All BIST Community centres that applied in the 2024 Severo Ochoa call —ICFO, ICIQ and IFAE— receive Spain’s highest research distinction.
Three BIST Community centres—ICIQ, IFAE, and ICFO—have been awarded the Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence distinction in the 2024 call, as announced in the provisional resolution recently published by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), through the State Research Agency (AEI). The Severo Ochoa accreditation is the highest institutional recognition for scientific research centres in Spain —a status currently held by all seven BIST Community centres.
Each of these centres accredited in the 2024 call will receive €4.5 million in structural funding over four years, and a direct assignment of 10 predoctoral contracts, representing additional funding of €1.25 million.
Launched in 2011, the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme identifies and supports the top research institutions in Spain, enhancing their international impact, scientific leadership, and competitiveness. Accredited centres hold the distinction for a four-year term. BIST Community centres have received this recognition on multiple occasions. Notably, ICFO and IRB Barcelona —among the first eight centres in Spain to receive the award— have now been accredited four times.
The centres evaluation and selection process is conducted through an annual open competition by an independent international committee composed of renowned scientists.
Read about ICFO’s 4th Severo Ochoa Accreditation
