The First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Economy and Digital Transformation visits ICFO

ICFOnians are leading projects of strategic national importance in different areas and the motivation to learn about these projects was the basis for the 18th May visit of the 1^st VP of the Government of Spain and Minister of the Economy and Digital Transformation, Ms Nadia Calviño.

Accompanied by Mr Jaume Martorell, Commissioner for the Spanish PERTE Chip (Strategic Project for Microelectronics and Semiconductors within the Spanish Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience), the Vice President learned about some of ICFO’s key areas of expertise, including projects related to quantum secure communication and quantum integrated photonic chips, quantum computation and simulation and the European Quantum Flagship Program. She praised the institute’s capacity for talent attraction and its commitment to carry out research at the world frontier, as well as its very proactive attitude in impacting the national economy through technology transfer and the creation of spin-offs. “We are proud to have a research center of reference  like ICFO. It is essential to have an infrastructure with so much world-class talent”, commented Calviño after the visit.

Ms Calviño visited the laboratory that hosts QUÍONE, the quantum computer-simulator that is being build at ICFO under Prof Leticia Tarruell’s leadership. She also met with Dr Silvia Carrasco, Head of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer unit of the institute, to learn about ICFO’s Launchpad, and with Dr Carlos Abellán and with Ms Vanessa Díaz, CEOs of the companies QUSIDE and LUXQUANTA, respectively, as part of her interest in the economic impact and job creation based on research made at ICFO.

The visit will leave a long-lasting memory, as all personnel who had the chance to interact with Ms. Calviño were impressed by her knowledge of the topics being discussed and for her eagerness to support them throughout Spain.