The seven winners of the prizes Rey Jaime I, who was awarded scientific research and projects, received this title during this year’s award ceremony, which Valencia was headed by Felipe VI, who invested in science “not a luxury but a necessity” for society, and they were all expressed by the Valencian researcher and award-winner María Jesús Vicente Ducon. Felipe VI, in closing the Geopolitical Law of Coyuntura, warned against “little inclination to scientific exchange and cooperation which could discourage professions or discourage support.” Vicente Boloda, president of the Awards Foundation, complained that about 3% of GDP should be invested in research and development by 2030, and also expressed his regret at the lack of coordination between public administrations for post-damage reconstruction.
El Rey had this dual agenda in Valencia. Last morning, he presided over at the Paraninfo de la Universitat de València the law of the state opening of the 2025-2026 academic session of Spanish universities, which was supposed to be celebrated last September 30, but I was pleased by the red warning due to the floods that were active that day. The Mediterranean, as is the case every year, supervised the presentation of the Rey Jaime I Awards at the Lonja de los Mercaderes, one of the best paid awards in Spain.
The head of the general state, Carlos Mazzone, did not attend any of these events. He was accompanied by the Government Delegate, Pilar Bernabe, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, or the First Vice President of the State, Susana Camarero, among other authorities, who did not take the floor today in the speeches and was not part of the delegation that received the Monarch when he arrived in Lunga. Mazzone faces his final days in office as the incoming youngsters are set to participate in the inauguration debate that is expected to take his place in the position of Juan Francisco Pérez Yurca, also from the People’s Party. Since its announcement last November 3, it has only appeared in official business.
Felipe VI dedicated his first words to the reconstruction after the damage inflicted on those affected by the tragedy. Many Valencians live with the physical and emotional effects of the devastation that produced that damage, and say to remind the damned that “you are very present” and “you still support all the Spanish people and hence Corona.”
Al-Rai enumerated the difficulties hindering researchers (extensive training, difficult funding, and results are never guaranteed), which now means “a geopolitical alliance with little inclination for international scientific exchange and cooperation.” Therefore, he asked the EU to “strive to bridge the innovation gap with respect to China and the United States.”
The head of the Premios Rey Jaime I Foundation, Ark. Vicente Boluda, was grateful for the support of the royal family during the “difficult” months that followed the dance, but also alluded to “the intolerable inconsistency between the departments, which in itself is nothing more than shocking and the deep political discontent on the part of citizens.”
According to Boloda, in Spain “significant progress has been made in investment in I+D+i”, but today, at the end of 2025, we are at EU media levels corresponding to 1985. “We are making enormous efforts, but the rest of the countries are also working,” says the head of the foundation, calling for an increase in investment in R&D to 3% of GDP by 2030, twice that now, and strengthening the means “for our researchers and scientists, increasing their connection with companies”.
The winners of this year’s edition are José Luis Mascareñas Cid, winner of the Basic Research category; Jan Eeckhout, in economics; Noria Lopez Bigas, in biomedical research; Victoria Reyes Garcia, in the field of environmental protection; María Jesús Vicente Ducon, in Nuevas Technologys; Damia Tormo Carola, in Corporate Revelation; and Silvia de Sanjosé Longueras, in clinical research and public health.
In this edition, unlike the previous year in which all the winners were men, there are four women. On behalf of all of them, María Jesús Vicente Ducon of Valencia, highlighted by Nuevas Tecnologias for her leadership in nanomedicine and advanced therapeutics, intervened. Vicente advocated an “integrative vision of science” to address grand challenges such as climate change, pandemics, inequality, the energy transition or the digital revolution, and argued that turning the back of science “is not a luxury but a necessity to build a prosperous and inclusive society.”
The Valencian researcher asked society as a whole “not to stop betting on knowledge. And to support those who investigate, those who undertake, and those who strive for a better future.” At a time when investment in research is not progressing as quickly as desired, he called for it to “make tasks easier, reduce barriers, and simplify processes.”
Mayor María José Catala, as the host of the event, welcomed all the guests and asked that an effort be made so that more scientific professions emerge among the students. He thanked the royal family for their support after “the most difficult moments this earth has ever experienced,” referring to the 2024 dance, and requested an updated urban plan for future events.
Opening of the academic session
Hours ago, the King presided over the opening of the State Academic Session of Spanish Universities in the historic headquarters of the University of Valencia (UV), accompanied by Minister Diana Morant, Rector of the University Mavi Mestre and President of CRUE (Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities), Eva Alcón, Rector of the Jaume I University.
At the end of the work, Felipe VI warned of the “dangerous deviation” in the complex situation that was destroying the world order. “The crisis that coincides with signs of discontent, in many democratic systems, has basic values for coexistence.” Ray warned against this drift: “We have, in the history of the twentieth century, some unforgettable examples of what may come to us.”
In his speech, the Moroccan king set an example for universities “as an alternative to capitulation and paralysis” and highlighted the Erasmus programme. “Few initiatives do so much to build Europe’s identity,” he said. Moreover, there is value, in reference to the event of 29 October 2024, of the Valencian Community Universities initiative of the “Save Images” project to help, together with other cultural institutions, in the emotional heritage of thousands of Valencians, images that have deteriorated due to water in damage that, without mediating a single rapid recovery, will be lost.
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