ICREA

Research positions across Catalonia

ICREA (Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats) is a Catalan public institution funded entirely by the Government of Catalonia. It describes itself as a “wall-less institution” working with universities and research centers in Catalonia to place ICREA research professors within the region’s research system.

Its main activity is to offer permanent, tenured research positions to researchers from around the world so they can work in Catalonia. Over the years, these positions have become an international benchmark for academic excellence.

Host institution network

ICREA works with a network of host institutions in Catalonia:

• 9 universities
• 28 CERCA centers
• 8 CSIC centers
• 3 other research centers

Research community and new appointments

The ICREA community includes research professors across all fields of knowledge. New researchers join each year through the ICREA call for applications. Recent appointments include Andreas Crivellin (Theoretical Physics, UAB) and Waldo Nogueira (Life and Medical Sciences, IR-Sant Pau), both starting May 1, 2026.

Publications and research outreach

ICREA publishes annual reports summarizing its work and measuring not only scientific output but also its researchers’ broader impact, including new teams and research areas, the growth of existing fields, doctoral thesis mentoring, and teaching at all academic levels. The 2025 report is available.

ICREA also runs ICREA't, a portal sharing research by ICREA professors, and highlights discoveries in engineering, life and medical sciences, experimental sciences, and mathematics.

Recognition

ICREA researchers have received awards including the 2026 Spanish National Research Awards (Daniel Maspoch, ICN2; Katherine Villa, ICIQ); the 2026 Banco Sabadell Foundation Awards (Marc Güell, UPF); the 2025 Catalan National Research Awards (Luis Serrano Pubul, CRG; Katherine Villa, ICIQ); and 2025 ERC Advanced Grants (Eduard Batlle, IRB Barcelona; Pilar Prieto, UPF; Luis Serrano, CRG).

Online presence

ICREA is on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).