Ever consider doing research in Spain?
You have to check out CSIC
Most of you know that I am here in Spain on a Fulbright Grant. I think that, after the Nobel Prize, “Fulbright” probably has the next biggest name recognition in the U.S. I also think that many Americans think of it as a program where the state department pays U.S. scholars to go overseas, sort of as cultural envoys. And that is definitely part of the program and it’s why I’m here. But the Fulbright Commission also funds students, administrators, and scholars from non-U.S, institutions to travel to the U.S. and pursue a huge range of activities. You also probably didn’t realize it, but a lot of the program is paid for by the countries that scholars visit. For example, most of my time here is paid for by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). And that’s what I want to write about today
Probably the biggest research institution you’ve never heard of
CSIC meant nothing to me before I started applying for my grant. A couple of universities in Spain (and elsewhere) offered Fulbright opportunities, but for one reason or another they just didn’t fit. I looked at the CSIC offerings and my first thought was, “I’m not a powerhouse researcher so there’s no way a national research institute would accept me.” I also think that, in the back of my mind lay something else: what the heck is CSIC? I reached out to colleagues both in Spain and the U.S. and they made it clear that CSIC would serve me very well. So applied and here I am!
Now that I’m here, I now know the following about CSIC:
It is the seventh largest public research institution in the world.
It is in the top three or five institutions in Europe, including more famous places like the Max Planck Institute
It has 16,000 employees spread over more than 120 institutes in every autonomous region (like a state) of Spain.
It has something like 5000 on-going projects and leads to about 14,000 publications per year.
The Spanish government funds CSIC well. The researchers that work here essentially have tenure, with permanent job protection like U.S. academic researchers. They advise doctoral students. They raise external funds for all kinds of research, from astrophysics to history, and geology of course. In some respects, it is a more honest model of getting research done than what we do in the states.
Faculty at big research institutions in the states generally don’t want to teach, but they are required to. So entire administrative structures exist to give faculty minimal teaching loads that allow them to do their research and bring in more external money from whatever sources are out there. There is this pretense of the “teaching faculty,” but I think it is mostly that: pretense. Please do not misunderstand me. There are many research faculty that love teaching, and there are probably way more (like me) that work at institutions that are passionate about teaching and that are not under the same pressures to bring in money to support graduate students. I honestly think we’d be doing research and faculty a service to just pay them for what they do best: research. That’s what CSIC does.
An investment in way more than researchers and research
So the way my Fulbright works: CSIC pays for most of my grant. I’m not sure about the exact percentage. My guess is that, in the states, some institutions and the federal government (State Department) pay Fulbright scholars. Sometimes it’s easy to think of this as some kind of one-way street: money flowing outward from public, tax-supported coffers to elite academics.
As I live here in Spain, I now see the inaccuracy in that thinking. The Fulbright Commission paid me a stipend and money for my travel. That money went straight into a Spanish bank account and to Delta Airlines and all of their employees. By the time I leave Spain, all of that money will flow back into the Spanish economy. I buy groceries, go out for dinner, ride the metro, pay rent and utilities. The stipend covers these expenses. If I lived really frugally I might take home more than I spent, but I’m in Spain! Why would I would want to live frugally? I want to experience this place and my time here. I would guess that this is how many Fulbright scholars feel.
And if you’re a scholar from Spain visiting the U.S., your stipend will almost certainly go straight back into the U.S. economy. Just think how expensive it is to live in any city with a university or government research facility in the states! No one is making a profit on this program.
So for CSIC, my Fulbright is both an investment in the future outcomes of their institute—because of the collaborations that I am making here and the outreach that I will do when I get home—and in their own economy. This post is a perfect example of the former: people need to know about CSIC. It plays a huge role in cutting edge science and public policy, not just in Spain, but globally.
So, if you’re a scholar and you seek international collaborators, I highly recommend looking into the amazing people at CSIC. If you’re not a scholar, I hope this post gives you some insight into how research gets done here in Spain and how your investment, through your taxes, as minimal as they are, actually have an amplified economic impact well beyond the people that get the grant money.



Hope all is well.
Nova would like to be added. Novadjimenez@gmail.com