The King and Queen of Spain presided over the 28th Rey Jaime I Awards ceremony
During the Rey Jaime I Awards ceremony presided over by the Spanish royal family, the president of the Valencia Foundation for Advanced Studies and vice-president of the Rey Jaime I Awards Foundation, Vicente Boluda, emphasized in his speech that “countries that provide, support and promote research, science and entrepreneurship will have greater levels of well-being, employment and wealth”.
This 28th edition was held on 24 november in the Lonja de la Seda (silk exchange) in Valencia. After a welcome ceremony for the royal family and authorities on the steps of the world heritage building, Vicente Boluda thanked “their Majesties for their presence, support and fondness for our land and for the awards”.
In his speech the vice-president of the Rey Jaime I Awards Foundation encouraged the business sector to support the foundation project, because by doing this “they will be helping Spain and its future,” he added.
The commemorative ceremony was closed by the King, whose speech centred on the fact that these awards “have become an unmissable event in Spanish science”. He emphasized the importance of research, innovation and entrepreneurship in “a country where there is ample talent”, as illustrated by the winners, “but we need all of this talent to achieve everything we aspire to and deserve”.
This year’s winners are Francisco Martínez Mojica, in Basic Research; Albert Marcet, in Economics; Elías Campo, in Medical Research; Miguel Bastos, in Environmental Protection; Hermenegildo García Gómez, in New Technology, and Alberto Gutiérrez, in Entrepreneurship. These are among the most generous prizes in the country, awarding €100,000 with a commitment to partial reinvestment in Spain.
