Barcelona Funding at the Frontier: hosted by ARIA, Nucleate Spain, and ATG SynBio Spain
We're gathering Barcelona's leading scientists, engineers, founders, and technical leaders pursuing research at the edge of what is possible.
Join us for an evening exploring how ambitious science gets funded, and how exceptional technical leaders can shape entirely new research directions.
We'll begin with a short introduction to ARIA, followed by lightning talks from researchers and founders working on ambitious technical problems, before continuing the conversation over food and drinks.
What is ARIA?
The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is the UK's high-risk, high-reward R&D funding agency, created to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs by supporting research that is too ambitious, speculative, or interdisciplinary to pursue elsewhere.
ARIA operates through Programme Directors: exceptional scientific and technical leaders who spot overlooked opportunities, define bold technical visions, and bring together the people and projects needed to pursue them.
ARIA is now recruiting its third cohort of Programme Directors for a May 2027 start.
Who should attend?
This event is intended for deeply technical people who:
Have experience leading ambitious, outcome-driven scientific or technical work
Enjoy uncovering non-obvious approaches to difficult problems
Care about shaping the future of science and technology
May be interested in becoming a future ARIA Programme Director or applying for ARIA's funding
Schedule
16:00-16:30. Arrival, food & drinks
16:30-16:35. Welcome from Nucleate Spain
16:35-16:40. Introduction from ATG SynBio Spain
16:40-17:00. What is ARIA? Programme Directors and funding opportunities
17:05-17:30. Lightning talks from researchers and founders
17:30-19:00. Food, drinks & networking
Speakers
Lightning talks include scientific and technical leaders working on ambitious scientific and engineering challenges in the Barcelona ecosystem.
Brian Wang (ARIA Programme Director leading the Sustained Viral Resilience programme)
All speakers to be announced soon.