Professor David Bueno wins the Josep Pla Award for Catalan literature
Professor David Bueno, from the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, has been awarded the Josep Pla Award for his work on neuroscience and education L’art de ser humans. This prize, organized by Ediciones Destino, is one of the most prestigious in Catalan literature and was created in 1968 to award narrative works in Catalan without limitation, in genres as varied as novel, short story, memoir, biography, etc. In previous editions, the Josep Pla Award has been given to authors such as Miquel de Palol, Carme Riera, Xavier Rubert de Ventós, Maria Mercè Roca, Norbert Bilbeny, Baltasar Porcel and Terenci Moix.
Professor David Bueno, from the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, has been awarded the Josep Pla Award for his work on neuroscience and education L’art de ser humans. This prize, organized by Ediciones Destino, is one of the most prestigious in Catalan literature and was created in 1968 to award narrative works in Catalan without limitation, in genres as varied as novel, short story, memoir, biography, etc. In previous editions, the Josep Pla Award has been given to authors such as Miquel de Palol, Carme Riera, Xavier Rubert de Ventós, Maria Mercè Roca, Norbert Bilbeny, Baltasar Porcel and Terenci Moix.
The Josep Pla Award was announced on the night of Epiphany at the Hotel Ritz in Barcelona, on the same evening as the Nadal Prize for literature, which this year has been given to the writer Jorge Fernández Díaz.
The winner, L’art de ser humans, will be published on 5 February in Catalan and Spanish. With this essay, David Bueno presents an itinerary through the world of neuroscience, education and the arts, and reminds us that “although the world of research and academia demands a high level of fragmentation of knowledge, we cannot ignore the fact that the human brain acts as an integrated whole, and it is important to have a global vision of all the knowledge we can acquire”. This essay also claims the value of artistic creation “since it is the arts that make us human”. “This prize, apart from being a recognition of my work, is a booster for the future to continue working along these lines”, adds the author.
David Bueno is a professor and researcher in the UB’s Biomedical, Evolutionary and Developmental Genetics section. Since 2019, he has directed the UB-EDU1st Chair on Neuroeducation, the first in neuroeducation in Spain and a pioneer in the educational landscape worldwide. It promotes the training of professionals in the field of neuroeducation and facilitates pedagogical and educational — and, therefore, social — changes that favour a flexible, adaptive and inclusive education, with special attention to children, adolescents and young people. Bueno also directs the collection Catàlisi promoted by UB Editions, as well as the Revista de Neuroeducación (JONED), the first research journal on neuroeducation in Spain, and the collection Educación Universitaria, promoted by the UB’s Institute for Professional Development (IDP-ICE) and Editorial Octaedro.
A prolific contributor to various media, Bueno has also been awarded the “Estudi General” European Award of Scientific Dissemination (2010), the Magisterio Prize for his contribution to neuroeducation (2018), the 6th Distinction of the UB Doctors’ Senate and the Board of Trustees for the best scientific and humanistic dissemination activities (2019), the ASIRE Prize to the Chair of Neuroeducation for its outreach activities (2021) and the Joan Lluís Vives Prize for the best book on science and technology (2022).