This week the 2019 class of the BIST-UPF Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences (MMRES) successfully graduated and a new cohort of incoming students was welcomed as the third edition of the programme launches.
On September 12, 2019, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) organized this year’s MMRES ceremony at the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera to recognize and celebrate the 27 graduates of the MMRES class of 2019 and to welcome the incoming 23 students of the MMRES class of 2020.
The event kicked off with a welcome by Roderic Guigó and Robert Sewell (MMRES Co-Directors) and a keynote speech by Giuseppe Battaglia (Group Leader and ICREA Research Professor at IBEC). Professor Battaglia recently joined IBEC as leader of the Molecular Bionics Group and gave an inspirational talk about nanorobots, in which he emphasized the need for multidisciplinarity in cutting-edge research like that undertaken by the students, something the BIST-UPF MMRES programme strongly fosters. He also underlined the importance of learning the “languages” of many disciplines and training to understand the various approaches employed by mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc. to shared challenges.
The event continued with a recognition of and congratulations to the class of 2019 by MMRES Coordinators Núria Bayó (BIST) and Rubén Vicente (MELIS-UPF). Of the 27 graduating students, many have already been accepted into PhD positions at local and international institutes including Harvard Medical School in Boston, the UPF Department of Experimental and Health Sciences in Barcelona, the Curie Institute and the Saint Louis Hospital in Paris, the University of Birmingham, and the BIST centres IRB Barcelona, ICFO, ICN2, and IBEC, in Barcelona.
Iván Company, María Sanchiz, and Adam Skali, graduates of the 2019 MMRES programme, gave a presentation about their experience, along with tips and advice to help welcome the incoming students. The new cohort consists of another 23 extremely bright and motivated students coming from many countries including the USA, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Germany, and the UK, among others. The alumni also thanked Donna Ramirez, BIST Academic Programmes Coordinator, for her excellent work supporting them throughout the year.
The evening wrapped up with closing remarks by Gabby Silberman (BIST Director) and David Comas (DCEXS Director) and a cocktail hour where everyone had the opportunity to network and get to know each other better.
