• The amount for the 'Women Engineer of the Year 2020' award will be donated to the Spanish National Scientific Research Council (CSIC) to support research into a vaccine against COVID-19.
• The train manufacturer has postponed to 2021 the celebration of its two emblematic awards: Women’s Professional Excellence in Engineering Award ('Engineer of the Year 2020') and Railway and Mobility Innovation Award.

Talgo has announced that it will donate the amount of the 2020 edition of its emblematic "Women’s Professional Excellence in Engineering" award to the platform of the Spanish National Scientific Research Council (CSIC), which is in charge of coordinating the efforts for the development of a vaccine against COVID-19.

With a contribution of 25,000 EUR, Talgo will continue to support scientific research and the role of women in the fields of engineering and technology in 2020. Renowned virologist and immunologist Margarita del Val is in charge of coordinating the "Global Health" platform, which brings together the work of 200 research groups comprised of specialists from all kinds of disciplines and who are at the forefront of the research into a vaccine to curb the pandemic worldwide. Talgo's contribution will be incorporated, along with funds from the public sector and donations from other companies and individuals, to the funding of new projects under this platform.

Carlos Palacio, President of Talgo, said: "With this donation, Talgo not only wishes to contribute to the achievement of a vaccine against COVID-19 as soon as possible, but also maintains its support for organizations and projects led by excellent and very talented women, such as Margarita del Val".

Created in 2019, Talgo’s Women’s Professional Excellence in Engineering award aims to promote the relevance of women in both the engineering and industrial sectors in Spain. Elena García Armada was awarded 'Engineer of the Year 2019'. García Armada is director and co-founder of Marsi Bionics and head researcher at the Centre for Automation and Robotics (CAR-CSIC).

New date for both awards

Coinciding with the announcement of this donation, Talgo has also announced that the new deadline for submission of candidacies to the Women’s Professional Excellence in Engineering award has been extended until 31 March 2021.

Talgo’s Railway and Mobility Innovation Award will also merge the current call for candidacies with the one scheduled for 2021 and will accept applications until 1 June 2021. With one category on Railway Technology and another on Mobility, the jury will evaluate projects related to industry 4.0, Big Data, safety, accessibility, environment, sustainability, digital transformation and user experience, and will positively value projects that contribute to raise the new challenges that have arisen as a consequence of the global pandemic.

Talgo’s response to COVID-19

Aware of the role of the private sector in the fight against the global pandemic, Talgo contributed to the medicalization of several trains requested by Renfe in April. The company is currently developing a range of specific solutions based on a wide range of technologies to fight the spread of the coronavirus and make the railway the safest mode of public transport.

Talgo believes that the response to the health crisis in the short term must be fully aligned with the sustainability objectives set for the climate emergency in the medium and long term. In the field of mobility, both challenges involve a decisive commitment to the railway as an efficient and immediate, safe and hygienic alternative to other methods of transport.