Space Research and Innovation Day
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The Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona will host the Space Research and Innovation Day on 19 February, an institutional event designed to highlight the potential, diversity and excellence of space science research in Catalonia, as well as its capacity to generate knowledge transfer and real impact on business activity within the space sector.
The event will bring together leaders of pioneering research centres and groups, managers of scientific and technical infrastructures, representatives of space agencies and programmes, as well as established companies and emerging spin-offs in the sector.
The aim is to identify and give visibility to the main actors shaping the Catalan space ecosystem and to strengthen interconnections among the different agents along the value chain, fostering synergies and new opportunities for collaboration.
In a context of sustained growth in the space sector at international level, the event aims to highlight the economic, scientific and technological impact of this strategic field, as well as Catalonia’s role as a leading hub for space research and innovation. Throughout the session, outstanding academic and industrial initiatives will be presented, together with success stories that illustrate the region’s ability to transform scientific knowledge into innovation with global reach.
The Space Research and Innovation Day is organised by the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), with the collaboration of the Department of Business and Labour.
Programme of the Day
Conductor: pending
9 – 9:15 a.m. Accreditations and welcome coffee
9:15 – 9:20 a.m. Welcome and presentation
9:20 – 9:25 h Institutional opening
9:25 – 9:45 h Space research, its transfer and the impact on society
Athena Coustenis, Director of Research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Area 1: Innovative research
9:45 – 9:50 a.m. Space research in Catalonia
Francesc Xavier Luri Carrascoso, director of the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia
9:50 – 10:30 a.m. Round table
Moderator: Javier Bonet, director of the International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE)
Speakers:
Ignasi Ribas, researcher at the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC) & Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC)
Sergi Figuerola, director of the i2CAT Foundation
Ana I. Pérez-Neira, director of the Telecommunications Technological Center of Catalonia (CTTC)
Valentí Sallarès, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC)
Area 2: Scientific-technical infrastructures as an instrument for innovation
10:30 – 10:35 Introduction
Javier Selva, General Director of Knowledge Transfer and Society, Department of Research and Universities, Generalitat de Catalunya
10:35 – 11:15 a.m. Round table
Moderator: Eugenio Coccia, director of the High Energy Physics Institute (IFAE)
Speakers:
Francesc Gòdia, General Director MELiSSA-ESA Pilot Plant, researcher Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)
Mònica Roca, co-founder and General Director of isardSAT
Joan Manel Casalta, director of Science Programs, SENER Aerospace
Mateo Valero, director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
11.15 – 11.20 am Institutional intervention
Núria Montserrat, Minister of Research and Universities
11.20 – 11.45 am Coffee break
Area 3: Success stories of industrial initiatives
11:45 – 11:50 Introduction
Maria Galindo, Secretary of Digital Policies, Department of Business and Labour, Government of Catalonia
11:50 – 12:30 Round table
Moderator: Clàudia Mateo, spatial innovation business manager, i2CAT Foundation
Speakers:
Josep Laborda, CEO of Factual
Oriol Romero-Isart, director of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)
Jaume Sanpera, CEO and Co-founder of Sateliot
Marc Gascons, CEO of Compoxi
Area 4: debate on collaboration and transfer in space research
12:30 – 1 p.m. Dialogue
Pepa Sedó, head of the Development and Innovation Office, Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), coordinator of the ESA PhiLab-Spain
Cecilia Hernández, Director of Programs and Industry, Spanish Space Agency (ESA)
13 – 13:05 Conclusions
13:05 – 13:10 Institutional closing
Organised by:
- Department of Research and Universities
- Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia
Collaborators: Department of Business and Labour
Goals:
To identify and give visibility to the main research groups, infrastructures, emerging spin-offs, and established companies that are part of the Catalan space ecosystem, as well as to strengthen the interconnections among the various agents in the sector’s value chain.