The Ikur 2030 Strategy has been created, with the aim of strengthening the scientific structure of the Basque Country, together with Adolfo Morais, Deputy Minister for Universities and Research, who presented the Ikur 2030 strategy on 27 May; This strategy will be implemented by the Department of Education in the field of excellence research. The Ikur 2030 Strategy has been created to strengthen the scientific structure of the Basque Country in order to achieve international positioning in specific niches. It is firmly committed to four strategic research areas for the coming years, and the Department of Education will invest 100 million euros in these areas. The areas mentioned are: Neurosciences, Quantum Technologies, Neurotronics and Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence.

The presentation of the Ikur 2030 Strategy was also attended by representatives of the 9 BERC research centers (Basic and Excellence Research Centers) under the Department of Education, which will play an important role in the Ikur 2030 Strategy.

"Jump"

In his presentation, Minister Bildarratz highlighted the high levels of development and excellent capabilities that the Basque Country has achieved in the field of research; This is thanks to the work and collaboration of the entire Basque University Ecosystem (universities, BERC centers, Ikerbasque, Euskampus). “We are a benchmark in many areas and have been able to obtain funding outside the Basque Country. In other words, we have strengthened and the Basque Country is an international benchmark. But we want to go further, ”he explained.

“Now, we want to focus more intensely on specific niches. We see ourselves able to make significant leaps in certain areas. In short, we want to contribute to our society and our production and business structure through the work they do every day in our BERC centers, through basic research. We want to achieve structural change in the Basque Country that will have an impact in the fields of science, technology, business and society, and to this end, promote emblematic long-term research initiatives. We are looking forward to 2030. We will concentrate our resources and efforts on a sustainable basis over time ”.

4 fields

The Symbol 2030 Strategy is firmly committed to four emblematic areas or niches, from now until 2030. It is a decision that is in line with the main scientific initiatives and lines of research at the international level. It is a global commitment to these areas, given their capacity to respond to global challenges, and the Basque Country has special capabilities in these areas.

Ikur's four strategic areas and some of their sectors or areas of application are:

• Neurobiosciences: with areas of application related to healthy aging or personalized medicine, among others.
• Quantum Technologies: Applied in aerospace or telecommunications technology, among others.
• Neutrionics (includes neutron and neutrino physics): various areas, such as the biomedical industry, energy storage, or the environment.
• Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence: such as the smart industry or the energy field.

Investment and impact

This commitment also requires large investments, both in infrastructure and in attracting researchers and participating in international projects. Therefore, the Department of Education will allocate an additional 100 million euros to the Department's budget over the next ten years. But the investment mobilized in the period 2021-2030 can be a total of 280 million euros, connecting with other projects and gaining the support of other actors, including private companies, other administrations or international actors.

The projected impact of the Symbol Strategy, which is aimed at 2030, is also significant:

• Hire another 400 researchers.
• More than 4,000 indexed publications.
• More than 30 patents in operation.
• Creating more than 20 companies.
• Turnover of more than 350 million euros.
• Creating about 3,200 jobs.

The role of BERC centers

The 9 BERC centers in the Basque Country (Basque Excellence Research Center), which report to the Department of Education, will play an active and decisive role in the Symbol Strategy. The strategy links each BERC center to one of the 4 areas identified in Ikur, depending on the scientific field in which the research work is carried out. But that’s an initial picture, and as the strategy develops, it can change, and involve BERC centers in other areas that aren’t now identified, as they create synergies.

BERC centers conduct basic research; At the Technological Maturity Level scale, it is at the base. Based on this research work carried out by BERC centers, the aim is to increase the incidence of its work on this scale, through scientific agents, until our companies benefit from the research developed by BERC centers (applied research, experimental development or innovation).

On the other hand, the Ikerbasque Basque Science Foundation will also play an important role in the Symbol Strategy: it will be responsible for attracting top-level scientists to be part of the strategy, and will also be responsible for managing the funds allocated to BERC centers. The Euskampus Foundation will also collaborate with the Department of Education and Ikerbasque in strategic planning and the monitoring and evaluation of Ikur.