30/06/2016
The Bioinformatics Barcelona Initiative
The Bioinformatics Barcelona Initiative
The recent presentation of its website offers an opportunity to present the new Bioinformatics Barcelona (BIB) initiative.
The region of Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona, is one of the most important bioregions in Europe. Among its 734 companies (42,000 workers, € 14.4 billion turnover) and 89 research organizations (5,500 researchers), many of them have an activity related to bioinformatics.
BIB was established to gather all the Catalan bioinformatics players to meet the need for generating synergies between biology and computer science, for a stronger union between these areas, and for the development of high-quality education and training programs in the creation of bioinformatics talent. BIB is supported by the government of Catalonia and “la Caixa” banking foundation.
Constituted in 2015, BIB currently gathers 33 partners related to the bioinformatics sector (9 companies, 5 health research centers, 8 research centers in other fields, 10 universities, the Barcelona Supercomputer) that develop their activities within the health, agrifood and technology sectors.
Regarding training, one of BIB's key strategic areas, two BIB-driven projects are already well in place and deserve to be mentioned:
The region of Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona, is one of the most important bioregions in Europe. Among its 734 companies (42,000 workers, € 14.4 billion turnover) and 89 research organizations (5,500 researchers), many of them have an activity related to bioinformatics.
BIB was established to gather all the Catalan bioinformatics players to meet the need for generating synergies between biology and computer science, for a stronger union between these areas, and for the development of high-quality education and training programs in the creation of bioinformatics talent. BIB is supported by the government of Catalonia and “la Caixa” banking foundation.
Constituted in 2015, BIB currently gathers 33 partners related to the bioinformatics sector (9 companies, 5 health research centers, 8 research centers in other fields, 10 universities, the Barcelona Supercomputer) that develop their activities within the health, agrifood and technology sectors.
Regarding training, one of BIB's key strategic areas, two BIB-driven projects are already well in place and deserve to be mentioned:
- Vocational and Training Education (VET) of computer technicians with bioinformatics skills: pioneering studies implemented since the 2015-16 academic year at the Institut Provençana and Gimbernat Formació.
- Interuniversity Bachelor's Degree in bioinformatics: this 3-year course of studies, taught entirely in English, will be jointly imparted from September 2016 by the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and the University of Barcelona (UB).
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