The accreditations "Severo Ochoa" and "María de Maeztu" are the largest institutional recognition of scientific research in Spain, and the centers are selected by an international evaluation committee. These centers cover virtually all areas of knowledge, from physics and mathematics, the environment and biomedicine, to humanities.

ICMAB is a Severo Ochoa Reserach Center since January 2016. Xavier Obradors, ICMAB Director, and Anna May Masnou, Communication and Outreach Officer, will attend the meeting representing the Institute. 

This year the meeting to be held in Alicante is entitled "Co-creating value in scientific research" and is dedicated to the transfer of the knowledge generated in research centers and units and its value for society. 

"The term transfer covers a wide range of mutually beneficial collaborative activities between the public sector dedicated to research and the business sector. Although not the only one, it constitutes a desired return on public investment in research, because it provides a significant driving force for improving economic growth and social welfare. On the other hand, the concept of transfer does not stop evolving and. in the meeting of Centers and Units of Excellence in Alicante, we will analyze and discuss the most current forms of it" explains Juan Lerma, former director of the Institute of Neurosciences of Alicante and president of the Scientific Committee of 100xCiencia.2.

"The transfer of both the basic knowledge that is generated, and the technologies that are developed in the research centers are one of the basic pillars on which their activity is based. No less important than the research itself are training or dissemination" adds Juan Lerma.

The meeting will include three lectures given by three scientists of recognized international relevance: Krista Keränen, Lita Nelsen and Nuria Oliver:

• Krista Keränen holds a PhD in engineering. She currently works at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland as director of entrepreneurship and innovation. She has been awarded the European Contest of Women Inventors and Innovation in 2013.
• Lita Nelsen has been the director of the Technology Licensing Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 24 years, until 2016. Before joining MIT, she spent twenty years in the industry. Among other posts, she is an intellectual property advisor to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and a founding member of the Board of Directors of Intellectual Property in Health Research.
• Nuria Oliver is one of the most cited women researchers in Spain in computer science. She is a Telecommunications Engineer, PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and Director of Data Science Research at Vodafone and Chief Data Scientist at the DataPop Alliance.

Along with the keynote speakers, there will be round tables with the researchers from the Research Centers and Units, and representatives from the industry, technology transfer offices, economic policy and administration.

The program also includes short talks from Centers and Units of Excellence of successful cases in transfer and innovation.

This meeting in Alicante is intended as a space for dialogue and exchange of experiences with the aim of strengthening the capacity of knowledge and technology transfer and enhancing the social impact of the research work carried out by Centers and Units of excellence in Spain.

Contact and more information: http://100xciencia.umh.es/
Twitter: @forum100xciencia
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