The conference will take place over a single day, with a program that includes several thematic sessions in roundtable format. Additionally, time will be allocated to establish and nurture networking opportunities. A cultural and social program at the end of the day will strengthen these personal and professional networks.

The conference will be held on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at the facilities of the Instituto de la Grasa (CSIC) in Seville, and will be inaugurated by the Secretary General for Research, Eva Ortega Paíno. Also participating will be the Deputy Directorate General of Public Research Organisations and Entities, Marcos Palomo.
After the introductions of the participants, the sessions will begin with a presentation on the current status of technical staff, their present needs, and proposals from various stakeholders to address them in the future. A moderator will guide the discussions using pre-agreed questions to ensure equitable participation and concise duration.
The first part is expected to include participation from high-level representatives of various OPIs. This will be followed by contributions from the directors of the CSIC National Centers and other key figures who will share their perspectives on different thematic areas as outlined in the following table.
The program will be completed shortly.

Timetable	Issue	Panel moderator
09:00 h a 09:30 h	Collection of accreditations
09:30 h a 10:00 h	Presentation and opening Beatriz Gandul Rojas – Host Reception, Deputy Director of Research at Instituto de la Grasa – CSIC Eva Ortega Paíno – Secretary General for Research (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities)	Miguel Llorente, Chairman of TecOPIs
10:00 h a 11:00 h Table 1	The role of technical staff in OPIs Yolanda Benito Moreno, Director General of CIEMAT Jesús Burgos Martín, General Administrator of IAC Isabel Jado García, Deputy Director General of Applied Services, Training and Research at ISCIII   Eva Ortega Paíno, Secretary General for Research (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) Antonia Jiménez Rodríguez, Vice-Chancellor of Pablo de Olavide University Ignacio Arruego Rodriguez, Director of the Space Payloads Department at INTA	Miguel Llorente, Chairman of TecOPIs
11:00 h a 11:30 h	Coffee with net
11:30 h a 12:30 h Table 2	Opportunities Carlos Camuñas Palencia, Deputy Technical Director of the CN IGME – CSIC Héctor Villa González, Head of the Fisheries Department at the CN IEO – CSIC Ana Patricia Fernández-Getino, Technical Director of Variety Evaluation and Laboratories of the CN INIA – CSIC Andrea López Moreno, ISCIII technician Margarita Sanabria Pabón, Head of Area of the CN IGME – CSIC Ignacio Cruz Cruz, Scientific-Technical Coordinator of the CIEMAT	Isabel Jado García, Deputy Director General of Applied Services, Training and Research at ISCIII
12:30 h a 12:45 h	Question time
12:45 h a 13:45 h Table 3	Technical staff at the service of society Jordi Sorribas Cervantes, Director of the Marine Technology Unit at CSIC Ángela Fernández Curto, Deputy Directorate General for Large Scientific-Technical Facilities (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) Fernando Martínez Román, Head of the Tasting Panel at the Institute of Fat – CSIC Javier Bustamante Díaz, Deputy Director of ICTs at Doñana Pilar Burgos Domenech, Head of Analysis and Technical Assistance Service at IRNAS Ramón Luis Díaz Regañón Fernández, ISCIII technician	Ana Calderón, Deputy Assistant Director General for Public Research Organisations and Entities
13:45 h a 14:00 h	Question time
14:00 h a 15:00 h	Lunch with net
15:00 h a 16:00 h Table 4	Knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship Itziar Peñafiel, CORMES Group (FECYT) Juan Antonio Pedregal, Technology Transfer Technician at Pablo de Olavide University Marina Rosales Martínez, Head of Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Services at the University of Seville Paloma Domingo García, Deputy Director of the CSIC General Foundation (FGCSIC) Juan Martínez Armesto, CSIC Ángel Prieto Martín, Information Systems Development and Dissemination Unit, CN IGME – CSIC	Fernando Mérida, Deputy Director General for Transfer at the Directorate General for Planning, Coordination and Knowledge Transfer
16:00 h a 16:15 h	Question time
16:15 h a 17:15 h Table 5	Professional career Simon Breeden, Associate Lead for the Technician Commitment (UK) [online] Itziar Peñafiel, on behalf of Spanish Delegate to the EU in the European Initiative for Management Personnel in R&D Nieves Sánchez Jiménez, Chairperson of InvestOPI [online] Marcos Palomo Fernández, Deputy Directorate General for Public Research Organizations and Entities (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities)	Miguel Llorente, Chairman of TecOPIs
17:15 h a 18:00 h	Open debate and conclusions
20:00 h	Networking dinner (optional, at each participant’s expense)

The following outcomes are expected from the conference: