Powering talent in micro and nanotechnologies

The Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) hosted the talent attraction event “Open Science, Open Careers” on September 17th, an initiative designed to showcase the opportunities that micro and nanotechnologies offer for scientific careers as well as to open the institute’s professional opportunities to students with strong scientific potential.

The event brought together undergraduate and master's students from universities of the Catalan ecosystem, offering them a first-hand look at the research environment, technological capabilities, and career pathways available at IMB-CNM. 

The day began with a welcome session highlighting the role of IMB-CNM and its contributions to key areas such as health, energy, environment, and quantum technologies; made by Luis Fonseca, IMB-CNM Director.

There was a round table moderated by Raquel Villero Pi, Talent Attraction Manager, with IMB-CNM researchers at different stages of their career. Including Marc Aceituno, Ángela Henao, Leo Salgado, and Carla Riera Llobet, representing PhDs; Carlo Pepe, as postdoctoral researcher; and Iñigo Martín, as a senior researcher. They all shared their personal career journeys, emphasizing the value of interdisciplinary training, international collaboration, and curiosity-driven research. The open format encouraged dialogue, allowing students to ask questions about research, internships, and doctoral opportunities.

Students and researchers also took part in a Speed Networking session, to learn more about the research at IMB-CNM and the specific opportunities available within the different research groups. This activity was a great opportunity to identify the match between interests and opportunities, both for students and the IMB-CNM researchers and was considered one of the highlights of the event. The researchers involved were: Stella Vallejos, Esteve Farrès, Jordi Sacristan, Josep Maria Margarit, Carla Riera Llobet, Antoni Baldi, Cristian Ferreyra, Ferran Pujol, Llibertat Abad, Iñigo Martín, Carme Martínez, Miquel Redon, Diran Bajwa, and Joaquín Faneca.

"My favourite moment was when we had the opportunity to speak with each researcher individually. They were very excited, and gave me tips and useful information about which group could fit me the best," said one of the students.

Attendees then toured the institute’s Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room with David Quirion, Head of the facility, and Llibertat Abad, researcher, gaining insight into real-world applications of micro and nanosystems.

During the event, students took part in a “Discovery Game” where they were asked to sum up their experience in a single word. Their responses included: Fascinating, Learning, Great, Exciting, Interesting, Insightful, Eye-opening, Amazing, Awesome, Discovery.

Fostering talent

This initiative is part of the talent attraction strategy that the IMB-CNM has launched this year and reflects IMB-CNM's ongoing commitment to attract young talent with an inclusive and educational approach, reinforcing its role as a reference center for research and innovation in microelectronics. After this event, the contact with the students continues so they can develop their internships, degree, and master’s final thesis.

By connecting with young talent, the institute continues to build a vibrant scientific community ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

Some of the students’ highlights included visiting the clean room, having the chance to speak directly with researchers, and receiving valuable career tips for pursuing science. Here are some of their quotes:

• [The best thing was] Having the opportunity to see and learn about the clean room.
• I liked to visit the clean room and how it looks to work inside, as well as the systems that allows the clean room to function properly. My favourite moment of the day was the "Speed Networking" because it helped me to focus on choosing one area of research I would like to join.
• Visiting a clean room for the first time!
• Everything! But If I had to take a single moment, I would say when we walked through the corridor with the windows facing the clean room.
• The opportunity to speak one-on-one with researchers at all possible steps of the R&D ladder, from early doctorate students to well-established research staff. This allowed us to take advice from all of them on how they were implementing their experiments and which role they had on their teams. We could also learn firsthand about the options students have to study and work at the IMB-CNM.
• My favourite moment of the day was when we had the opportunity to speak to each researcher individually. They were very excited, and even if my interests did not align with their research team, they still gave me tips and useful information about which group could fit me the most.
• What I liked most was seeing how large and meticulously designed the space is, especially how the air is carefully transformed and filtered for each room to maintain the highest quality standards. The different colors of the rooms helped distinguish their functions. A memorable anecdote was when firefighters conducted tests inside the clean room, and it became clear how difficult and costly it was to restore the air quality afterward because the filters got overloaded and needed replacing. This story showed me just how delicate and carefully maintained the environment has to be, and how even a small incident can have a big impact on keeping the space perfectly clean.