III Salamanca por Cajal: Art, Science and Technology 2026
The beacon that lights up the future
Thursday 16 April 2026 · 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Castilla y León
Programme
View full Salamanca Tech Summit 2026 programme →
Salamanca por Cajal, science and technology
A welcome to open the session with a clear idea: understanding how Cajal's legacy does not belong only to the past, but continues to inspire the science that thinks, researches and builds the future today.
Why Cajal?
A return to the figure of Ramón y Cajal to understand why his legacy remains key to the origins of modern neuroscience and to today's science.
Why does Cajal still lead the science of the future?
Ramón y Cajal belongs not only to history, but also to the questions, advances and challenges of the science to come.
Extraordinary brains
Two complementary perspectives to delve into one of science's great mysteries: the brain and its extraordinary complexity.
From telemedicine to the personal digital twin
From a more predictive, personalised and data-driven medicine to remote care and the digital twin.
Why does Spain need a Cajal Museum?
The need to preserve, disseminate and project Cajal's legacy as an essential part of Spanish scientific heritage.
Cajal: from AI to neurorights
Your brain for sale: neurotechnology, mental privacy and the challenge of neurorights in 2026.
Ramón y Cajal Awards
Recognition for those turning research into real progress for society, in a moment dedicated to celebrating science, legacy and the future.
II Premio D. Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Catedrático de Histología
Awarded by the Spanish Society of Histology and Tissue Engineering (SEHIT).
Address by Dr Manuel Garrosa (President of SEHIT and Deputy Director of INCYL): "Cajal: from Histology to Connectomics"
I Premio Marquesa de Ramón y Cajal
Presented by Dña. María Urioste Ramón y Cajal, Marquesa de Ramón y Cajal and great-granddaughter of the Nobel laureate.
III Prize D. Santiago Ramón y Cajal · Lifetime Achievement — City of Salamanca
Prize awarded to the City of Salamanca for its sustained institutional and civic commitment to Cajal's legacy: many consecutive years of activities featuring world-leading figures, the Cajal Legacy Exhibition held in Salamanca, the Paraninfo of its University as the venue for the UNESCO Memory of the World Diploma ceremony, and the permanent commitment of its universities, institutions and civil society to science and to the values of our Nobel laureate. The award is a unique wrought-iron sculpture by the artisan César Castaño.
"Cajal's house is very large; there is room for all of us. We will leave no one behind."
Salamanca receives this recognition in the year Cajal's name has travelled to the Moon — in the spirit of the words spoken by the next Spanish Nobel laureate, Severo Ochoa, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
"Being a native of Spain, a country to which I owe much of my education and cultural formation, I was deeply influenced by my great predecessor Santiago Ramón y Cajal. I entered the School of Medicine too late to receive his teachings directly but, through his writings and example, he did much to awaken my enthusiasm for biology and to crystallise my vocation."
Severo Ochoa · Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1959
Declaration of Salamanca for Science
Reading and renewal of the Declaration of Salamanca for Science, approved on 10 April 2024 at the first edition of these events, recognising Cajal's greatness as a person and scientist and Salamanca's commitment to science and the Nobel's legacy.