The BETA Technological Centre of the UVic-UCC celebrates 10 years expanding spaces and in the process of transformation to become a foundation

The BETA Technological Centre (Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental and Food Technology) of the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) celebrates 10 years as a benchmark in sustainability in the rural world. Founded in November 2014, in this decade the centre has stood out nationally and internationally for its research and its ability to transfer scientific knowledge to society. It has also established itself as a key player in areas such as the circular bioeconomy, applied ecology, sustainable nutrient management, industrial decarbonisation and innovation in agri-food systems.

From four to more than a hundred people

The growth that the centre has experienced in recent years is evidenced by indicators such as the number of employees -it has grown from four to more than a hundred-, a current budget of 6 million euros (thirty times what it had in 2014) or the participation, so far, in some sixty European projects, 45 of which are ongoing.

Sergio Ponsá, director of the BETA Technological Centre, considers that ‘the growth of the centre has been the consequence and the result of achieving the main objective, which has always been to have a positive impact at all levels’. For Albert Castells, its success has also been due to ‘the vision and leadership of the people at the head of the project, and the hard work and effort of a team with a strong commitment and sense of belonging’, as well as the fact of being integrated into ‘a university in the territory that, on the one hand, listens to its real needs and responds to them and, on the other, has always been committed to a project that has had great potential from day one’.

Since its beginnings, the aim of CT BETA has been to put research and innovation at the service of rural territories to help them become more sustainable and competitive. Moreover, it aims to be a useful actor in the field of integrating environmental, economic and social sustainability both for companies in various economic sectors – especially in the agri-food sector – and for public administration, academia and society in general.

Each year the BETA TC participates in numerous national and international research projects, a third of them coordinated by the centre itself. So far it has participated in 62 European projects -45 of which are ongoing-, and more than twenty national projects. In addition, the centre has so far collaborated with more than a hundred companies, most of them Catalan, either in the form of direct contracts or through their inclusion in international competitive project consortiums.

Set up as a foundation to continue growing

With a view to promoting the growth of CT BETA, from the end of 2021 UVic-UCC and the centre itself have established a roadmap with the Generalitat de Catalunya. So far, this roadmap has taken the form of basal funding for research at CT BETA, as a starting point for converting the centre into a foundation, an independent legal entity separate from Fundació Universitària Balmes, to which it currently belongs. This change is the previous and necessary step to be able to become part, later, of the Network of CERCA Centres of Catalonia, currently composed of 42 research centres.

‘CT BETA has the potential and more than meets the standards to become a SEARCH centre. This is our claim and it is the objective we will be working towards in the near future’, explains the president of the FUBalmes, Albert Castells. The Mayor of Vic also specifies that ‘the first step to achieve this is for BETA to become an independent foundation, which will continue to be totally linked to the University and, like the University, will also have the support of the Generalitat, which will form part of its board of trustees’.

With the new legal entity, Sergio Ponsá adds, ‘it will have more appropriate management tools, which will allow BETA to continue to increase the impact of its projects and to be a useful actor for Catalan society’. Likewise, becoming a CERCA centre ‘would mean increasing its impact, attracting and consolidating talent and, at the same time, continuing to maintain the link with the University, because it is the one that has taken us this far and must take us further’.

Josep Eladi Baños, chancellor of the UVic-UCC, stresses the decisive role that CT BETA has played in the growth of research and knowledge transfer for the University, which he considers ‘has become a spearhead’. And it has done so, he adds, ‘in very sensitive areas, such as sustainability and the environment’, which is why ‘one of the main beneficiaries has been the agri-food sector’. In this sense, the chancellor points out that BETA ‘has become a key element for sustainable rural development, a very important aspect considering the weight of this economic sector in the territory’.

Growth in equipment, infrastructures and projects

The increase in the scientific activity of CT BETA has been accompanied by a significant growth in its human team. Today, the centre has 110 professionals, including research staff, doctoral students, management teams and technicians. Approximately half come from Catalonia, while the rest come from other regions of Spain or abroad, representing a total of 15 nationalities. This diversity highlights the centre’s great capacity to attract and retain both local and international talent.

In terms of funding, this year the BETA TC has had a budget of 6 million euros, a much higher figure (thirty times more) than in 2014, when it was 200,000 euros. An important part of its income comes from transfer projects with companies, which have grown from 130,000 to 700,000 euros. In economic terms, it is also worth highlighting the centre’s fundraising for competitive projects, which has increased exponentially from €230,000 in 2014 to €8,000,000 this year.

Initially located in a 700 m² space within the Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering (FCTE) of the UVic-UCC, in Torre dels Frares on the Vic Campus, in July 2021 CT BETA moved to the old Can Baumann building. There it inaugurated new facilities of 1,260 m² distributed in two different areas, one for laboratories and one for offices.

Inauguration of new spaces to celebrate its birthday

Coinciding with its 10th anniversary and in order to respond to current and future expansion needs, CT BETA has once again expanded its facilities at Can Baumann, in a building annexed to the current one. This new space, with a total surface area of 1,740 m², is divided into two main areas: approximately 1,000 m² for offices and coworking areas for researchers and 700 m² for large-scale pilot plants. Meanwhile, the original building will continue to house the offices of some scientific units and laboratories, which will be able to expand their capacity.

These new spaces at CT BETA will be inaugurated next Thursday, 9 January, at 10 am, at Can Baumann (c/ Sant Jordi, 79, Vic), in an event that will also serve to celebrate the centre’s first decade.

In addition, at the beginning of 2025, CT BETA will open three new sites – in Granollers, Soses and Roses – through various agreements and strategic projects with actors in these territories ‘that will increase the impact of the activity and the presence of CT BETA and UVic-UCC throughout Catalonia,’ says Ponsá.