Severo Ochoa programme recognises top eight Spanish research centres as among the best in the world

• Barcelona Supercomputing Centre - National Supercomputing Centre (Spanish acronym: BSC-CNS). The goals of this centre are focused on scientific excellence in computing science. It houses the MareNostrum supercomputer, one of the most advanced supercomputers in the world.
• Institute for Mathematical Science (Spanish acronym: ICMAT). This institute is focused on mathematical research of the highest quality, the stimulation of interdisciplinary research, fostering internationally-competitive pre- and post-doctoral training and acting as an intermediary between the mathematics community and the technological, industrial and financial sectors.
• Institute for Photonic Science (Spanish acronym: ICFO). A total of 250 researchers of 41 different nationalities work at this centre. It was the recipient of the largest scientific sponsorship donation to ever be made in Spain (16 million euros).
• Canary Island Institute for Astrophysics (Spanish acronym: IAC). It has two headquarters and two observatories in an environment of excellent astronomical quality. Its installations as a whole constitute the European Northern Observatory (ENO).

• Carlos III Spanish Centre for Oncology Research (Spanish acronym: CNIO). This centre is among the leading institutions at a global level in terms of oncology research and has become a global benchmark in the field.
• Institute for Biomedicine Research (Spanish acronym: IRB Barcelona). Its goal is to foster multidisciplinary research of excellence in a field that combines biology, chemistry and medicine, to foster collaboration between local entities and international research institutes and to encourage high-level training.
• Carlos III Spanish Centre for Cardiovascular Research (Spanish acronym: CNIC). This centre is a global benchmark in the field of cardiovascular science. Its three main objectives are basic research, translational medicine and training.

• Barcelona Graduate School of Economics. This is an inter-university research institute run by the UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) and the UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). It was set up in 2006 to promote border research and post-graduate education of excellence in economics.
Catalonia holds a prominent position as the autonomous region of Spain that produces the highest volume of research of excellence. 4 of the selected centres are located in Catalonia, 3 in Madrid and 1 in the Canary Islands.

The Severo Ochoa programme has recognised these centres and units of scientific excellence in Spain based on a process of transparent and demanding accreditation, supported by best international practices.
The candidate centres were all assessed by three selection committees made up of international scientists of recognised standing from 12 different countries and led by 3 Nobel prize-winners: Samuel Ting (CERN), in the field of Experimental Sciences and Engineering; Robert Huber (Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie), on the Life and Medicine Sciences panel; and Roger B. Myerson (University of Chicago) in the area of social Sciences and Humanities.
Samuel Ting defined the Severo Ochoa initiative as "excellent" and said that "it is only a matter of time" before another Spanish researcher is given a Nobel prize.
"We wanted to make it quite clear with these first 'Severo Ochoa' awards that we had set the bar very high", said Roger Myerson, adding that "there is much more excellence [in Spain] than in just these 8 centres. Recognising excellence is just one way of encouraging it".
After their meeting on Tuesday, the scientific committees in charge of assessing the candidates agreed to select these 8 centres. The centres themselves were notified of the decision on Wednesday. At this stage of the selection process, the committees assessed the research programmes and human resources at the centres, as well as their proposed plans to monitor and evaluate the results.

The 8 research institutions have been selected from among 22 finalist centres and units that were competing for one of the 10 highest distinctions of excellence that the Ministry of Science and Innovation hands out within the framework of the Severo Ochoa programme. In turn, these 22 institutions were previously chosen from among the 60 candidates considered suitable from the 75 initially presented at the outset.
Accreditation as a Severo Ochoa centre or unit of excellence will remain valid for a period of four years and comes with one million euros per year for each of the centres over the course of this period (4 million euros each in total). The accreditation will also enable these centres to strengthen their research capabilities, facilitate their access to other competitions, grant preferential access to large research installations, increase flexibility in terms of hiring staff (scientists and technologists) and provide scientific recognition that will give them greater visibility for obtaining sponsorship assistance, among other benefits.