The BETA Technological Center at UVic-UCC celebrates its tenth anniversary expanding its facilities and progressing towards becoming a foundation

The BETA Technological Center (Biodiversity, Ecology and Environmental and Food Technology) at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) is celebrating its tenth anniversary as a leader in sustainability in the rural world. The centre was founded in November 2014, and over the past decade, it has become a Spanish and international leader due to its research and its ability to transfer scientific knowledge to society. It has also established itself as a key player in areas including circular bioeconomy, applied ecology, sustainable nutrient management, industrial decarbonisation and innovation in agri-food systems.  

A press conference was held on Thursday morning to take stock of the CT BETA's ten-year history, and to set out the challenges that the technology centre faces in the future, with the president of the Balmes University Foundation and mayor of Vic, Albert Castells; the rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, and the director of the BETA Technology Center, Sergio Ponsá. The general manager of the Balmes University Foundation, Jordi Baiget, also attended.  

From four to over a hundred people 

The growth that the centre has experienced in recent years is apparent in indicators including the number of workers, which has increased from four to over a hundred, its current budget of 6 million Euros (thirty times the budget in 2014), and its participation in around sixty European projects to date, 45 of which are ongoing.  

Sergio Ponsá, director of the BETA Technology Center, believes that "the centre's growth has been the consequence and the result of achieving its main objective, which has always been to have a positive impact at all levels." According to Albert Castells, another factor contributing to its success has been "the vision and leadership of the people who lead the project, and the hard work and effort of a team that has a strong commitment and sense of belonging," as well as being part of "a university in the region that first, listens to its real needs and responds to them, and second, has always been committed to a project that has had vast potential from day one."  

The objective of the BETA Technological Center since its inception has been to place research and innovation at the service of rural regions in order to help them become more sustainable and competitive. It also seeks to play a useful role in integrating environmental, economic and social sustainability, both for companies in various economic sectors, and the agri-food sector in particular, and for government bodies, the academic world and society in general. 

The BETA Technological Center is involved in numerous Spanish and international research projects every year, and a third of these are coordinated by the centre itself. It has participated in 62 European projects to date, 45 of which are ongoing, as well as more than twenty projects in Spain. To date, the centre has also worked with more than a hundred companies, most of which are Catalan, either in the form of a direct contract or by including them in consortia for international competitive projects.  

Becoming a foundation in order to continue growing

UVic-UCC and the BETA Technological Center have had a roadmap focused on promoting the centre's growth in place with the Government of Catalonia since late 2021. To date, this roadmap has taken the form of basic funding for research at the BETA Technological Center as a starting point for turning the centre into a foundation - an independent legal entity separate from the Balmes University Foundation, to which the centre currently belongs. This change is the prerequisite for subsequently being able to join Catalonia's CERCA Network of Research Centres, which currently has 42 members.  

"The BETA Technological Center has the potential and more than meets the standards to become a CERCA centre. That is our target, and it is the objective which we will be working towards in the near future," explains the president of the Balmes University Foundation, Albert Castells. The mayor of Vic also points out that "the first step to achieve this is for the BETA to become an independent foundation, which will continue to be fully linked to the University, and like the University, it will also have the support of the Government of Catalonia, which will be a member of its board of trustees." 

With its own new legal status, adds Sergio Ponsá, "it will be able to have more appropriate tools for administration, which will continue to enhance the impact of the centre's projects, and enable the BETA to play a useful role in Catalan society." At the same time, becoming a CERCA centre "would mean increasing its impact, attracting and consolidating talent, and simultaneously retaining its ties with the University, because it is the institution which has brought us this far, and which will be taking us further."  

Josep Eladi Baños, rector of UVic-UCC, stresses the decisive role that the BETA Technological Center has played in the growth of research and knowledge transfer at the University, where he believes "it has become the spearhead." And it has done so "in very sensitive areas, such as sustainability and the environment," so that "one of the main beneficiaries has been the agri-food sector," he adds. The rector points out that the BETA "has become a key factor in sustainable rural development, which is a very important aspect taking into account the importance of this economic sector in the region."  

Growth in its team, infrastructure and projects 

The increase in the BETA Technological Center's scientific work has been accompanied by a significant increase in the people working there. Today, 110 professionals work at the centre, including research staff, doctoral students, administrative teams and technicians. Approximately half come from Catalonia, while the remainder come from elsewhere in Spain and from other countries, with a total of 15 nationalities. This diversity highlights the centre's considerable ability to attract and retain both local and international talent.  

In terms of funding, this year the BETA Technological Center has had a budget of 6 million Euros, a much higher figure (thirty times more) than in 2014, when it was 200,000 Euros. A significant part of its income comes from transfer projects with companies, which have grown from 130,000 Euros to 700,000 Euros. In the financial sphere, fundraising for the centre's competitive projects has increased exponentially from 230,000 Euros in 2014 to 8,000,000 Euros this year. 

While it was initially located in a 700 m² space in UVic-UCC's Faculty of Sciences, Technology and Engineering, in the Torre dels Frares building on the Vic Campus, the BETA Technological Center moved to the old Can Baumann building in July 2021. It has inaugurated 1,260 m² of new facilities there in two separate areas - one for laboratories and one for offices.  

Inauguration of new facilities to celebrate the anniversary 

To mark its tenth anniversary and in response to its current and future needs related to expansion, the BETA Technological Center has once again expanded its facilities at Can Baumann, in a building adjacent to the current one. This new space, covering a total area of 1,740 m², is divided into two main areas: approximately 1,000 m² given over to offices and coworking areas for researchers, and 700 m² allocated to hosting large-scale pilot plants. Meanwhile, the original building will continue to house the offices of some scientific units and the laboratories, which will be able to expand their capacity. 

These new BETA Technological Center spaces will be inaugurated next Thursday, January 9, at 10 am, at the Can Baumann building (c. Sant Jordi, 79, Vic), in an event that will also be a celebration of the centre's first decade.  

In addition, the BETA Technological Center will be opening another three new facilities, in Granollers, Soses and Roses, through different agreements and strategic projects with actors in those regions "which will enable us to increase the impact of the work and presence of the BETA Technological Center and UVic-UCC all over Catalonia," says Ponsá.