The 7th IEEC Forum brings together its members for a day of science and technology at Casa Convalescència, UAB
Once again, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) brought together its members for its annual gathering. The seventh edition of the Forum took place on Wednesday, June 18, at the Aula Magna of Casa Convalescència at the UAB, located within the modernist complex of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona. The event was attended by nearly 170 participants from the institute’s four research units: the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB); the Centre for Space Studies and Research of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (CERES, UAB); the Space Science and Technology group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (CTE, UPC) and the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC).
The day began with a welcome session led by IEEC director Ignasi Ribas, who will step down from his position in September to dedicate himself exclusively to research.
The Forum featured a full programme of talks and roundtable discussions on current scientific and technological topics. Among the highlights were contributions from guest speakers such as Xavier Barcons, Director General of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), who spoke about Europe’s leadership in ground-based astronomy, and Francisco Doblas (Barcelona Supercomputing Center), who took part in a discussion on the role of supercomputing in space research.
Participants — including researchers, engineers, and administrative and support staff — also enjoyed a series of panels and presentations on major international astronomical missions such as Euclid, LSST, PhotSat, and Gaia, as well as updates on new infrastructure at the Montsec Observatory, including the new Wide-Field Fast Telescope (TRAC, by its Catalan acronym). The programme also focused on the growing NewSpace sector and the opportunities it offers.
Following the tradition of previous editions, the Forum gave young researchers and engineers the opportunity to present posters showcasing their recent or ongoing projects. The posters were on display throughout the day, and attendees were invited to vote for the most interesting one. The winning poster was presented by students Alda Xhafa and Daniel Egea-Roca, and focused on the project “Performance Assessment of RIS-Aided Localization in Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks.”
The IEEC once again thanks all attendees for their participation in a day that offers the entire IEEC community a valuable opportunity to reconnect and exchange ideas.
Thank you all, and see you at the next Forum!
Image Gallery
About the IEEC
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of more than 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centres, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
The IEEC is a non-profit public sector foundation that was established in February 1996. It has a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The IEEC is also a CERCA centre.