Jacint Jordana Casajuana & Laura Chaqués Bonafont

The year 2023 has been a pivotal one for IBEI, marked by significant transformations and milestones. Our esteemed founding president, Narcís Serra, stepped down after more than twenty years of dedicated service. In recognition of his invaluable contributions, the IBEI Board appointed him as Honorary President. Following the proposal of the outgoing president, the Board elected Jacint Jordana, the then-director of IBEI, who was nearing the end of his term, to assume the presidency for a six-year period.

In parallel, an international search for a new director commenced in July, overseen by an independent selection committee tasked with recommending candidates to the Board. After a rigorous and competitive selection process, the Board approved the appointment of Laura Chaqués, professor at the University of Barcelona, as the new director. She assumed her role at the beginning of 2024, heralding a new era of leadership and innovation for IBEI.

In addition to these leadership changes, 2023 has seen several other noteworthy developments at IBEI. Firstly, the necessary amendments to IBEI's statutes were approved to complete our integration into CERCA, the network of research centers promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya. This integration is a significant milestone for IBEI, aligning us with a successful initiative that includes many of Catalonia's top research centres and guarantees adherence to internationally recognized scientific excellence.

Secondly, IBEI achieved institutional accreditation from the Council of Universities, following a successful evaluation by AQU, the Catalan university quality agency. This accreditation is a major accomplishment, affirming the high quality of our educational programmes and the robustness of our continuous improvement processes.