09/03/2012

Six leaders of the scientific community debated on March 8 at CaixaForum of Barcelona about how to achieve that the excellence research survives to the crisis. Moderated by the journalist Josep Corbella, from La Vanguardia, the newspaper that organized the debate, counted with the participation of Joan Comella, director of Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Enric Banda, director of the science and environment of the Benefit society of 'La Caixa ', Jaume Bertranpetit, director of the Catalan Institution of Investigation and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Montserrat Vendrell, general manager of Biocat, Joan Guinovart, director of the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IRB) and Emilià Pola, Idibell's director. They all coincided that there won't be more resources, that it's necessary to continue forward in spite of the budget cuts and that to obtain it is necessary to involve private companies. The aim must be to stay in the first level and to compete with the best and for it to count with the best of our young researchers and the foreign talent that is necessary to continue attracting in spite of the bad exterior image of the country due to the crisis"We can't interrupt the research during one year for lack of financing because we will not return to recover it. If we don't have continuity it dies", assured Joan Comella.