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IBEC and IRB Barcelona participate in the first CERCA Conference

By 28 de April de 2014November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 28.04.2014

IBEC and IRB Barcelona participate in the first CERCA Conference

This morning the CERCA Institute has been held its first Conference at the Cultural Center Born in Barcelona with the aim to present the work carried out by all CERCA centers, and to encourage collaborative partnerships with other scientific institutions thus inspiring future research in order to take on new challenges. The event brought together the directors and those responsible for the scientific management and innovation of 47 research centers in Catalonia. In this context, the IRB Barcelona and IBEC -located in the PCB– have taken the opportunity to present their research.


The meeting has been chaired by Secretary for Universities and Research, Antoni Castellà, and the director of the CERCA Institute, Lluís Rovira. In his opening speech, Rovira reported that 41% of CERCA institutes have received ERC research grants, 15% are accredited Severo Ochoa centres of excellence, and 15% are supported by Marie Curie cofunding. He went on to say that 70% of CERCA centres publish in the scientific journals Science and Nature, 61% are currently coordinating European projects, and 50% have created spinoffs.

The gathering included interventions about the Prova’t Grants, driven by the Government of Catalonia to promote the valorisation and transfer of the results of research carried out in the centres that belong to the CERCA Institute. IRB has participated through a presentation on the Provat’s Project BBBSHUTTLE mAb, carried out in collaboration with the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in order to develop a new therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain cancer with very poor prognosis.

The CERCA research centre’s of Catalonia

The CERCA centres are funded in part by the Directorate General for Research, which allocates a budget programme to their structural expenses. For certain cases, funding is also provided by other entities of the Government of Catalonia.

All the centres in the CERCA system are organized according to a governance and operational model that ensures they are efficient and flexibly managed, can attract and promote talent, have able managers and function according to strategic planning.

The CERCA Institute is the Government of Catalonia’s technical service and its means for supervising, supporting and facilitating the activities of the research centres in the CERCA system. Set up as a foundation, it was created in 2010 to respond to the commitments of the Catalan Agreement on Research and Innovation.

The model for the CERCA research centre’s of Catalonia has developed quantitatively and qualitatively over the last ten years, and has reached levels of scientific excellence in various areas. It is a model characterised by fluid and self-governed management structures, the attraction of talent, and efficiency in obtaining competitive funding founded on scientific activity of the highest degree. Now, the challenge is to continue growing in a rapidly changing context in which numerous opportunities can be found.

More information on the website of the CERCA Conference [+] and on the IRB Barcelona [+] website.