Five successful editions of the BIST Master in Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences
BIST celebrates the graduation of the fifth class of the MMRES and welcomes the 2022/2023 class students
In a ceremony that took place at La Pedrera Auditorium on September 12th, BIST celebrated the graduation of the 2021/2022 class of the Master of Multidisciplinary Research in Experimental Sciences (MMRES), the fifth promotion since the Master Program was launched in September 2017. The ceremony brought together 85 students and supervisors from all MMRES editions, including the 22 students of the 2022/2023 class who had just met for the first time at BIST premises that same morning.
Opening the ceremony, Prof. Joan Guinovart, Academic Director of the BIST Dolors Aleu Graduate Center, reminded the audience that the MMRES is a program with an important hands-on component, in which students spend most of the time developing research projects within the host research groups in the seven BIST Centres and MELIS-UPF. “This is a Master program to do research in an exceptionally vibrant atmosphere,” pointed out Prof. Guinovart.
Empowering students as young researchers
As Prof Robert Sewell, Head of Academic Affairs at ICFO and MMRES Co-director noted in the ceremony, 77% of former MMRES students enrolled in PhD Programs after graduating from the Master program. BIST Director of Programs and MMRES Co-coordinator Dr. Núria Bayó explained that “along the editions we are giving a more active role to students”. “You give presentations of scientific papers with invited speakers, present major and minor projects in front of your research groups, defend scientific posters…,” she reminded the students. “This is our approach to prepare the future leading scientists”, added Bayó.
The event was closed by BIST president Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell who identified the MMRES as a “talent farm” where young talent emerges systematically. Overall, it was a ceremony to look back and celebrate the 5-year MMRES trajectory, to thank all the people who have contributed to it through these editions, to recognize the professional and vital trajectories of the alumni and, to give a warm welcome to the new class!