The Barcelona Science Park-UB will be the headquarters in Catalonia and Spain of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, one of the most important applied research centres in the world. Today, the protocol was signed at the Palau de la Generalitat to launch this project, which will begin its activity in a space of almost 1,000 square metres at the PCB-UB. The protocol was signed this morning by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant; the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Holger Hanselka. The event continued with a tour around the facilities of the Spanish Fraunhofer Foundation at the PCB-UB and a round table with the participation of Joan Guàrdia, rector of the UB; Miquel Rodríguez, manager of Economic Promotion at the Barcelona City Council; Javier Selva, general director for Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Government of Catalonia; Teresa Riesgo, secretary general for Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and Heiko Zimmermann, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT). Núria Montserrat, Catalan Minister of Research and Universities, concluded the session.
During the round table, in relation to the launch of Fraunhofer CAT, the rector of the UB stated: "We will prove that cooperation and collaboration between institutions is the only way to achieve success". He also stressed that Fraunhofer CAT is a key player in the Diagonal Campus scenario: "It is the institution that will allow us to be the most important biotechnology and biomedicine innovation and research hub in southern Europe".
Javier Selva pointed out that Fraunhofer CAT contributes to both state and regional policies in order to transform society thanks to strategic innovation, while Miquel Rodríguez highlighted the work that has been carried out over five years to achieve the current objective.
For her part, Teresa Riesgo thanked the support and commitment of public institutions to scientific innovation, and Heiko Zimmermann said that it was strategic for Fraunhofer to come to Barcelona and create these alliances with institutions in the city.
Finally, Minister Montserrat described today's date as a turning point - "it marks a before and after for innovation in Catalonia" - and highlighted the key role of the universities in making research in Barcelona stand out.
