Arnal took advantage of the visit to learn about the main research lines and projects in which the Institute participates.
The general director of Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Laia Arnal, visited last week the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) to know the details of its organization, scientific activity, research lines and transfer and dissemination activities.
The Institute’s director, Valentí Sallarès, as well as the ICM’s deputy director of Knowledge Transfer, Francesc Piferrer, welcomed the Arnal with an institutional presentation that reaffirmed the will of the ICM to continue doing science of excellence with social commitment. They then visited some of the Institute’s facilities, including the chemical analysis laboratory, the molecular biology laboratory, the electron microscope and the aquaria and experimental chambers area.
Arnal showed great interest in all the center’s activities, as well as in its organization, divided into the deputy directorates of Knowledge Transfer and Scientific Strategy, the deputy vice-directorates and the different committees and working groups. She also showed great interest in the Barcelona Mar de Ciència project, to which she offered her support.
"We are very thankful for Laia Arnal's visit, which contributes to make the different areas of the administration aware of what ICM and what it does, as well as our strong will to be firmly rooted in the territory", comments Valentí Sallarès.
For his part, Francesc Piferrer celebrates that the Department of Research and Universities "helps research centers to transfer to society the asset that represents the knowledge they generate".
The General Directorate of Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Generalitat aims to promote, plan and develop knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship policies, promote cross-cutting and transdisciplinary collaboration between key players in the Catalan transfer and innovation ecosystem and propose policies aimed at meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
For its part, the ICM’s Knowledge Transfer Committee is responsible for designing the Institute's knowledge transfer strategy, establishing objectives, priorities and ensuring its implementation. It also oversees decision-making in the center's institutional participation and promotes the transfer culture among the Institute's staff.