To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026, we spoke with two researchers from CIMNE’s Innovation Unit in Building, Energy and Environment (BEE Group). Maria Teresa (Maite) Sellart Garcia and Núria Salvador Sancho share their career paths and reflect on the value of simply being present in a field where women are still often underrepresented: “Just being there is already a major contribution.”
This year, Maite Sellart is starting her PhD, which will focus on energy simulation of buildings and cities to identify vulnerabilities—supporting both citizens and public administration decision-making. Núria Salvador is a programmer and provides IT support across all European projects. She is responsible for configuring the architecture that enables the processing of large volumes of data, often in real time.
Both researchers highlight the need for more mentors and role models in engineering, and how diversity of talent brings fresh perspectives, safer dynamics, and less hostile environments. For this reason, they encourage girls and young women not to be limited by stereotypes and to pursue STEM if that’s what they are passionate about.
CIMNE stands up for gender diversity in engineering and promotes equality, inclusion, and excellence through concrete measures. We are guided by our Equality Plan (2022–2026), the Government of Catalonia’s Gender Equality in Science Strategy, and the Catalan Science Law (2022) to foster opportunities, professional growth, and work–life balance across the entire CIMNE community.
In 2024, 26% of CIMNE staff were women. The centre has 27 active measures in place to remove barriers and biases, strengthen mentoring, and ensure an environment where women researchers can thrive, lead, and innovate.
