Europe is stepping up efforts to attract and retain research talent. But attracting excellent researchers is only the first step. Sustainable careers also depend on what happens afterwards: how funding instruments connect across career stages, how institutions can make credible longer-term commitments, and how European, national and regional programmes can work together rather than operate as separate pathways.
On Tuesday, 24 November 2026, the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and EU-LIFE will convene The Future of Choose Europe: From Talent Attraction to Sustainable Research Careers, a European, Spanish and Catalan policy discussion on funding pathways, institutional commitments and career continuity.
The event will bring together the European Commission, Spanish and Catalan funding and policy perspectives, the coordinators of two first-call Choose Europe projects and research institutions to discuss how Choose Europe should evolve after its first pilot - and how talent attraction can be connected to more sustainable research careers. Participants are welcome to attend either in person or online.
The public session will set out where policy stands and what the first projects are learning. It will move from the design of Choose Europe to the practical challenges of implementation and then to a broader policy conversation on how European, Spanish, Catalan and institutional instruments can form a more coherent career pathway.
Throughout the public session we will:
- Discuss what the European Commission and research institutions are learning from the first Choose Europe pilot.
- Hear implementation perspectives from two first-call Choose Europe projects.
- Explore where European, Spanish and Catalan funding and career instruments complement one another - and where gaps remain.
- Discuss how longer-term career commitments and funding responsibility can be shared between funders and host institutions.
- Consider what should be protected, coordinated or strengthened as Choose Europe and MSCA evolve towards the next framework programme.
Organized by:
The Future of Choose Europe: From Talent Attraction to Sustainable Research Careers 