IEEC | The institution
The institution
The IEEC is the result of more than twenty-five years of high quality research work, in collaboration with prestigious international institutions. The Institute was founded in February 1996 as a private non-profit foundation, with the aim of promoting R&D in the space field in Catalonia.
The IEEC belongs to the public sector of the Government of Catalonia and is, at the same time, a CERCA centre (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya). It is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the University of Barcelona (UB), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya • BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC).
The Institute is made up of four Research Units, which constitute the core of the R&D activity. These are:
Each of these units was created and is governed by the rules of one of the academic institutions that are members of the Board of Trustees. Agreements between the IEEC and the academic institutions of the Board of Trustees allow for the exchange of staff and funding. Scientists and technicians of the Research Units can act both as members of their institutions and as members of the IEEC, subject to approval of their affiliation.
The IEEC has a Director, appointed by the Board of Trustees, assisted by a Management Team. The organisation of each Research Unit is independent and the four directors are members of the Board of Directors, according to a confederated structure. In addition, the Board of Trustees appoints an external Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Its role is to assess the quality of the Institute’s scientific and technical output, as well as to advise on the Institute’s strategic planning and overall organisation.
The overall mission of the IEEC is to:
Promote astronomical and space research.
Become an internationally recognised centre for attracting talent and fostering collaborations, both locally and globally
Be an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation, and technology transfer in its field.
Raise awareness in society through the communication of scientific culture.
The IEEC also manages the activity of promoting the NewSpace sector in Catalonia and the development of satellite policy
The IEEC also manages the activity of promoting the NewSpace sector in Catalonia and the development of satellite policy. Among other things, the Institute acts as a reference entity for national and international public and private agents in all matters related to the development of the space sector. In addition, the IEEC represents Catalonia in space-related programmes in Spain and in the European Union, in coordination with the relevant departments of the Generalitat’s Administration and without detriment to their competences.
On the other hand, it is also part of its objective to promote the establishment of international collaborations on issues related to the space sector and to strategically coordinate the various infrastructures related to the NewSpace sector, as well as to create new ones if necessary. The IEEC supports research and development programmes linked to the space sector, fostering research, innovation, and the convergence of digital technologies with the NewSpace, while promoting and generating a competitive ecosystem to help the sector grow.
Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona
The Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) is a multidisciplinary centre devoted to fundamental research in the fields of cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics, as well as to the technological applications of cosmos sciences in general.
The ICCUB has twice been distinguished as a Unidad de Excelencia MarÃa de Maeztu by the State Research Agency.
The ICCUB researchers carry out a large number of outreach activities, which are collected in the websites Serviastro and ServipartÃcules. All the contents are available in English, Catalan, and Spanish.
The ICCUB articulates the UB’s contribution to the IEEC; the ICCUB research staff working in astrophysics, cosmology, and transversal technological lines form part of the IEEC.
Centre for Space Studies and Research
The Centre for Space Studies and Research (CERES) is a study and research centre without walls at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), whose main purpose is to contribute to space research and the development of technologies to support space missions and programmes.
The CERES constitutes a framework that facilitates collaboration between the UAB scientists and engineers who carry out basic or applied scientific research in the field of technology applied to space. Its competences include the promotion, organisation and development of space-related research at the UAB, together with the training and promotion of researchers in this field.
The CERES is responsible for the articulation of the UAB contribution to the IEEC.
Research Group in Space Sciences and Technologies
The Research Group in Space Sciences and Technologies (CTE) is a multidisciplinary group of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) that coordinates the researchers of this university working in the fields of aeronautics and space.
The main research areas in which the CTE is working are the development of numerical and analytical techniques applied to celestial mechanics and astrodynamics, the applications of passive remote sensing techniques for Earth Observation, the development of nanosatellites and scientific instrumentation for large missions, as well as the study of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis.
The CTE articulates the participation of the UPC in the IEEC.
Institute of Space Sciences
The Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) is a centre of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) dedicated to research in astrophysics, with several scientific research areas and an advanced engineering unit.
The ICE focuses its research on topics ranging from gravitational waves astronomy to high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, the Earth Observation, the solar system and other planets, among others.
It has been distinguished as a Unidad de Excelencia MarÃa de Maeztu by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINECO), placing it among the most important research centres in the country.
The ICE articulates the CSIC’s participation in the IEEC.