Núria Bayó, Head of Academic Programmes and Organisational Effectiveness at BIST, and Josep Samitier Director of the BIST centre IBEC, took part in the third session the Barcelona Tribuna (Re)Imaginem Barcelona – (Re) imagine Barcelona – panel today. Discussion topics included the challenges faced by researchers as they develop their careers, and the efforts made by BIST to bring research talent into many sectors of society, among others.
This third session of the (Re)Imaginem Barcelona discussion forum, organised by Barcelona Tribuna, an initiative of the Societat Econòmica Barcelonesa d‘Amics del País, took place today at Palau Macay (“la Caixa” Foundation) in Barcelona. The participants were Jordi Marín (General Director of the Catalan Association of Consulting Firms – ACEC), Josep Samitier (Director of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia – IBEC, and President of the Catalan Association of Research Entities – ACER), Núria Bayó, Head of Academic Programmes and Organisational Effectiveness at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology – BIST), and Alexis Roig (Director of SciTech DiploHub). The session was presented by Miquel Roca i Junyent (President of Amics del País), and moderated by Enric Sierra (Journalist and Deputy Director of La Vanguardia).
In the discussion, Núria Bayó spoke about the research talent within the BIST centres, and their commitment to bringing scientific research to society. She highlighted three attributes of the BIST scientific community: excellence, the capability to respond to societal challenges, and the transformative impact that researchers’ skills have for society.
“Scientists are extremely well prepared to contribute to other sectors of society from the moment they finish their research education.” said Bayó, “At BIST, one of the initiatives we have launched to create these connections to society is the BIST Global Science programme, which aims to give our researchers the tools they need to guide their careers into different sectors within society including research leadership, science education, business, and public policy.”
Josep Samitier also discussed how successful research centres in Catalonia have been in terms of receiving European funding for research and how this boosts the attraction of talent.
“Researchers who have completed their PhDs in other countries come back to Barcelona to pursue postdocs or positions in industry, boosting our economy.” Said Samitier.
Learn more:
Full recording of the panel discussion
More about Barcelona Tribuna