Espriu has a large academic and research career, and has been elected by the Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry as a new director of State Research Agency. In this position, he is responsible for the strategic management of objectives and budgets. Moreover, Espriu oversees relations with international science and research funding agencies.

During his visit today at ICIQ headquarters, he has enhanced the potential of our research center not only for the quality of research lines carried out but also for our scientific dissemination activities.

Prof. Emilio Palomares, director at ICIQ, and Dr. Laia Pellejà, administrative and communication director, have accompanied him along the visit which would like to emphasize in ICIQ’s research and projects. At the end, Prof. Palomares has recognized the importance of this institutional visits to strength and reinforce our collaborations with the agency and other research centers.

About the AEI

The AEI manages most of the calls for grants under the State R&D&I Plan and is the entity responsible for promoting excellence in Spanish research. The creation of the Agency was a mandate of the Science, Technology and Innovation Act of 2011 and a historical demand of the scientific community. Finally, its creation was approved on November 27, 2015.

The Agency’s main objectives are the promotion of technical and scientific research in all areas of knowledge through the competitive allocation of public resources, the monitoring of funded actions and their impact, and advice on the planning of actions and initiatives of national R&D plans and policies. The Agency has its own legal personality and a growing budget of 825.7 million euros for 2021 and 1,358.1 million in the budgets presented for 2022, the highest figure in the history of this body.