CRG, ICIQ, ICN2,ICFO, IFAE and IRB Barcelona come together in this new institution.
The Barcelona Institute emerges as one of the leading scientific institutes in Europe, ranking fourth in the number of ERC grants awarded per volume of researchers.
Its Board of Trustees is formed by non-profits and renowned international scientists including Profs. Rolf Tarrach (Chair), Joan Massagué, and Ignacio Cirac, among others.
The Barcelona Institute will promote joint research strategies, transfer of technology, and graduate programs.
Six of the top research centres in Catalonia have taken a step forward in their collaboration by setting up The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. The centres involved are: the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG); the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ); the Catalan Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2); the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO); the High Energy Physics Institute (IFAE); and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute is a scientific initiative that seeks to foster interdisciplinary research, to leverage its scientific impact, and to position itself among the leading European institutions. This afternoon, the Board of Trustees of the Barcelona Institute, has convened for the first time in Barcelona, chaired by Prof. Rolf Tarrach, and with Mr. Jaume Giró (CEO of “la Caixa” Foundation) as Vice-Chairman.
Following renowned international centres such as Caltech in California and the Weizmann Institute in Israel, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology is an initiative promoted by the directors of the six centres that compose the Institute and five preeminent international scientists who consider that “it is time for the Catalan research system to progress by consolidating collaboration between these centres, jointly operating in a new institution that will allow them to launch more transversal scientific projects and to achieve greater international competitiveness”, in the words of Prof. Rolf Tarrach, chair of the Barcelona Institute. In addition to Prof. Tarrach, who also chairs the European University Association (EUA), Profs. Joan Massagué (Sloan Kettering Institute), Ignacio Cirac (Max Planck Institute), Miquel Salmeron (UC Berkeley) and Sergi Verdú (Princeton University) also serve on the Board of Trustees.
The Barcelona Institute comes about with the support of five large foundations that also sit on the Board of Trustees: “la Caixa” Foundation (Mr. Jaume Giró), one of the top world foundations; the Banc Sabadell Foundation (Mr. Miquel Molins); the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation (Mr. Germán Ramón-Cortés); the Cellex Private Foundation (Mr. Jordi Segarra); and Femcat Businessman Foundation (Mr. David Nogareda). Likewise, the Government of Catalonia also belongs to the Board of Trustees, represented by Minister Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell.
The six research centres that make up the Barcelona Institute will continue their own activity while simultaneously participating in the joint undertaking that will boost their individual potential.
At the top of European rankings
The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology ranks as the fourth European institute in the number of European Research Council (ERC) grants received on the basis of number of researchers; the six centres were awarded 49 ERC grants from 2007 to 2014, more than 1% of the total in Europe.
With respect to the publication index, the centres that compose the Barcelona Institute published 144 articles in Nature and Science between 2008 and 2012.
Start-up of activity in autumn
The Barcelona Institute will start its activity in September with a Director who will be appointed in the next weeks, who will be responsible for promoting three major lines of work:
Board of Trustees, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Chair: Prof. Rolf Tarrach
Vice-Chair: Mr. Jaume Giró, CEO of “la Caixa” Foundation
Secretary: Dr. Eduard Vallory, former Director of the Barcelona GSE
Members:
Prof. Ignacio Cirac, Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics
Prof. Joan Massagué, Sloan Kettering Institute
Prof. Miquel Salmeron, University of California- Berkeley
Prof. Sergi Verdú, Princeton University
Mr. Miquel Molins, Chairman of the Banc Sabadell Foundation
Mr. Germán Ramón-Cortés, Chairman of Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation
Mr. Jordi Segarra, Cellex Private Foundation
Mr. David Nogareda, Femcat Businessmen Foundation
Prof. Luís Serrano, Director of CRG
Prof. Miquel Àngel Pericàs, Director of ICIQ
Prof. Pablo Ordejón, Director of ICN2
Prof. Lluís Torner, Director of ICFO
Prof. Ramon Miquel, Director of IFAE
Prof. Joan Josep Guinovart, Director of IRB Barcelona
Hon. Andreu Mas-Colell, Minister of Economy and Knowledge, Government of Catalonia
The Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC) in Barakaldo (Vizcaya) is the venue of BioSpain 2016, the eighth of these biennial biotech gatherings, the most important event in this sector in Europe and permanently held in Spain, and fifth-ranked event worldwide for the number of partnering meetings held.
The newspaper Regió 7 mentions the special report that the journal Nature is preparing on Catalonia and the research done here, which will be published in November. The report will include editorial content specific to the region, along with promotional items and advertising of universities, scientific institutions, and private companies. IRB Barcelona appeared in the last special issue of the journal on Catalonia published in 2011.
One of the faces behind EU Horizon 2020’s ENABLE (European Academy for Biomedical Science) project is that of Clara Caminal, Head of the Academic & International Scientific Affairs Office. She sees the coordination of this European project as “a great success” for the Institute and “a significant achievement” in her career. She is convinced that taking part in the organisation of scientific conferences, the focus of ENABLE, will be “a tremendous experience” for young researchers. “It'll be an opportunity for them to gain valuable experience in organising an international symposium with European partners,” she adds.
