- The government delegate in Cantabria has participated in the act of commemoration of the XXX anniversary of the Institute of Physics of Cantabria
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has listed for 786,500 euros (VAT included) a service contract to draft the feasibility study to improve the railway connection between Bilbao and Santander, as published today in the Public Sector Contracting Platform.
The government delegate in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, has claimed science and research to “build the future with rigour and commitment” and, therefore, investing in it is “believing in the future before it exists”.
This has been praised by the government delegate on Wednesday in the commemoration of the XXX anniversary of the Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA), a joint body of the Higher Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) and the University of Cantabria (UC).
Casares has celebrated these three decades of the IFCA in which it has become “an essential part of the scientific, academic and social fabric of the community and the country” and which has positioned itself “at the forefront of research” in the fields of physics, astrophysics and associated technologies.
For this reason, he has recognized the work of all the scientists and researchers who have gone through the IFCA in these 30 years because they are the ones who make “the IFCA grow and advance” thanks to “your talent, capacity, work and ideas”. “Thanks to each of the 140 people who are the family of the IFCA and who are one of the main assets of science in Cantabria and Spain,” he added.
For the representative of the State, the commemoration of this anniversary is a “recognition of the collective work, the commitment sustained over time and the commitment to knowledge as an engine of progress.”
And, among all the men and women who have given “the best of themselves” since the IFCA, Casares reminded the former director Teresa Rodrigo who “will be forever in the memory of Cantabria and the UC” but also of the international scientific community as he led one of the teams that collaborated in the discovery of the Higgs Boson.
In the person of Teresa Rodrigo, the government delegate has claimed that the IFCA is also “stories of talent at the service of the community, society and science. “It is a state-of-the-art research center but also an example of how science can and should be connected with society,” he said.
All this has been achieved, according to Casares, to the “shared work” in this Institute of the University of Cantabria and the CSIC, dependent on the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain.
“An exemplary and strategic alliance between the State Administration and the public university that demonstrates that institutional cooperation not only adds, but multiplies capacities, talent and results,” insisted the government delegate, who reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Spain to science, public research and IFCA.
And, he said, “investment in knowledge is never an expense, it is always a strategic investment in the future, competitiveness, welfare and social cohesion, and we are demonstrating this in the Government of Spain that has invested more in science in these 50 years of democracy.”
Thus, it has indicated that investment in Spain in R&D&I increased in 2024 by 6.9% to reach the record of 23.931 million euros, a growth of 60% since 2018. “This is very important because the challenges ahead, from the digital to the ecological transition to the big global questions and uncertainties, require more science, more cooperation and more talent,” he said.
The event, held in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Sciences, was also attended by the Vice President of Organization and Institutional Relations of the CSIC, Carlos Closa; the Councilor for Universities, Sergio Silva; and the Rector of the UC, Conchi López.