community
Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence will work together to promote research and attract talent
The 13 centers that have received the Severo Ochoa Research Excellence Accreditation from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness met in Barcelona on October 9, where they agreed to work on joint actions to promote research at the highest level and attract international talent.
The Severo Ochoa program distinguishes those research centers which develop programs of excellence in various fields of knowledge. Accreditation by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness funding is a four million euros, plus easier access to large scientific facilities platforms and Spanish, as well as the allocation of research students and scientists.
The BSE is the only center in the social sciences that has received the Severo Ochoa accreditation. To date, the list of selected Severo Ochoa centers are:
- Barcelona School of Economics (BSE)
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
- Doñana Biological Station (CSIC)
- Institute of Astrophysics Canarias (IAC)
- Institute for Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IRB Barcelona)
- Institute for Chemical Technology (ITQ)
- Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE)
- Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT)
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (UAM-CSIC)
- Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)
- National Cancer Research Center (CNIO)
- National Center for Cardiovascular Research Carlos III (CNIC)
The main agreements reached at yesterday's meeting were:
- Develop activities that promote research excellence in Spanish centers, with the aim that the current list can be expanded in the future, following strict quality criteria.
- Maintain compliance with the criteria of excellence, which is the best possible contribution of Spanish science to the projection of Spain’s image around the world and a calling card for attracting talent. The incorporation of international researchers is essential in order to stay competitive and attract economic resources from international funds.
- Severo Ochoa centers indicated their intention to work together to facilitate better dissemination of their research results, the development of common strategies to promote technology transfer and social returns on their research work.
BSE Director Teresa Garcia-Milà attended the meeting of the Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence, and she feels optimistic about the spirit of collaboration demonstrated by the thirteen directors.
"These thirteen centers cover a wide range of research fields, but we all share the fundamental objectives embodied by the Severo Ochoa initiative,” Prof. Garcia-Milà said. “By working together, we can amplify the impact of the research we’re doing and increase the attraction of talented researchers to our centers.”
The Severo Ochoa Research Excellence Accreditation is awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
