Headed by the Minister of Education Jokin Bildarratz and the president of Ikerbasque, recognitions were given to three women working in research in the Basque Autonomous Community on September 28, namely Jasone Cenoz, Amanda Sierra and Marta Olazabali. The event was attended by Fernando Cossío, Scientific Director of Ikerbasque, Adolfo Morais, Deputy Minister of University and Research, Eva Ferreira, Rector of EHU and Vicente Atxa, Rector of Mondragon University, as well as representatives of universities, research centers and technological centers in the Basque Country. A group of high school students from the Botikazar Institute of Bilbao, who came to the event on their own, were also there.

This is the fourth edition of the awards organized by the Department of Education of the Basque Government and Ikerbasque to recognize the work of female researchers. It is not an award in itself, but a way to display the women researchers of the Basque Country and their work, so that they can be models and inspiration for the new generation of researchers.

The selection of women researchers was undertaken by an Evaluation Committee and unanimously decided the researchers who would be awarded in the 2022 edition in three categories of their research works, that is, complete scientific career, leadership in a research field and outstanding contribution of a young researcher.

These are the three researchers:

• Advanced, recognition of the entire research career:
  • Jasone Cenoz, professor of the UPV/EHU Department of Educational Research and Diagnostic Methods.
• Consolidator, recognition of its research leadership:
  • Amanda Sierra, Research Professor at Ikerbasque, Achucarro - Basque Center for Neurosciences.
• Starting, recognition of the outstanding contribution of a young researcher:
  • Marta Olazabal, Ikerbasque's Research Associate at the BC3 Basque Center for Climate Change.

In order to choose the recognized female researchers, Ikerbasque analyzed data on the production and scientific contributions of female researchers in the Basque Country. The final selection was made by the Substitute Committee of the Ikerbasque Board of Trustees, validated by the Foundation's Scientific Committee. The committee emphasized the high scientific level of researchers in the three categories, which reveals, according to the committee, the great potential of science carried out by female researchers in the Basque Country.