To future-proof themselves, scientists must have strength of character and a set of flexible personal skills that enable them to respond to unpredictable environments and multiple pressures: just having excellent technical skills is no longer enough to be an excellent scientist. The ability to work with others, listen, adapt and be tolerant of differences are skills that are learned through life experience, but they can be improved and enriched if we focus on them.

The PRBB Intervals programme has a dual purpose. Firstly, it provides learning opportunities that support personal and professional development, enabling all our staff to become more effective influencers, whatever their current or future role in society.

Secondly, it encourages relationship-building between people in all the PRBB centres, across disciplines and profiles.

Last year, the Intervals programme ran 36 courses involving a total of 450 places. Course attendees gave very positive feedback, with 90% of them rating the courses as excellent or very good.

The programme is organised into three thematic learning areas:

  • Self skills: courses that focus on developing personal skills such as thinking, creativity and personal mastery.
  • Interpersonal skills: courses that focus on the interrelationships between individuals, generally one-to-one, but also in small groups or teams.
  • System skills: courses that focus on developing the skills that enable an individual to interact effectively with large groups and the public, both in a scientific and non-scientific context, and to find their own path through the complex social system of science.


An environment for your events that inspires and stimulates

The PRBB has various rooms and spaces available for events. Event organisers can offer a privileged location, right on the Barcelona beach with views over the Mediterranean. The environment is characterised by an academic environment integrated into the international scientific community. Each year, around 300 scientific sessions and conferences are held at the research park.

Auditorium

The PRBB Auditorium is designed for scientific conferences. It is located high up, in the heart of the PRBB building and overlooking the sea. It has a separate access and holds up to 250 people. 

The auditorium is a unique space, with annexed areas that can accommodate coffee breaks, cocktail parties, dinners and poster sessions. It also features a wide range of audiovisual equipment controlled by experienced technicians who are available throughout an event.

Seminars

Four rooms for conferences, seminars, workshops and training sessions are available on the ground floor with independent access from the inner courtyard of the building. They have natural lighting and hold between 30 and 90 participants in a theatre-style layout. The seminar rooms are named after some of the most important scientists in history: Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Ramón y Cajal, and Rita Levi-Montalcini.

The hire also includes the opportunity to use part of the inner square for catering and poster sessions. The audiovisual equipment is user-controlled.

Other spaces

For events that do not require a formal, closed space, you can rent the building’s various terraces and inner square, as well as other areas.

Provided that an event does not interfere with the internal activity of the park's centres, these areas are also available to organisations and companies that wish to hold events, preferably in the scientific field. Requests from civic and neighbourhood associations for open events involving public participation will also be assessed.


Contact



The PRBB Consortium is a public entity (see the Transparency Portal) and is subject to the public procurement regime. By following the link below you can access the PRBB Consortium contractor profile on the public procurement services platform of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

This website publishes all the tenders processed by the PRBB Consortium, as well as the tender awards and formalisations of contracts, including minor contracts.

→ PRBB Contractor Profile


At the PRBB we want to provide an environment that celebrates diversity and helps all scientists, regardless of their gender, background or other circumstances, to develop their careers and conduct excellent research.

The PRBB's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which includes representatives from all six centres, is responsible for catalysing the development of inter-institutional initiatives that raise awareness and promote an environment of truly equal opportunities. Among other things, it has developed some "Recommendations for achieving gender balance at conferences" and some free resources aimed at increasing the visibility of women scientists and encouraging an interest in science in girls, boys and adolescents.

In addition, the PRBB has installed gender-neutral toilet facilities, a nursing room, and has made agreements with local nurseries for staff and visitor discounts. It also has an Anti-harassment and anti-discrimination protocol, which you can read in Spanish or Catalan.

Link:

→ http://gender.prbb.org
→ gender@prbb.org


We are proud ourselves to be a diverse community, and one that strives to help everyone to develop professionally, academically and personally, achieving a good work-life balance.

In collaboration with all the centres in the park, the PRBB seeks to promote a healthy working environment where the wellbeing of all staff, including their physical, mental and social health, is seen as a key element in achieving research excellence.

To do so, we present the following "Wellbeing strategy", which has been approved and is supported by the leadership and the health and safety departments of the PRBB and the centres it hosts.

It consists of activities and resources available to all staff (please note some resources are for all PRBB residents, while others are specific for staff of a particular centre):

  1. Training 
  2. Anti-harassment, psychological and medical support 
  3. Social activities 
Training

The PRBB offers courses on stress and time management, mindfulness, peer mentoring, emotional intelligence or how to build resilience, within its Intervals programme. Check them out! 

The individual centres also offer courses that promote wellbeing. Please check your centre’s website or contact your Training department or HR for further information. 

Anti-harassment, psychological and medical support 

All PRBB centres have anti-harassment protocols. Check here for your specific centre’s protocol: CRG, Hospital del Mar Research Institute, ISGlobal, MELIS-UPF, IBE (only for internal staff), EMBL BCN (only for internal staff), PRBB. They also offer periodic medical check-ups for their staff and some of them also include psychological support services for a reduced fee or at no cost. To know more please check the respective websites or contact the human resources service of your centre. 

The Generalitat de Catalunya offers a free app with an emotional health questionnaire and available tools and resources (in Catalan, Spanish and English). We also suggest you have a look at the Karolinska Institute Student Wellbeing Centre website, which also offers tests, apps and other resources (in English). 

