The CRG is seeking applicants with a proven track experience in scientific excellence and leadership, innovation, people management, organisational management, knowledge of international research systems.

The Director must have full time dedication and a firm and deep belief in the CRG’s mission and institutional values.

Selection Procedure

The full field of candidates will be reviewed by an international high level search panel. Candidates will be invited to interview with the panel and it is very much hoped that the final shortlist of candidates will be able to visit the Institute and meet with the Senior Faculty. The final list of preselected candidates will be sent to the Board of trustees that could interview them and they will appoint the new Director.

More information at the centre website.

Dr. Salvador Ventura Zamora has been appointed director of the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT)-CERCA by the Taulí of Trustees of the institution.

Ventura will assume the leadership of the I3PT from September 1, 2024.

He holds a degree in Biology from the University of Barcelona (UB), a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the UAB.

“It is a privilege for me to assume the direction of the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute. I am very grateful to the Taulí of Trustees for their trust and I hope to be able to contribute to the Institute’s growth and scientific excellence. I face this new stage with the desire to find solutions to the great challenges in health, working together with the excellent professionals of Parc Taulí”, declared the new director.

Ventura is ICREA Academy researcher and professor from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Biosciences of the UAB. His research career has developed mainly in the area of conformational diseases caused by protein misfolding. From 2017 to 2020, Ventura has been director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB) “Vicent Villar i Palasí” of the UAB. In 2022 he received the Narcís Monturiol Medal to scientific and technological merit and has recently been elected member of the European Academy in recognition of his research work.

The challenges of the new direction

The new direction of the I3PT aims to continue driving the scientific and innovative excellence of the professionals of Parc Taulí, especially in the international arena, with an impact on improving the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this sense, one of the main challenges is to promote the two transversal areas of research – Data and Technological Innovation in Health and omics – so that collaborative projects can be carried out with research groups; the collection of resources to provide the Institute with the most advanced infrastructures and equipment; the promotion of activity related to clinical trials; the promotion of the recruitment and retention of talent; and collaboration with other sector institutions and technology companies.

Along these lines, during a visit to the I3PT, accompanied by the general director of the CSPT, Anna Aran, and the current director of the Institute, Lluís Blanch, Ventura explained:

“at a time of technological revolution and knowledge in biomedicine, the I3PT is ready and willing to lead this change. We aspire to consolidate ourselves as a leading institution in international health innovation, fostering a synergy of cutting-edge basic, clinical and translational research”

The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), the CERCA Institute and the Government of Catalonia promote the first edition of the ‘Mapping of research in the space sector in Catalonia’. The launch of the initiative aims to obtain an updated and detailed census of the existing research centers, universities and technological centers in Catalonia in which scientific and technological research linked to the space sector is carried out.

The mapping is expected to show the existing knowledge areas with research and innovation activities that have space as an object of study or as a research platform, and with a wide scope that covers from basic research, to research closer to the productive sector and applications. And it will allow the existing skills in the Catalan ecosystem to be analysed.

The results obtained from the analysis of the data will be published and presented in a workshop that will encourage the dissemination of the activities of the research ecosystem and encourage cooperation between the agents that make up the ecosystem.

If you are a research centre, university or technological centre in Catalonia and you develop scientific and technological research linked to the space sector, we encourage you to participate by answering one of these two questionnaires:

1. Complete questionnaire: recommended if your centre or entity did not complete the questionnaire “Mapping the NewSpace Ecosystem in Catalonia” coordinated by the Government of Catalonia through the Department of Business and Work and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, with the collaboration of the IEEC and the i2Cat Foundation.

2. Simplified questionnaire: recommended if your centre or entity has already completed the questionnaire “Mapping the NewSpace Ecosystem in Catalonia” coordinated by the Government of Catalonia through the Department of Business and Work and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, with the collaboration of the IEEC and the i2Cat Foundation.

The questionnaire will remain open until 28 June 2024.

The questionnaire is written entirely in Catalan.

For any questions, you can consult IEEC’s website or write to participa@ieec.cat.

The Narcís Monturiol medals have been awarded since 1982 and recognize people and entities that work for the development of science and technology.

The catalan government has honored ten researchers with the Narcís Monturiol Medal for the scientific and technological merit and this year five of the awardees are part of the CERCA system.

The awards, which were established in 1982 and are named after the inventor Narcís Monturiol, recognize people and entities that contribute to the development of science and technology.

And the prizewinning CERCA researchers are:

Jordi Alberch Vié, doctor of medicine, director of the research group of the Clinic Foundation for Biomedical Research-August Pi Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (FRCB-IDIBAPS). He is an international reference in the study of the pathophysiology and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Emilio Palomares Gil, current director of the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) and ICREA researcher, carries out studies related to the field of energy.

