FECYT reissues the Guide for the Spanish Researcher in the United Kingdom

The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), the Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom through its Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs and its Office of Employment and Social Security, and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU), with the collaboration of the British Council, have published the second edition of the “Guide for the Spanish Researcher in the United Kingdom”, which contains relevant information for Spanish researchers who are pondering to develop part of their professional career in the United Kingdom. 

This new edition, published only in Spanish in May 2017, is available in both PDF and WIKI  formats. The guide is aligned with all services offered by EURAXESS network, which FECYT coordinates at the national level, for mobility of researchers and it offers practical information about general issues such as medical insurance, qualification recognition, job hunting, accommodation, tax payments, etc. 

The guide also solves questions related to the result of the EU referendum (commonly known as Brexit), introducing the support service “Ventanilla Única” offered by the Spanish embassy in London to Spanish residents in the United Kingdom. 

The new edition also focuses on the British system of Higher Education and Research and the researcher career in this country, providing information about the main funding soures for each stage of the career, an approximation equivalence of the academic positions in the UK and Spain, as well as about carrying out a PhD in the UK and professional opportunities in sciences. 

To finish, some personal experiences of Spanish scientists settled down in the UK with professional experiences in the academic and private sector, are shown in this guide. Their experiences may well orientate and inspire to the reader. 

The first edition of this guide, entitled “¿Quiere investigar en el Reino Unido?” (Would you like to do research in the United Kingdom?), was published by FECYT in partnership with SRUK/CERU in 2014 only in Wiki format. In 2016 and 2017, FECYT has published similar guides to do research in Germany and in Japan with the collaboration of the Society of Spanish Scientists in the Federal Republic of Germany (CERFA) and the Spanish embassy in Berlin; and the association of Spanish scientists in Japan (ACE-Japón) and the Spanish embassy in Tokyo, respectively.