If you are feeling unwell, please book an appointment with your GP through the CatSalut website. The nearest hospital for medical emergencies is Hospital del Mar (Passeig Marítim 25-29), the phone number is 93 248 30 00. More information here.  

Social activities

A series of social and sports activities are open to all residents, many of them stemming from ideas from the residents themselves. The PRBB supports these because they help create connections and synergies, and they bring together the PRBB’s diverse community and improve physical and mental wellbeing. See below for more information on each activity. 

As a PRBB resident, you can also get discounts at several sports clubs (Claror Marítim; Club Natació Barcelona). Also, thanks to the enviable location of the PRBB, there are many water sports available at the nearby Espai de Mar, such as Surf or Paddle surf, as well as excellent surroundings to go running.  

Check also what your centre offers! 

Beach volleyball

The PRBB Beach Volleyball Championship is the park’s biggest social event. Each year, more than 500 people in 90 teams take part in the tournament with games held every day over a four-month period (April to July).

→ https://bvprbb.org

Choir and Orchestra

The PRBB Orchestra was founded in March 2015 and has been growing and improving since then. There are three rehearsals each month, usually on Mondays from 1:30 pm to 3 pm. Borja Mascaró Vidal conducts, and the repertoire is a mix of classical and popular music, where the different parts are generally transcribed and adapted to the levels of the individual musicians.

Any resident can join the PRBB choir. You don’t need musical knowledge or experience, only the desire to sing! The choir is conducted by Oscar Salvador, and there is a weekly rehearsal, on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm, in one of the rooms off the inner square.

→ mailto:comunicacio@prbb.org

Yoga Sessions

“Stress-free Mornings with Yoga” is on the menu every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 am to 9 am. The Hatha Yoga classes are conducted in English by a certified teacher and are suitable for all levels, including beginners. Just wear comfortable clothes and bring a yoga mat. The yoga sessions are free and exclusive to residents.

→ mailto:comunicacio@prbb.org

#PRBB Live - Musical Lunch Breaks

A series of 35-40 minutes concerts to enjoy live music, where musical groups made up of at least one PRBB resident entertain at the interior square of the PRBB. The cycles are organized in spring and autumn. If you are a musician, get in touch!

→ mailto:comunicacio@prbb.org

Incubakers

In 2013, a group of PRBB researchers decided to do their bit to make the world a better place. The results are the eagerly awaited Incubators solidarity breakfasts, held each month in the building's inner courtyard.

One member of the group chooses a charity, calls his fellow Incubakers, makes a poster and organises a fantastic solidarity breakfast. When the bake sale is over, they transfer the money to the chosen NGO and that's it; sweet and simple.

→ https://www.instagram.com/theincubakers/
→ mailto:comunicacio@prbb.org


Prevention is everyone’s responsibility. It starts with you!

Prevention of Occupational Risks (POR)

The PRBB Inter-centre Commission for the Prevention of Occupational Risks (CIPRL-PRBB) comprising prevention specialists from all the centres, coordinates the prevention activity, carries out awareness-raising campaigns and provides information for park residents. The prevention objectives also encompass workers from external companies, collaborators and users, who must comply with the regulations that apply to all the PRBB centres.

If you have to carry out an activity at the PRBB, you must request information on preventing occupational risks and coordinating business activities, by contacting prl@prbb.org

The PRBB also has a Biosafety Committee that evaluates scientific projects involving the use of GMOs or biological agents, and a Self-Protection Plan.


The PRBB has a Self-Protection Plan (PAU) approved by Civil Protection. The PAU is a set of measures implemented in a certain building or facility, aimed at anticipating, preventing and controlling the risks to which it is exposed, giving an adequate response to emergencies and guaranteeing the integration of these actions into those of the public system.

In the event of an emergency in the building:

  • Protect yourself
  • Notify the control centre by calling 1020 or press the nearest alarm button.
  • Help potential victims.
  • Follow the instructions of the Emergency Teams.


→ General instructions in case of emergency (PDF)

→ Instructions in case of emergency – Auditorium (PDF)

→ Instructions in case of emergency – Animal Facility (PDF)


Committed to the environment 

Social sustainability and energy savings

The PRBB is a member of Barcelona + Sostenible, a network of more than 1,000 organisations committed to social, environmental and economic sustainability, which collectively build a city that is responsible to both the environment and people. 

The PRBB is committed to the energy efficiency and sustainability of the building, and carries out regular improvement works in the facilities, as well as awareness-raising campaigns that involve small gestures and habit changes that can achieve long-term benefits, without sacrificing top-level research.

Sustainability in research

The PRBB Consortium coordinates the PRBB Sustainability Board. This working group made up of representatives of the centres and research staff, aims to encourage and promote sustainability in research. It does so by proposing actions and processes for improvement, both regarding the scientific activity of the laboratories and the general management of the building.

Sustainability in research is a strategic objective of the centres and the PRBB itself. This working group therefore allows us to share everything we do and want to do in terms of sustainability and to promote new initiatives that can be applied jointly to all the centres and spaces in the building. The PRBB is also part of the SuRe network.

For more information: sostenibilitat@prbb.org

If you want to join PRBB Sustainability grassroot group, please contact prbbsustainability@gmail.com