ExGal-Twin: Excellence in Galaxies - Twinning the IAC

2026 ExGal-Twin Regional Meeting & 1st CIARMA network Annual Meeting
📅 23 September 2026
📍 IAC Headquarters
🎯 "Innovation in European Project Management in the Canary Islands (II): AI and New Trends"
Speakers:
🔹 Edwin van Bloois, PhD — Funding Scientific Officer at Kapteyn Astronomical Institute (University of Groningen) "AI in Research Management: Experiences from the Kapteyn Institute"
🔹 Rafael Vázquez — Full Professor, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering, University of Seville. Training session on Generative AI for European Project Managers
For European Research Managers based in the Canary Islands 🇮🇨 — also the 1st Annual Meeting of the CIARMA Network 🤝
📝 Registration open until 31 July
🔗 Link in bio

Huge congrats to Iglesias Navarro, from the ExGal-Twin team, who took the stage at EAS 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland (2 July) to share the story of AstroTragos - AoT Canarias🌌🇮🇨
This initiative is part of ExGal-Twin's outreach activities, with one clear goal: bringing astronomy closer to everyone.
✨ Want to know more or join an event near you?
👉 Link in bio / https://astronomyontap.org/locations/canary-islands-spain/

🇮🇹 ExGal-Twin at AGN XVI in Brindisi!
✨ ExGal-Twin Steering Board member and node leader Raffaella Morganti gave an invited talk, "Exploring the impact of (radio) AGN on galactic scales by tracing different phases of the gas", at "Active Galactic Nuclei XVI: A Sea of Discoveries", held in Brindisi, Italy (14–19 June 2026).
🌊 The conference brought together the AGN community to discuss black hole accretion, jets, feedback, and the future facilities shaping the field.
🔗 Her talk connects nicely with the work of our postdoc Anelise Audibert on AGN tori and feedback mechanisms!
✈️ Raffaella's attendance was supported by ExGal-Twin as a dissemination activity of ExGal-Twin and our partner Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen 🇳🇱

🇯🇵⛩️ ExGal-Twin at Kyoto Torus Workshop 2026!

✨ Our ExGal-Twin postdoc Anelise Audibert presented her work at the “Kyoto Torus Workshop 2026: Multi-wavelength Approach to the AGN Structures” held in Kyoto, Japan (18–22 May 2026).

🌌 The meeting brought together international experts to discuss the role of obscuring AGN tori in galaxy evolution.

🔭 Using high-resolution ALMA observations, Anelise studies AGN with the exceptional spatial resolution required to resolve their molecular tori on parsec scales, providing new insights into the feeding and feedback mechanisms that shape nearby active galaxies. 🌀

🌠 A great week of science and exchange in Kyoto!

🌌 Dr. Eva Durán Camacho's talk at the CLUES Meeting! 🌌

As part of an ExGal-Twin dissemination activity, Dr. Eva Durán Camacho (ExGal-Twin postdoc) gave a fascinating talk: "Modelling the Milky Way structure: impact on stellar and gaseous dynamics" ✨

Swipe for photos from the session →

🌌 The CLUES Meeting 2026 has started! 🌌

June 22–26, La Laguna, Tenerife, scientists are gathering at the IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias for this year's CLUES (Constrained Local UniversE Simulations) workshop, partly funded by ExGal-Twin.

CLUES is an international collaboration among several countries including Germany, France and Spain.

The session was presented by Arianna Di Cintio, Vice-Chair of the ExGal-Twin Steering Board 🎙️

Already looking forward to Thursday's talk by ExGal-Twin postdoc Eva Durán: "Modelling Milky Way structure: Impact on stellar and gaseous dynamics" ✨

🌌 Bringing ExGal-Twin science to our IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias community!
On 2nd June, our postdoc Dr. Anelise Audibert presented the progress and first scientific results of ExGal-Twin to her colleagues at IACTec, as part of the Día de la Ciencia y la Tecnología celebrations 🚀✨
A wonderful moment to share what we've been working on and inspire those around us!

🚀 On June 4th, our 4th Working Group Meeting on European Project Management took place at the IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in La Laguna, Tenerife!

A full and productive morning bringing together European research and innovation project managers from the Canary Islands to keep building CIARMA network, strengthening collaboration, sharing experiences and advancing our shared goals.

🗓️ Highlights of the meeting included:
✅ Progress on the professionalization of European Project Managers
✅ Updates on the development of the CIARMA Network, including its website, logo and LinkedIn group.
✅ Special talk by Noelia Romero López (F E C Y T · Ciencia e Innovación · on NCP_WIDERA.NET services for EU outermost regions
✅ A demonstration by Mark Tew (Worktribe) on research lifecycle management solutions for research organisations
✅ A presentation by Ramón García Déniz (Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias) showcasing the ITC's internal project management software and sharing practical insights from its implementation

A big thank you to all participants, speakers and working group members for their enthusiasm, commitment and valuable contributions:
Mar Borges Díaz (Fundación General Universidad de La Laguna, Elizabeth Carrillo Padrón (IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Pablo Carro Portos (IAC), Lucía Dobarro Delgado (Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, Laia d'Armengol (LPRC - La Palma Research Centre), Esther García Arranz (Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Claudia Guerrero García-Heras (IAC), Verónica Lora Rodríguez (Sagulpa), Hector Martinez (ITC), Ana Redondo Rodriguez (ARQUIMEA Research Center), Laura Riba Costa (IAC), Laura Ruiz Caramés (Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (ACIISI), Silvia Hildebrandt (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias(PLOCAN), Ivan Prada Gamallo (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias (PLOCAN), Adrián Pérez Chávez - Juan Jose Vazquez (Arquimea), Dahimar Mercedes Sanchez Medina (IAC).

See you at the next one! 🌟

2026 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics awarded to partners in ExGal-Twin (IAC)🏆🏅

The 2026 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics was awarded to Professors Vasily Belokurov from the University of Cambridge, Amina Helmi from the University of Groningen, and Rodrigo Ibata from the Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg (CNRS). Professors Helmi and Ibata lead groups that partner in the Twinning action ExGal-Twin, coordinated by the IAC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in Spain. Their groups have participated in staff exchanges with IAC astronomers and in ExGal-Twin project meetings and training schools, and active collaborations between the IAC and their groups have been expanded or started.

The Kavli Prizes, awarded every two years, are comparable to the Nobel Prize in terms of monetary value, prestige and scientific rigour. Designed to complement the Nobels, they are awarded in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

Two of the three 2026 Laureates of the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics are active associates of the ExGal-Twin Twinning project. This provides further evidence of the strength of the Twinning programme, which allows developing institutions to constitute close-knit teams with leading counterparts in Europe. In particular, it provides the funding and project infrastructure to stimulate staff exchanges, training, and collaborations with top-level scientists such as the new Kavli Laureates.

ExGal-Twin warmly congratulates all three Laureates, and especially its associates Professors Amina Helmi and Rodrigo Ibata, a well-deserved recognition!

🌌✨ ExGal-Twin at Lipari 2026!
Our postdoc Eva Durán Camacho presented her work: “Bar-driven evolution and nuclear discs in MW-like galaxies” at the Galactic Bars, Bulges and Disks Workshop 2026 in Lipari, Italy. The meeting gathers international experts studying how galaxies form and evolve through the interaction of bars, bulges and disks.
Through numerical simulations, Eva investigates how galactic bars shape the evolution of Milky Way-like galaxies and contribute to the formation of nuclear discs. 🌠
👏 Congratulations, Eva!