Interview with Núria Montserrat Pulido, Minister for Research and Universities

26 Mar Interview with Núria Montserrat Pulido, Minister for Research and Universities

What distinguishes Catalonia from the rest of Europe in its research and development capabilities?

For more than 20 years, Catalonia has developed a strong network of scientific research institutes. We currently have more than 40 research institutes in basic science targeting topics such as biomedicine, archaeology, history and economics. We have a wonderful umbrella organization called Research Centers of Catalonia or CERCA. Many of our scientific research centers house internationally leading infrastructure, including the MareNostrum 5 hosted at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) and the ALBA Synchrotron for accelerating particles. In terms of knowledge, we have around 12 different public and private universities. This full ecosystem has enabled Catalonia to lead in basic science and knowledge. Currently, the government aims to position Catalonia as one of the most innovative regions in Europe by investing money in geopolitically significant innovative areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and emerging therapies. The region’s industrial ecosystem is well suited to back these segments. The region is also actively connecting universities and research institutes with the public sector to fill the gap between basic science, industrial applications and economic production.

How has recent legislation set the foundation for a new era of research and innovation in Catalonia?

My main focus as Minister of Research and Universities is to make science a sustainable driver of the local economy, which involves extensive work on evaluating the performance of research. This activity is not trivial. We are talking with various stakeholders such as the European Research Council to make this happen. This work will set the stage for the next 20 years of development in Catalonia. Currently, our system is negatively impacting the development of science. We need to define programs that are going to last. Every time we have a new government, everything changes.

We are in the process of deploying the Catalan Science Law. This law received full approval from the Catalan parliament in 2022, bringing together opposing parties to fully commit to working together to support the development of science. The law is based on four different pillars: innovation, universities, transfer issues and gender issues. It also addresses other facets such as open science. Around these four pillars, the government has created various entities such as the Council for Research and Innovation of Catalonia and the Research and Innovation Commission, which are already functioning and counseling the president. We have incorporated voices from research institutes and universities in committing to the Catalan Science Law’s key focus areas, highlighting our willingness to work hand in hand with various stakeholders.

In the first quarter of 2025, we are working to fulfill the umbrella of the European Commission to evaluate the strengths and qualities of universities and research institutes in Catalonia. This is the first time quality has been addressed in such a manner in Spain. Quality has not been addressed in this manner so far, aside from the Research Excellence Framework in the United Kingdom that evaluates the quality and excellence in universities and research institutes. We previously did not have a baseline, and we are mirroring other countries in Europe with this scoring system. The move is in line with the European Commission-backed Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment and other declarations. We will evaluate our science capabilities in terms the number of research papers in a certain quarter, the quality of our research, gender equality, broadness of scientific study and the impact of research on society. This work will take time as we must incorporate our high volume of publications and cover all areas of research and knowledge across our institutions. We need to ensure we bring in funding from Europe to Catalonia. We need to create performance indicators and carefully define ways to evaluate quality. We are taking into consideration how others such as the United Kingdom are applying their systems of evaluating quality. We are working with key stakeholders, research institutes and universities to develop a yearly framework.

What efforts is the government currently making to support Catalonia’s universities?

Universities are among our priorities. Our priority is not only to invest money but also to create a sustainable strategy to advance Catalonia’s university ecosystem over the long term. We are currently working on long- and short-term phases. Around $1.5 billion will be deployed to Catalonian universities. We are currently working in the financial area to develop a new model for distributing funds to universities by establishing a contract program with them in 2026. The investments given to universities will be based on the parameters we are currently evaluating for research quality and impact.

How crucial has collaboration with the USA been in strengthening Catalonia’s research and development capabilities?

International cooperation is critical in terms of knowledge exchange with universities and our various research institutes and assets. We have several agreements with Massachusetts and California. From 1996 to 2017 more than 1,000 students commuted between the Boston area and Catalonia. We have signed several important agreements and memorandums of understanding between universities in the USA and research institutes such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, particularly in the field of bioengineering. There also exists solid collaborations with different US universities such as the University of California, Davis and University of Colorado Boulder.

What is the government doing to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to push innovation in 2025?

While we have a mature ecosystem in terms of basic research, we are now trying to speed up innovation and the transfer of knowledge to society. We need to be productive in building our economy through our excellence in research. Entrepreneurship is critical in making Catalonia an innovation capital. We aim to create new opportunities for SMEs by providing them with funding and targeting specific areas such as semiconductors and AI. The government is committed to investing money in the region’s incubation hubs and driving the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs. Currently, entrepreneurship is taught only in engineering schools and not in segments such as biology and biomedicine. We need to prepare young talent with an innovative mindset across all areas. Currently, different areas of study are compartmentalized, and we need to promote a transfer of knowledge.

