2023 was a year of very significant achievements for IDIBELL, marked by the culmination of several projects and initiatives that reinforce our position as a leading institution in healthcare research. A key milestone was the CERCA evaluation, which resulted in an increase in our assessment grade. This milestone recognizes the excellence of our research programs and it is a validation of all the work reflected in the former and current strategic plans. It is worth noting the Institute’s researchers and managers involvement in the whole re-accreditation process, which entails a significant workload.
The amount of effort invested in obtaining competitive funding for IDIBELL transversal projects was rewarded, among others, with the FORTALECE grant: IDIBELL received one of the 12 new grants by the Carlos III Health Institute, which is only addressed to accredited Health Research Institutes. The request revolves around the Smart Health Community project and is endowed with €2,500,000.
We have also left behind a particularly good year for fundraising at IDIBELL. One of the most relevant projects was the agreement with the supermarket company Bonpreu Esclat, which allocated the solidarity rounding of its customers to the research on new therapies for diabetes carried out by the Pancreas Regeneration group.
Last year was also relevant for the reformulation of our main scientific outreach event, Sinergia: for the first time, a good number of educational and recreational activities took place in the Bellvitge Park, which brought the IDIBELL, and all the Campus research, right into our neighborhood. And not only in a physical way, but also symbolically: several local entities, such as the Esplai de Bellvitge or the Sergio Manzano sports center, actively participated in the event by organizing activities promoting health literacy and the discovery of the neighborhood.
Finally, I want to highlight the Innovation and Health Biocluster, a project that is progressing at a good pace. The L’Hospitalet and Esplugues city councils, the Bellvitge University Hospital, IDIBELL, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and the University of Barcelona manifested their future agreement to promote and consolidate a strategic country project in favor of a new economy based on innovation and knowledge. The Biocluster will become a point of attraction for new biomedical companies that will be located around the Granvia Avenue.
Having achieved all these milestones, IDIBELL continues to work in line with our vision: to be a European reference in health sciences, rooted in our local environment while contributing to its growth. With solving health problems as the main aim of our research, we are committed to keep grounding our roots and consolidate and grow a health-literate community in our environment, always putting citizens at the center.
