other studies address predicting long COVID, combating drug resistance in breast cancer, detecting emerging contaminants in hotel waters, reducing energy dependence, the blue economy, and organic waste management.
In the digital transformation field, projects are exploring cloud storage security, detecting gender bias using artificial intelligence and Big Data, and digitizing the Canarian Spanish language. During the presentation, Ana Elena Rodríguez, as spokesperson for the researchers, highlighted that the Archipelago possesses the talent and capacity for high-level science but stressed the need for greater institutional support to retain local talent.
The insular councilor for Innovation, Juan José Martínez, emphasized that talent is the "main raw material" of the Canary Islands, and expressed the goal that future generations will not have to leave to develop their careers. The rector of the ULL, Francisco García, recalled the institution's strength in research, ranking 20th out of 100 in Spain according to the Shanghai ranking.