Support for the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
We provide young researchers with research opportunities and promote classroom science by training scientists as teachers.
What is the BIST?
The Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation partners with the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and thus continues its drive to promote science in order to attain and encourage excellence in the sphere of research.
With this purpose in mind, since 2017 it has been awarding merit scholarships to students with a vocation for research who want to pursue the Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences (MMRES). MMRES is a pioneering Master programme which enables students to gain practical experience in scientific research at the seven research centres encompassed in the BIST.
As important as providing young researchers with opportunities to launch their scientific careers is helping post-doctoral researchers who want to teach to get involved as teachers and thus meet the challenges facing scientific education today.
With this goal in mind, since 2019 the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation has also partnered with the scholarship programme to help individuals with scientific vocations in the field of education to pursue the Master in Training for secondary school and baccalaureate teachers in the science speciality at a Catalan public university.
Collaborating entities
The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) is an international biomedical research institute of excellence, created in December 2000. It is a non-profit foundation funded by the Catalan Government through the Departments of Business & Knowledge, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation & Universities, the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, and includes the participation of Pompeu Fabra University. The mission of the CRG is to discover and advance knowledge for the benefit of society, public health and economic prosperity. The CRG believes that the medicine of the future depends on the groundbreaking science of today. This requires an interdisciplinary scientific team focused on understanding the complexity of life from the genome to the cell to a whole organism and its interaction with the environment, offering an integrated view of genetic diseases.
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) Barcelona is an internationally renowned research centre located in Barcelona Science Park and dedicated to understanding fundamental questions about human health and diseases. IRB Barcelona is part of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, and the goals of the institute include conducting multidisciplinary research of excellence in a framework between biology, chemistry and medicine, offering its members, students and visitors high-level training in the field of the biosciences. It also provides an innovation component through active technology transfer as benefit to society, as well as engaging with the public through engagement and education activities. Research at IRB Barcelona is carried out by 26 groups working in common with the common goal of carrying out multidisciplinary projects that address important biomedical problems affecting our society.
The Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE) is a research centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) that carries out leading theoretical and experimental research in fundamental physics, which includes particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. It works at the forefront of detection technology, in order to put the knowledge of the scientific community at the service of practical goals. The IFAE is a participant in the LHC's ATLAS project, the T2K neutrino experiment in Japan, the MAGIC telescopes in La Palma, and the Dark Energy Survey in Chile, among others. The IFAE is also working at the forefront of sensing technologies by developing pixels detectors for high-energy physics, telescope cameras, detectors with medical applications and other scientific and industrial applications. The centre has its own researchers, as well as working with professors from the UAB and the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and technical staff.
The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) is a young research institution whose goal is to push the boundaries of knowledge of photonics, science and light technology. Photonics is the field of knowledge dedicated to the generation, transmission, detection, control and manipulation of light, and is one of the key technologies for the 21st century. Light, specifically laser light, is one of the most promising technologies available to humanity today. Its research programmes are framed on world-class frontiers and are aimed at addressing the significant challenges facing society at large. They focus on current and future problems in health, energy, information, security, protection and care of the environment. The role of photonic technologies is very important across a wide range of fields, including agriculture and the environment, manufacturing and manufacturing processes, telecommunications systems and services, medicine and healthcare, life sciences, security and entertainment, among others.
The Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) aims to carry out research of excellence that, which creating knowledge, also contributes to improving quality of life, improving health and wealth creation. The institute has close links with international research centres, universities and companies, in order to exchange talent and develop and execute projects. The IBEC is a research centre dedicated to world-class interdisciplinary research, which through the creation of knowledge contributes to improving health and quality of life and generating wealth. Among the beneficiaries of the work carried out by the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia are universities, research centres, the scientific community, the business sector promoting research in the field of bioengineering and society in general.
The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) is a recognised research centre based at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). The institute’s research interests lie in discovering the physical and chemical properties that emerge from the fascinating behaviour of matter at the nanoscale. ICN2's mission is to achieve scientific and technological excellence in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and to encourage the adoption and integration of nanotechnology in industry and across society. The ICN2 trustees are the Government of Catalonia, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). The Institute encourages collaboration between scientists from different backgrounds (physics, chemistry, biology and engineering) to carry out basic and applied research, while aiming for collaboration with local and global industry. ICN2 also trains nanotechnology researchers, organises a number of activities to encourage industry to adopt nanotechnology, and promotes joint efforts between scientists, engineers, technicians, business, society and politics.
The Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ) aims to promote and carry out research of excellence in chemistry. The institute aims to produce, promote and share knowledge, as well as train technical and scientific personnel in chemistry, transfer technology to industry, facilitate contact between basic and applied research and establish collaborations between the ICIQ and companies.