Science and Universities

Barcelona has today convened its Scientific Advisory Council (CAC), made up of prominent people from the city’s scientific and research fabric, and advisory members of the City Council in the deployment of the scientific policies that are promoted. The meeting took stock of the municipal science policy 2020-2023. 

Throughout this framework, €9 million has been allocated to support research with more than 100 subsidised projects, the City and Science Biennial has been held in 2021 and 2023 with a contribution of €1.3 million and 30,000 attendees, and a total of nine awards have been presented, including three Hypatia Awards and six Gold Medals for Scientific Merit, as well as three annual prizes in the scientific categories of the City of Barcelona Awards.

The fourth deputy mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls, chaired the meeting where the role of science in Barcelona was reviewed, and where the main lines of the Strategic Plan for Science and Innovation 2024-2027, which will soon be presented to society, were presented. The Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC) was also presented, an initiative of the Barcelona City Council that was born in 2021 with the aim of consolidating the city as the innovation capital of southern Europe, diversifying the economy and generating quality jobs, promoting projects in sustainable mobility, technology, health and renewable energies, among others.

The Deputy Mayor raised the possibility of opening the CCS to new experts in artificial intelligence (AI) and chip design in line with the desire to boost the leadership of Barcelona and its metropolitan region in the field of technology, with a special focus on chip design and AI. It also aims to bring in experts in the biohealth sector to further foster the ecosystem and initiatives in the health and life sciences sectors. Finally, Valls has tasked the CAB with producing an annual report on scientific trends, addressing aspects such as quantum communication and cybersecurity at European level.

The CAC is made up of fourteen personalities from the different universities and research centres present in the city, appointed by the Mayor’s Office of Barcelona, who advise and accompany the City Council in the deployment of the scientific policies that are promoted.  The meeting was also attended, on behalf of the City Council, by the Manager of Economic Promotion, Miquel Rodríguez Planas; the Head of the Department of Science and Universities, Anna Broll; the Coordinator of strategic projects for Economic Promotion, Gloria Boix and the Secretary of the Barcelona Science Advisory Council, Oriol Recasens.