The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute Foundation (IDIVAL) has launched the hiring process for a team of 10 professionals who will lead the implementation of the ambitious project VALDATA: Cantabria Towards a Health Data Economy. The initiative, backed by €1.7 million in funding from the 2023 Sectoral Data Spaces Programme — financed through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – NextGenerationEU — marks a milestone in the innovation and digital transformation of Cantabria’s healthcare system.
The new team, composed of legal experts, engineers, data scientists and project managers, will be tasked with designing, launching and consolidating an advanced digital ecosystem for the management, analysis and sharing of health data. The positions are offered under one-year employment contracts.
A strategic commitment to multidisciplinary talent
The recruitment of this team represents a decisive step in building the VALDATA data space, which aims to maximise the value of clinical, genomic and administrative data already generated by Cantabria’s healthcare system. Key responsibilities of the team will include:
Designing and implementing secure and scalable technological infrastructures.
Coordinating and monitoring use cases, such as antimicrobial resistance tracking or value-based healthcare.
Integrating ethical and legal principles to ensure regulatory compliance in data protection and governance.
The team’s legal expert will play a key role in ensuring the project aligns with frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European data governance legislation.
VALDATA: a future vision for digital health
Cantabria’s healthcare system, known for its capacity to generate and manage data, will serve as the driving force behind this project. Initiatives such as Cohorte Cantabria — which has collected clinical and genomic data from over 43,000 individuals — offer a unique reference framework for integrating real-time data into the new digital space.
Beyond its technological dimension, VALDATA includes a communication, training and sustainability plan to ensure long-term impact. The ultimate goal: for Cantabria to become a leading region in the health data economy and to share its model with other regions across Europe.
Interested in being part of the change?
The IDIVAL employment portal (https://www.idival.org/empleo/) features the job profiles and requirements for these positions, all to be filled through IDIVAL’s official recruitment channels. Professionals passionate about digital transformation in healthcare are encouraged to stay informed and take part in this transformative challenge.
With VALDATA, Cantabria is taking a decisive step toward the future of digital health.
