Veterinary Science in Catalonia: 1996-2002

Authors

  • Maria Teresa Paramio Nieto

Abstract

Research in veterinary science in Catalonia can be considered a relatively recent activity since the main public entities dedicated to it were developed during the last few decades. The Faculty of Veterinary Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) was created in 1982; the specialization animal husbandry at the School of Agricultural Engineering of the University of Lleida (UdL), in 1983; and the Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA) in 1985. Nowadays, the field of veterinary science includes, besides animal medicine and health, topics more related to the economic importance of animals and the hygiene and quality of animal-derived products. This report classifies veterinary science according to its different thematic areas: Animal Health, Animal Anatomy, Animal Medicine and Surgery, Animal Production, Animal Nutrition and Bromatology, and Animal Physiology and Pharmacology. Most of these areas are dealt with in the departments of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the UAB. Given the economic importance of Animal Production in Catalonia, it has become the domain of the largest public entities (UAB, IRTA, and UdL). The Animal Health Research Center (CReSA) an autonomous institution of the UAB and the IRTA has operated since 2000. The methodology used in this report was mostly based on the analysis of data obtained from these institutions. Since the report takes into account a small number of both public institutions and people, the data obtained were thoroughly analyzed and classified. All research indicators have been sorted by topic and by the institutions involved. Finally, for each indicator, a global analysis of all areas and organizations is made and compared to the results obtained in the previous report, which comprised the years 19901995. The analyzed indicators, recommended by the Institute for Catalan Studies (IEC), are the following: a) The research system. In this section, references to public institutions, centers, departments, and units that carry out veterinary science research in Catalonia are made. b) Lines of research. The different subjects of research that are in the focus of the different areas and institutes are described. The subjects of research and the groups that the General Directorate of Research (DGR) considers as consolidated research groups have been specified. This section also describes research services created by universities and investigation centers to support the research demands of the public and private sectors. c) Human resources. Personnel dedicated to research are classified for every area and institution according to: staff investigator, hired investigator, technical staff, hired technical staff, and intern. The new figures for researchers in the Ramon y Cajal and the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) programs are specified for every subject. Based on an organizational chart that lists all the personnel comprising the different categories for 2002, we can conclude that: 35% are staff researchers, 17% are hired researchers, 27% technical staff, and 21%, interns. Compared to the period 19901995, there was no significant variation in the number of technicians or researchers, only an increase in the number of interns. d) Research funding. This has been classified in competitive projects or projects subject to scientific evaluation, and agreements or non-competitive projects. The funding for competitive projects has been classified according to the source of the program: European, Spanish, or the Government of Catalonia. For non-competitive projects, it is specified whether they were commissioned by the private sector or by public institutions. From the information presented in this section, we can conclude that, for all areas and institutions, the main source of funding is the private sector, indicating a strong projection of veterinary science research in the various productive sectors. For competitive projects, the most important funding are public. If we compare it with the period 19901995, we see that the financing for competitive projects in the previous period came to 1.4 million Euros, and that in the current period this sum adds up to 6.47 million Euros. Financing for agreements in the previous period was 1.63 million Euros and during the current period this sum increased to 13.11 million, 9 of which were provided by the private sector. e) Scientific output. This section exclusively considers research results published in scientific journals, books, reports, and theses. The results obtained regarding scientific transference and research services, and other results obtained through agreements have not been included, despite our awareness of their great importance. The development experienced by all areas and institutions indicates a growing interest in the dissemination of results through journals indexed at the ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) register rather than through other formats: 63.7% of the publications published during the period of study were articles that appeared in these journals a trend that continues to grow. Compared to the period 19901995 period, the number of articles in the Science Citation Index (SCI) increased from 265 to 800. When we compare the scientific output of the world, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands, the following conclusions can be drawn: Spain contributes 4.3% of worldwide output, and Catalonia represents 18.7% of the States total. During the previous period, these figures were 3.1% and 13.5%, respectively. The Netherlands and Denmark, respectively, publish 4.3 and 2.6 times more than Catalonia. To verify the quality of the publications, the number of citations received by published articles was analyzed. The conclusion is that the average number of citations of articles published in Catalonia is equal to the average of the world and Spain, but lower than the number of citations of articles published in the Netherlands and Denmark. In conclusion, veterinary science research in Catalonia has experienced a strong growth in funding, scientific output, and personnel training, despite the fact that the number of researchers and technicians has remained the same. Research teams have consolidated and have focused their efforts on those areas of research that are of greatest interest to the productive sector. This has resulted in more than half of research funding coming from agreements with the private sector. Compared to countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, scientific output and quality in Catalonia are significantly lower. If public financing for innovative scientific research projects increased, surely these differences would in turn decrease.

Published

2007-09-14

Issue

Section

Forum