Nearly thirty renowned institutions join the Health University of Barcelona Campus to help it become an International Campus of Excellence
Some thirty Catalan entities have signed on to the Health University of Barcelona Campus (HUBc), which will compete in the 2010 call of the International Campus of Excellence program, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Innovation aimed at funding strategic, internationally prestigious projects in academia, science, business or innovation in which multiple institutions collaborate.
The forte of the HUBc, which is led by the University of Barcelona (UB), is its high degree of specialization in the health sector, which translates into potential for attracting talent. The HUBc is centered about a medical campus (Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu) and a health sciences campus (Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge and Barcelona Zona Innovació).
The HUBc is a strategic alliance representing a concerted effort to coordinate, stimulate and promote biomedicine, biotechnology and medical technology in order to improve public health and wellbeing and provide a sustainable driver for regional, economic and social transformation in Catalonia. It also offers enormous potential for internationalization and excellence. According to Dídac Ramírez, rector of UB and member of the Biocat board, this project’s fundamental value is “trust between the public and private sectors to work on a common project”.
A broad alliance
Institutions that have expressed their support for HUBc include the Catalan government’s Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise and Department of Health; Barcelona City Hall and Hospitalet de Llobregat City Hall; Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona; Biocat; the Biopol’H Consortium; the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS); the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL); the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC); the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC); the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO); Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge; Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Institut Català d’Oncologia (ICO); Institut de Diagnosi per la Imatge (IDI); Hospital Universitari Mútua de Terrassa; Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu; Parc Sanitari de Sant Joan de Déu; Fundació Sant Joan de Déu; the business agency Catalonia Bio; the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology Companies (Fenin); Ferrer Internacional; Associació Empresarial de l’Hospitalet i el Baix Llobregat (AEBALL); and Fòrum Empresarial del Llobregat.