The Minister for Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, has participated in the Diario Información More Europe Forum, where she has announced that Alicante will host, for the first time, the ceremony for the National Research Awards, which will be presided over by the King and Queen of Spain. Historically, these Awards were held in Madrid until last year, when the delivery took place in Barcelona.
Morant has detailed that these prizes, endowed with 30,000 euro for each modality, are the highest recognition of the country for research and will be held in this city as an appreciation of the scientific-technical potential of the province and the Valencian Community.
The minister recalled that, within the National Research Awards, this year awards have been created for young people under 40 years of age in each of the 10 areas of knowledge. These new awards recognise researchers who have made significant achievements in the early stages of their careers. “We want to recognise that there is great young talent in our country,” Morant said.
Traditionally, the National Research Awards went only to people with a long and outstanding professional career of international relevance in their respective research areas and scientific fields.
These new awards aimed at young people also want to recognise the work of women in the field of science. For this reason, Morant has indicated that the new awards, which will have the same categories as the National Research Awards, will bear the name of distinguished scientists.
Knowledge Transfer Plan
During her speech, the minister also advanced that a Plan that includes a battery of measures to promote knowledge transfer and public-private collaboration for innovation will be approved at the next Council of Ministers.
Morant has indicated that the objective is to strengthen interactions and knowledge flows to achieve greater cohesion of the science and innovation ecosystem in Spain, as well as a greater alignment of objectives between the public and private sectors that allow more ambitious goals to be achieved.
“In an advanced society, the knowledge that is produced must be within the reach of citizens and companies, those in charge of converting it into innovative solutions that create progress and well-being”, Morant stated.
The initiatives contemplated in this plan will mobilise a public budget of approximately 1,2 billion euro contemplated in the General State Budget for 2023.
Tender for the design and manufacture of a small satellite launcher
Likewise, the minister has announced that her Ministry will publish in the coming weeks a tender for the design and manufacture of a launcher for small satellites worth 45 million euro through innovative public procurement.
In this sense, Morant has valued the commitment of the Government of Spain for the aerospace sector through the Strategic Project for Aerospace Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), which will mobilise more than 4,5 billion euro until 2025 with a wide distribution territorial.
Meeting with the Minister of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society
As part of her trip to Alicante, the minister also met with the Minister of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society of the Generalitat Valenciana, Josefina Bueno, at the Ministry of Universities.
Morant and Bueno have visited the Institute of Neurosciences of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), a centre with the ‘Severo Ochoa’ accreditation of excellence, dedicated to brain research in Spain.
The minister and the councillor also visited the Science Park of the University of Alicante, an ecosystem of business excellence connected with the main agents of innovation.
