Last Wednesday, the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, organised a meeting with the Associació de Científiques i Científics d'Excel-lència del Pla GenT (ACCENT) in order to share and evaluate the evolution, achievements and difficulties of the research staff belonging to the Valencian programme of attraction and consolidation of talent Plan GenT.

The meeting, held at the facilities of the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM), was attended by scientists from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC; CSIC-UV) Emma Torró -CIDEGENT CSIC researcher of excellence- and Carlos Escobar -Ramón y Cajal CSIC researcher-, due to their role as members of the ACCENT executive board. The other three attendees were the scientist from the University of Valencia (UV) Belén Franch and the researchers from the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol; UV) Jorge González and Gonzalo Abellán.

During the meeting, the minister was interested in the achievements and progress made by the beneficiaries of the Plan GenT programme and new ideas were put forward with a view to improving and promoting it. They also discussed the continuity of the programme and how the ACCENT association is working to ensure that all political forces support this plan of excellence, guaranteeing its future regardless of changes in the government of the Generalitat Valenciana.

Morant also used the meeting to share her vision of science in Spain and the progress made so far in terms of scientific management and policy. At the same time, the minister asked the attending research staff for their opinion on other recent programmes such as the aids for Research Consolidation or the "ATRAE Programme", both part of the State Programme to Develop, Attract and Retain Talent. The attendees also discussed the problem of stabilisation after the end of grants and projects in the universities of the Valencian Region and in the Public Research Organisms, such as CSIC.

As a way of closing, the minister congratulated, through the attendees, all the recipients of the GenT Plan for their research work and encouraged them to play an active role in the defence of research, both at regional and national level.

About ACCENT

The Associació de Científiques i Científics d'Excel-lència del Pla GenT (ACCENT) is a non-profit organisation whose aims are to promote the scientific development of the Valencian Community in general and, in particular, to promote the visibility and transfer of the research work of GenT research staff, as well as to provide them with assistance in bureaucratic matters.

This association brings together researchers who are currently developing or have been developing for more than one year a project funded by one of the different modalities of the GenT programme: CIDIGENT, CDEIGENT and SEJIGENT.