The decision to award the gold medals was adopted by the Full Council in its November meeting.

Andreu Mas-Colell, politician and renowned professor of Economics, known for his manual Microeconomic Theory, a publication of reference for universities all over the world. He was the Minister for Universities, Research and the Information Society with the Government of Catalonia from 2000 to 2003, returning as the Minister for Economics in 2010. Mas-Colell has written over a hundred research works and is a member of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans and the Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas.

Lluís Torner Sabata, professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, is the main figure behind the Institute of Photonic Sciences, which he founded and has directed ever since. He is a global figure in the study of photons and the applications they have in various realms of physics and engineering, but also the sciences of materials, chemistry, biology and medicine.

Mercè Boada Rovira was the founder and medical director of the Fundació ACE, devoted to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. With a doctoral degree in medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Boada is a specialist of international prestige in biomarkers and signalling proteins. She was awarded the Cross of Sant Jordi for her contribution to awareness and research into these diseases.