SRUK/CERU was created in July 2011 (officially established in June 2012) to promote communication within the community of Spanish researchers working in the United Kingdom by creating a network that facilitates the sharing of professional and life experiences. The association has encouraged this communication via the establishment of Constituencies throughout the UK and Departments and Committees supporting specific initiatives. During all these years of intense and pioneering work, SRUK/CERU has consolidated as a society that brings together Spanish researchers in the UK to give them a united voice that impacts society, influences science policy and closes the gap between researchers in the UK and Spain.
SRUK/CERU, over the last 10 years, has contributed to the establishment of scientific relationships between the UK and the EU by organising bilateral (Spain – UK) mobility programs for researchers and enhancing scientific collaborations. After the Brexit referendum in 2016, SRUK/CERU has been working on science diplomacy topics by advising key British and Spanish stakeholders (e.g. British and Spanish parliaments) on the effects that Brexit may/will have in the research ecosystem and the research community. In addition, SRUK/CERU has provided information to Spanish researchers aiming to come to the UK. SRUK/CERU has actively advocated for the inclusion of the UK in Horizon Europe to help maintain the long-term scientific relationships between the UK and the EU. In this context, SRUK/CERU has led an initiative to build a network of EU researchers in the UK to defend the interests of the EU scientific diaspora and consolidate it as a key stakeholder.
