• Four students from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have undertaken a research stay at the ICT research center of the Universidade da Coruña (UDC), as part of the center’s broader strategy for internationalization and academic excellence.
• The students were integrated into CITIC’s strategic teams, contributing to cutting-edge projects ranging from algorithms for medical sleep analysis to artificial intelligence solutions applied to cybersecurity.

A Coruña, July 30, 2025. – The Centre for Information and Communication Technology Research (CITIC) at the Universidade da Coruña, a member of the CIGUS Network supported by the Xunta de Galicia, welcomed today the visit of Alicia Goldstein, Associate Director of the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) program and founder of the MIT-Spain and MIT-Portugal programs.

The purpose of the visit is to strengthen the strategic alliance between CITIC and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a collaboration that has already enabled the arrival of four MIT students to the Galician research center. Goldstein held meetings with research staff and institutional representatives, gaining firsthand insights into the projects in which the MIT students are currently involved during their stay at CITIC.

The day’s program began with an institutional welcome by Ricardo Cao, Rector of UDC; Jerónimo Puertas, Vice-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer; and Manuel González Penedo, Director of CITIC. Throughout the morning, the MIT representative toured the facilities and met with the students’ supervisors — José Manuel Vázquez Naya, Rubén Pérez Jove, and Eduardo Mosqueira Rey — as well as leading researchers at CITIC including Salvador Naya, Fidel Cacheda, and Francisco Bellas; Félix Nieto from the Centre for Technological Innovation in Building and Civil Engineering (CITEEC); and Ramón Pedro Artiaga, researcher at CITENI (Research Centre for Naval and Industrial Technologies).

Galicia as an International Talent Hub

The visit is part of a broader collaboration between the two institutions, which this year facilitated the research stay of four MIT students at CITIC through the MISTI-Spain program. These students have joined strategic research groups at the center, contributing to pioneering projects in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital health.

One such project is NEXT-GEN-SOMNUS, focused on sleep analysis through machine learning algorithms, in which student Juan Carlos Santiago has been working alongside researchers Eduardo Mosqueira Rey and Diego Álvarez Estévez.

The other three students — Ishanvi Kommula, Jaime Sebastián Punyed, and Jace López — have collaborated on the development of cybersecurity solutions based on language models similar to ChatGPT, within one of the research lines of the RNASA-IMEDIR group.

This initiative reinforces CITIC’s position as an international benchmark in technological research and a magnet for highly skilled young talent. It also aligns with the internationalization and excellence strategy promoted by the Universidade da Coruña.

Excellence in ICT Research

CITIC is a research center that drives progress and excellence in R&D&I applied to ICTs. Established in 2008 by the Universidade da Coruña, the center’s scientific activity is structured into four core research areas: Artificial Intelligence; Data Science and Engineering; High-Performance Computing; and Smart Services and Networks — along with a transversal area that spans all of them: Cybersecurity.

CITIC is accredited as a Center of Excellence and member of the CIGUS Network for the 2024–2027 period, validating the quality and impact of its research. The center’s accreditation, structural development, and enhancement are co-financed by the Xunta de Galicia and 60% by the European Union under the ERDF Galicia 2021–2027 Operational Programme, under the thematic objective of fostering “a smarter Europe: innovative and smart economic transformation” (ED431G 2023/01).