We are working with other government entities in Catalonia, such as the Department of Economics, to define the first call for innovation on several topics. We aim to create one call for each topic and major calls for co-development between scientists, universities and research institutes. While this has happened organically in the past, we are now orienting ourselves and establishing priorities. The call for innovation for oriented and non-oriented topics will be performed in a pre-annual manner. We want to invest in innovation every year, and we need this to happen right away.These will be topic-oriented or non-oriented calls. The non-oriented segment aims to uncover emerging innovations in Catalonia that we might not yet fully recognize to help us better understand the current state of innovation. Our system matches how Europe works in terms of innovation calls. Not all innovations end up in the market; we need to take risks to ensure innovations are not lost. While we have been ranked at the top of many scores in Europe for our innovation in the last 20 years, we need to up our game and assume risks. This will not be done alone; we are investigating new private and public collaborations. Success in innovation is related to valuation and monitoring systems. Innovation happens very fast and needs to be fostered. Some projects will already be in later development phases and require funding to speed up. We also need to create a robust monitoring system that works throughout the projects’ durations to help implement innovations effectively and potentially secure additional funding. This type of monitoring has performed well at the European level through the European Commission where project follow-ups are very short.

What efforts are being made to develop and retain talent in Catalonia?

Another key focus for the government is on talent. Catalonia offers many opportunities for young talent. At the national level, we have the Fulbright Program that has been fostering many collaborations and student interchanges between Spain and the USA. Catalonia is a key player in this program. We are also interested in importing US students into our universities and research institutes. There are ample opportunities in the academic sector, and we are willing to provide information and exchange ideas. We want to attract talent, but we also need to retain talent in the region. Catalonia is a great area of Spain that is attracting a lot of high-level talent. However, we need to start offering gifted individuals competitive salaries. Important programs such as the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies program are focused on attracting excellent researchers around the world in different areas. The program currently hosts 300 researchers in Catalonia. Other programs include the Serra Húnter Programme.

What steps has Catalonia taken to establish itself as a central hub for Europe’s digital revolution?

The digital revolution has begun in Catalonia and will be a huge part of our economic development. We aim to lead in terms of digital innovation at the European level. In December 2024 we were chosen by the European Commission to build the first of its eight AI) factories built around our supercomputing centers. We invested $14.5 million in the project, accompanied by investments from the Spanish government. The development will be led by BSC-CNS. The center’s MareNostrum 5 is one of the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world, and BSC-CNS is currently upgrading it to MareNostrum 6. The AI factory project aims to catalyze industrial growth by driving cooperation between the public sector and our supercomputing capabilities. It will be the first time the center will be opened to small SMEs and middle-sized companies. The development of the AI factory project will begin in early 2025. BSC-CNS is currently running the Digital Autonomy with RISC-V in Europe project to develop open architectures for supercomputing and ensure independence from third-party countries. Markets outside of Europe are currently leading in specific key innovative areas. We aim to not only gain independence from third-party markets but also lead the world in emerging technologies.

The vertical application of AI in fields such as semiconductors and advanced and emerging therapies will have an enormous impact. Catalonia is also focused on advancing biomedicine through the digital revolution, and we will soon see an acceleration in personalized medicine applications. Our focus on digital innovation will also be applied to our significant photonics segment. Recently, Catalonia’s Institute of Photonic Sciences received around $414 million from the Spanish government and the European Commission to produce photonic chips, with a diverse number of possible applications in the telecommunications, transport automation, biomedical and neuromorphic computation sectors. We aim to take the lead seat in the global development of photonic technologies.

What emerging local opportunities are we seeing in 2025 that could be attractive to foreign companies and investors, particularly those from the USA?

We are committed to strengthening our collaborations with the USA. There are many great opportunities in many sectors. We need to focus on mutually beneficial sectors. The field of supercomputing is going to act as a magnet for investors in Catalonia. Similarly, new advanced therapies in oncology developed in Catalonia and Spain will be a leading attractor of foreign direct investment. Advanced therapies, include gene therapy, have already been mastered in the USA. Philadelphia is leading in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies. Additionally, our rapid development of photonics is set to change the landscape of telecommunications. We are set to become leaders in decarbonization and hydrogen through major commitments by the government. Catalonia currently has a plethora of universities and research institutes focused on these specific areas.