Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) is a research center that began its activities in March 2000. DIPC pioneered the opening of independent research centers in the Basque Country, keeping nevertheless close and enriching interaction with the public University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

The mission of DIPC is to perform and catalyze research in physics, materials sciences, and related disciplines, as well as to convey scientific culture to society. DIPC was conceived and planned based on the idea that an advanced society needs advanced scientific research. DIPC seeks to make a significant contribution to the common good and become a transformative agent of change.

DIPC is singular in its institutional structure. DIPC is a Foundation in which both public institutions (Basque Government, Gipuzkoa Province Council, Donostia Town Hall, and University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU) and private companies (currently Kutxa, CAF, Telefónica, and EDP Naturgas Energía) participate and contribute to the funding.

In 2008, DIPC was selected as a ‘Basque Excellence Research Center’ (BERC) by the Basque Government’s Department of Education. In 2019, DIPC was recognized as a ‘Severo Ochoa’ Center of Excellence by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

DIPC is an austere and dynamic organization running under flexible rules of government and management. Because of this, DIPC has an enormous capacity to undertake initiatives and develop activities otherwise difficult to tackle efficiently. DIPC’s history can be considered as a proof of the success of this approach.

An important element of DIPC lies in its foundational goals and how they are implemented in practice:

• DIPC is unconditionally committed to scientific excellence. All of DIPC’s research activities are programmed and developed under this requirement.
• The philosophy of DIPC necessarily relies on outstanding scientists able to open new research lines. DIPC attracts and hires scientists who are highly qualified, as well as ambitious and passionate about their scientific work. DIPC provides them with the adequate environment and tools to develop their full potential. Researchers are the top priority of DIPC.
• Science is international and increasingly collaborative. One of DIPC’s pillars is a strong program of visitors that makes of the center an international hub between the local community of researchers and a world-wide network of scientists. The continuous flow of visitors has a direct impact on the quality of the research developed at DIPC, as well as in its international visibility and recognition. It also characterizes the daily atmosphere of the center, in which informal discussions among scientists from different disciplines and diverse backgrounds constantly arise.