Abstract
More than 100 participants from all over Spain participated in a successful event where national experts of research ethics and biosafety committees were able to discuss and learn about the new challenges of ethics in this rapidly changing world.
The event had an opening session where the artificial intelligence expert Nuria Oliver delved into the scope of ethical issues in research in this field. Then we had seven scientific sessions, beginning with a transversal block of presentations on responsible research and innovation. The other six sessions, all with round table discussion at the end, were spread over the two days of the event, which also included a block of presentations on human research ethics, another one on animal research ethics and a third one on biosafety.
The topics included in these presentations were:
Responsible Research and Innovation; Promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from universities; The role of the Spanish Bioethics Committee and the National Biosafety Commission; The protection of personal data in research; Opportunities for improvement in biosecurity evaluations; Veterinary clinical trials; Search and implementation of alternative methods to animal experimentation; Training in biosafety at universities and public research organizations; Current situation of the various types of ethics committees in Spain: self-regulation or accreditation.
During the sessions, there was an extraordinary level of attendance and active participation, making the meeting especially enriching.
RCE meetings have always been characterized by having workshops where different national experts discuss and agree on joint improvement strategies on specific aspects of ethics and biosafety in research. Regarding this, three workshops were held on biosafety management systems, protection of personal data in research and evaluation of alternatives to animal experimentation. As on previous occasions, the conclusions of the workshops were shared at the end of each day.
A specific debate session was also held on the future of the RCE, with the aim of defining how to improve the functioning of this collaborative network.
Elche was an incomparable setting for this Meeting with its World Heritage site, the Elche Palm Grove and its lovely weather. All participants were invited to walk through this wonderful city. The social programme included a nice Gala Dinner which we all enjoyed after work time.
The meeting ended with the presentation of the next Congress site, which will bring us all together again in Alcalá de Henares City (Spain) in 2024.