First interdisciplinary meeting organised by predoctoral researchers
The Aula Magna of the Historic Building of the UB hosted yesterday, Thursday 7th February, the 1st Interdisciplinary Meeting of Predoctoral Researchers (JIPI), an initiative organised by PhD students of several faculties of the Barcelona Knowledge Campus (BKC). This first meeting, although it was opened to any member of the scientific community, was focused on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other related fields.
The Aula Magna of the Historic Building of the UB hosted yesterday, Thursday 7th February, the 1st Interdisciplinary Meeting of Predoctoral Researchers (JIPI), an initiative organised by PhD students of several faculties of the Barcelona Knowledge Campus (BKC). This first meeting, although it was opened to any member of the scientific community, was focused on Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other related fields.
The meeting was supported by the BKC and its doctoral schools, and by all the institutions present on the campus: the University of Barcelona (UB), the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The Catalan Society for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, affiliated with the Institute for Catalan Studies, also collaborated.
The personalities in charge of opening the meeting were: the rectorʼs delegate of the UB for the BKC, Manuel Barranco; the institutional coordinator of the CSIC in Catalonia, Lluís Calvo, and the dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics of the UPC, Jordi Quer. The closing event had the participation of the rector of the UB, Dídac Ramírez; the secretary for Universities of the Government of Catalonia, Antoni Castellà; the dean of the Faculty of Physics of the UB, Atilà Herms, and the dean of the Faculty of Mathematics of the UB, Carme Cascante.
A total of 150 people from Catalan research institutions attended the meeting. About seventy of them gave “flash talks” which can be watched on the channel UBTV. The meeting also included some sessions focus on entrepreneurship and networking, and two open debates.
Sessions focused on entrepreneurship and networking
With the aim of gathering researchers and different social agents of the country, the organizers of JIPI 2013 planned a session focused on entrepreneurship led by three scientists who currently hold managing positions in new biotechnological companies: Luis Ruis ávila, PhD in Molecular Biology, managing partner and CEO of Janus Developments; Clara Campàs Moya, PhD in Pharmacy and managing director of Advancell, and Judith Anido Folgueira, PhD in Biology, MBA from Duke University and CEO of Mosaic Biomedicals.
A session focused on speed networking also took place; all the researchers described their research in a five-minute presentation with the objective of developing possible future collaboration agreements.
Open debate
The professors of Physics and proponents of open science Jorge Wagensberg (UB) and David Jou (UAB) moderated, respectively, the debates entitled “Interdisciplinarietat en recerca” and “Ciència i fe”, both related to social matters and open to the general public.
More information and videos of the talks can be found on this link.