2016 was a year of changes for our Institute. It was our 30th anniversary, and a year of restructuration and consolidation, since it was the first year with the Severo Ochoa (SO) Center of Excellence certificate, awarded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO). This award recognized the international leadership of our center and placed us in the list of the top research centers in Spain.

The SO excellence mention is the perfect catalytic project to promote the excellence in our center, and to make a step forward in the international reference status of the center, not only in the Materials Science area, but also in related fields. It is a collective action pointing to enhance our competitiveness, our international visibility, and the internal establishment of good practices.

Moreover, the SO mention drives access to other actions, such as MINECO and “La Caixa” fellowships, SO Network of Excellence, etc., allowing the yearly budget of the ICMAB to increase about 10 %, and to allow the recruitment of talented scientists to join the ICMAB team.

The general objectives of the FUNMAT SO project are:

• Achieving a high scientific and technological impact.
• Strengthening international ICMAB leadership in the functional materials area.
• Enhancing the fund raising capabilities of ICMAB.
• Enhancing the activities related to outreach and the exploitation of research outcomes.
• Improve the training and recruiting activities of ICMAB to attract the best talent.
• Implement a specific Gender Action Plan aimed to promote gender equality.