The project, geared by the seven youngest Andalusian universities and the CSIC, establishes a partnership with this prestigious American university.

The Campus of International Excellence (CEI) CamBio, including the seven youngest Andalusian universities and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), has promoted the creation of a centre of excellence in Panama and a master’s programme in tropical environments.

This proposal, recently approved by the Ministerio de Educación, springs from the preferential relationship between CEI CamBio and a number of institutions in Panama, most particularly the Universidad de Panamá, also member of the Grupo de Universidades Iberoamericanas La Rábida (also associated to the project), and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the only facility pertaining to this American institution located outside the US.

The Smithsonian Institute was created in 1846 and is the largest museum and scientific complex in the world, including 19 museums, nine research centres and the National Zoo.

This centre of excellence will particularly focus on the conservation of bio-diversity, for which the territory of Panama is a unique laboratory. Research stations such as Barro Colorado or the laboratory Bocas del Toro attract just under a thousand researchers from all over the world every year.

Specifically, this centre, the use of which will be shared between several campuses of excellence, will be located in the Ciudad del Saber. This further enhances CamBio’s value, through the opening of cooperation avenues with other projects which qualified as CEI or CEIR in theMinisterio de Educación calls for 2009 and 2010: BKC Barcelona Knowledge Campus, Campus Studii Salamantini and Health Universitat de Barcelona Campus HUBc.

In the words of Pilar Paneque, director of CEI CamBio: ‘the Ciudad del Saber’ in Panama has become a centre of international excellence focused on research, innovation and education, also including a private sector with a long experience in the promotion of innovation and the transfer of knowledge and research results, which will stand as the cornerstone for the development of other areas of study associated to the project.

Additionally, the Smithsonian Institute, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, coordinator of the CEI, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EDB), attached to CSIC and Universidad de Panamá are also partners in the creation of a master’s and doctorate programme on the conservation of bio-diversity in tropical environments.

In this regard, the idea is to transfer the successful programme on conservation of Mediterranean ecosystems offered by the EDB and the Pablo de Olavide to tropical environments.