IHCantabria’s Annual Report reflects a renewed commitment to excellence and sustainability through integrated water cycle management
From left to right: Ángel Pazos, Rector of the Universidad de Cantabria (UC); Eduardo Arasti Barca, President of the Environmental Hydraulics Institute Foundation of Cantabria (FIHAC) and Minister of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Commerce of the Government of Cantabria, and Raúl Medina, Managing Director of IHCantabria
The Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the University of Cantabria (IHCantabria) has hosted this morning, in its auditorium, the presentation of its Annual Report 2023. An event that was co-chaired by Eduardo Arasti Barca -president of the Environmental Hydraulics Institute Foundation of Cantabria (FIHAC) and Minister of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Commerce of the Government of Cantabria – and by Ángel Pazos Carro -rector of the Universidad de Cantabria (UC)-, in addition to the intervention of Raúl Medina Santamaría as managing director of IHCantabria and vice-president of FIHAC.
In its content, the Annual Report The report includes the numerous activities, collaborations, strategic alliances and projects developed in 2023, which “have strengthened the position of IHCantabria as a national and international benchmark in applied research in relation to the integrated management of the water cycle,” according to Raúl Medina, general director of this institute. These include 10 million euros raised for research, 120 international projects carried out in 22 different countries, and a research staff of over 200 people.
“The activity of the Hydraulics Institute is an example of collaboration between the University and the Government of Cantabria. Its activity is a fundamental protagonist, year after year, of the UC’s trajectory. IHCantabria is one of the fundamental tools for research and innovation: the figures for publications, fundraising and projects obtained place it at the forefront,” said Ángel Pazos, rector of the University of Cantabria, who highlights this institute as one of the best ambassadors of Cantabria in the world.
As host of the event and managing director of IHCantabria, Raúl Medina explained the main milestones, achievements and progress reported by this institute in 2023. “At IHCantabria we have a firm commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and we aspire that our work contributes to achieving a more just, inclusive, responsible and resilient society.”
As president of FIHAC, Councilor Eduardo Arasti Barca acknowledged the great contribution offered by IHCantabria at the regional level. In this sense, he explained that this institute has been key in the transformation of Cantabria towards the knowledge economy, because it has promoted research excellence, professional training and technology transfer. The contribution of this institute is reflected in its support for public-private collaboration initiatives and the internationalization of this region, in the scientific and technological field, under the internationalization strategy of the Government of Cantabria.
The rector of the UC, Ángel Pazos, also emphasized that the activities carried out by IHCantabria contribute to the generation of employment and the international projection of Cantabria. “In fact, IHCantabria is one of Cantabria’s ambassadors in the world. The data in the Report that we present reflect well this role and the strength of the trajectory of this institute,” said the UC Rector.
In IHCantabria “we continue working to be a reference center in the generation of multidisciplinary and innovative solutions, in order to address the complexity of the problems associated with water and to ensure its resilience,” said Raúl Medina.
Highlights of achievements and progress in 2023
From the contents of this Annual Report and the speech of IHCantabria’s CEO, it is clear that, in 2023, “IHCantabria reaffirmed its commitment to excellence and sustainability, while generating value, wealth and employment in Cantabria”. In addition to having developed more than 120 projects in 22 countries, this institute obtained 4 individual and collective awards in 2023, and its research staff published more than 50 articles in indexed scientific journals, including some of worldwide prestige, such as Nature, Nature Climate Change and Nature Communications.
Another important milestone was the growth of its staff, which amounts to more than 200 researchers and technologists, who constitute the “main asset of IHCantabria”, as stated in the 2023 Annual Report of this institute. More than 30% of its staff has a doctorate degree and more than 45% are women. The institute’s capacity for self-sustainability was also consolidated, by attracting more than 10 million euros in innovative transfer and research projects, “which shows that IHCantabria is not only an exceptional research center, but also a crucial player in the regional economy,” according to the publication.
IHCantabria is a mixed research institute, fruit of the collaboration between the University of Cantabria and the Government of Cantabria represented through the Fundación Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de Cantabria.
Created on March 22, 2007 (World Water Day) with the union of two research groups of the School of Civil Engineering of the University of Cantabria, which had been carrying out an intense scientific-technical activity on issues related to inland and coastal water engineering.
The full contents of the 2023 Annual Report can be accessed through the following link: https://annualreport2023.ihcantabria.com/.