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Today the Ministry of the Economy and Competiveness has announced that the Severo Ochoa Award given to 8 centres in the first call in 2011 has been renewed for another four years
The award brings with it another 4 million euros (1 per year) for IRB Barcelona
Four more years of excellence
This morning the Secretary of State for I+D+I has announced that the first eight ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres of Excellence ─whose strategic plans for 2016-2019 have been positively evaluated ─ have been awarded this distinction again—a distinction that brings with it 1 million euros a year over four years.
In the opinion of the evaluators, these centres have not only revalidated their position as references in international research but many of them have consolidated their scientific leadership during the last ‘Severo Ochoa’ Award period.
The Secretary of State stated that the centres in question stand out for the international standing of the science they perform, as well as for their capacity to innovate and for their strong relations with the business sector. Moreover, these centres are international references capable of attracting talent from around the world.
The renewal of the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Award coincides with IRB Barcelona’s 10th anniversary celebration, held yesterday in an institutional event in the Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona (CCCB). This celebration brought together about 400 people, including members of the Board of Trustees, scientific leaders, public figures, the IRB Barcelona community, collaborators and friends. "This is the best birthday present that the Ministry could have given us today," said the very grateful director, Joan Guinovart, to the director general Scientific and Technical Research, Marina Villegas, who represented the ministry at the event.
The eight centres are as follows: Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), the Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas (ICMAT), the Instituto de Ciencias Fotónicas (ICFO), the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Carlos III (CNIO), the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica (IRB Barcelona), the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), and the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics.
In addition, the Secretary of State for I+D+i presented three new ‘Severo Ochoa’ Awards, and four ‘María de Maeztu’ Units of Excellence.
More information from the Secretary of State for I+D+I (Spanish Press Release)
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