Ana Isabel Pérez Neira, graduate in Electrical Engineering and director of the  Telecommunications Technological Center of Catalonia (CTTC). Her research is linked to the field of signal processing for communications and multi-antenna signals.

Petia Radeva, graduate in Applied Mathematics and principal researcher of the Medical Imaging Lab (MiLab) of the Computer Vision Center (CVC). She has focused her research in the fields of computer vision.

Gustavo A. Slafer, agronomist engineer and senior researcher at the AGROTECNIO Center. He studies the physiology of crop yield and their development processes.

The Governing Council of the Government of Catalonia has approved on April 16 the modification of the By-laws of the Centre for Research in Agrotechnology, confirming its participation in the centre’s Board of Trustees.

This approval guarantees compliance with the legal regime of the public sector and with the Science Law, which establishes that CERCA centres must be created by the Government of Catalonia or the latter must participate in them.

The composition of the Agrotecnio Board of Trustees, which was formed equally by trustees from the University of Lleida (UdL) and the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), is modified and three trustees from the Government of Catalonia are incorporated. Therefore, the new Agrotecnio Board of Trustees is made up of six trustees from the University of Lleida, three from the Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda; two from the General Directorate of Research and one from IRTA.

The President of the Board of Trustees is held by the Rector of the University of Lleida; and the first Vice-presidency, by the Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda.

The Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), created in 1984 by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, is seeking applicants with a proven-track record in leadership, a distinguished record of scientific excellence and the innovative thinking necessary to lead a dynamic organisation.

Since its creation, there has been a close collaboration between the CRM and the three Mathematics departments in the Barcelona metropolitan area: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). A collective of the top researchers at these departments is adscribed to CRM. This has allowed this “new CRM” to obtain a Maria de Maeztu award (two times). Since the creation of the CRM own research structure in 2008 emphasis has been put on the applications of mathematics to life and physical sciences, as a complement to the existing scientific power in areas such as Analysis, PDEs and Dynamical Systems at the Universities.

Deadline for submitting applications: April 30th, 2024

Romer-Isart will succeed Lluís Torner, who has held this position since 2002.

 

ICFO’s director, Prof. Dr Lluis Torner, who founded the institute in 2002, informed the board of trustees in 2022 that he would be stepping down from his role, putting in motion the search for a new director.

On February 14, 2024, the Board approved the appointment of Prof Dr Oriol Romero-Isart as a new group leader, and director of the institute for the next 4 years. Romero-Isart, who obtained his PhD at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, has been working abroad during the last 15 years.

After a PostDoc at the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Munich, he moved to Innsbruck to start his own research group in 2013. He is currently Professor at the University of Innsbruck, group leader at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) Innsbruck, and Deputy Managing Director of IQOQI. His research group focuses on topics in the fields of theoretical quantum optics and mesoscopic quantum physics in the context of quantum science and technology.

He will join ICFO in the Spring and will assume responsibilities as the appointed director on September 1st, 2024.

“I feel fortunate to have been appointed as the next director of ICFO and to have the privilege of serving a successful organization filled with talented and enthusiastic people, with a mission and culture that I strongly resonate with,” comments Prof. Romero-Isart.

 

 

With this addition, the total number of CERCA centres rises to 42

The Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) has been recognised as a Research Centre of Catalonia (Centre de Recerca de Catalunya (CERCA)) by the Catalan government’s Department of Research and Universities. The decision, officially published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC), consolidates IBEI as a leading player in the field of research in Catalonia.

The path to this prestigious recognition began in 2021, when IBEI successfully passed a rigorous evaluation process. This positive evaluation highlights IBEI’s continued commitment to excellence in research and its contribution to scientific and social progress.

This recognition as a CERCA Centre represents a significant opportunity for IBEI. In addition to improving the visibility and impact of its research, IBEI will be able to establish new collaborations and consolidate its standards of excellence. In its current work, CERCA is made up of 42 research centres, and IBEI joins this prestigious network with the aim of making an outstanding contribution to the development of research and innovation.

The Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA) has successfully completed the selection process for the position of Director of the research centre. The appointment has gone to Vicenç Acuña, a researcher at the Institute since 2009 and currently head of the Resources and Ecosystems area.

With a PhD in Stream ecology obtained at the University of Barcelona in 2004, his main research interest are the ecology of temporary streams, the chemical fate and the ecological effects of emerging contaminants, the integrated management of the urban water system, and the nature-based solutions for water sanitation in urban areas. Thus, encompassing both basic and applied research, and fostering inter- and transdisciplinary research.

The new director’s main challenge will be to promote ICRA-CERCA’s research excellence in the field of natural and urban waters.