ICE is awarded the ‘María de Maeztu’ Excellence Distinction

The Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación or AEI), an organization that depends on the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN), provisionally resolved the 2020 call for the programme ‘Severo Ochoa’ and ‘María de Maeztu’ Centres and Units of Excellence, last 16 July. It is the first time that ICE obtains the ‘María de Maeztu’ distinction, which will allow it to receive two million euros and eight pre-doctoral contracts in the next four years. 

The programme, with a total investment of 40 million euros, is aimed at funding and accrediting research centres and units, from any scientific area, which are able to prove scientific impact and leadership at an international level and actively collaborate with their social and business environment. The centres and units have been selected for their scientific results and strategic programmes after a rigorous evaluation with the participation of prestigious international scientists. 

In the 2020 call, seven ‘Severo Ochoa’ centers of excellence and six ‘María de Maeztu’ excellence units were distinguished from a total of 50 applications submitted — 17 centers and 33 units —. The Math Institute of the University of Granada (IMAG) has received the ‘María de Maeztu’ distinction for the first time, and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the Severo Ochoa accreditation. The AEI’s proposal includes awards of excellence to other pioneering research institutions, such as the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CGR), the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (CBGP), the Centre for Monetary and Financial Studies (CEMFI), the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), and the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), among others.