CREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, is a foundation supported by the Catalan Government and guided by a Board of Trustees. ICREA is an institution without walls. It works hand in hand with Catalan universities and research centres to integrate ICREA research professors in the Catalan research system. ICREA offers new research positions every year and continues to promote research in Catalonia. Cooperation, international openness and excellence are ICREA’s hallmarks.