Gijón is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the central-northern part of Asturias, being the largest municipality in population of this autonomous community with nearly 280,000 inhabitants. Together with Oviedo (28 km far away) and Aviles (26 km far away), Gijón constitutes a large metropolitan area that includes twenty councils in the centre of the region, structured with a dense network of roads, motorways and railways, and with a population of over 800,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest in Spain.
Since its foundation in the 5th century B.C. until recently, Gijón had been an eminently industrial town, which favoured its great development and growth during the 20th century. However, in recent years the crisis in the steel and naval sectors has led to the conversion of its productive framework, which has transformed the city into an important touristic, academic, commercial and R+D+I centre.
Gijón is a gentle and friendly place, equipped with modern services that make it attractive to visitors, who can enjoy the quality of its accommodation, commerce, cultural and social activities, outdoor walks and its rich gastronomy influenced by its condition of seaside village.
The Campus of Gijón, located in a large green area surrounded by the parishes of Somió, Bernueces and Cabueñes, brings together most of the technical studies of the University of Oviedo and is the proposed venue for the celebration of the MESIC 2021.
The Campus of Gijón belongs to the University of Oviedo, which nowadays accounts for nearly 21,000 students, being the most important public institution of higher education and research in the Principality of Asturias. With over 400 years of history, it offers a full range of undergraduate degrees adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in all branches of knowledge and postgraduate degree programs in collaboration with national and international universities and with more than 250 companies.
The Campus of Gijón is home of the Polytechnic School of Engineering, the Higher School of Civil Navy, and the Jovellanos Faculty of Commerce, Tourism and Social Sciences. It also accommodates the departments of Electrical, Electronic, Computers and Systems Engineering, Marine Science and Technology, Energy, and Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, as well as most of the research groups that form part of the departments of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, and Computer Sciences.
The MESIC 2021 will be held entirely in the building of the Higher School of Civil Navy (Escuela Superior de la Marina Civil), located in the northern area of the Campus of Gijón.
The Campus is connected by bus to the centre of Gijón (4 km) (lanes 4 and 18) and has direct access to the motorways that communicate with the East and West (A8) and Centre (A66) of the country, as well as the cities of Oviedo (28 km far away by the A66 or by the ASII), Avilés (26 km by the A8) or the Airport of Asturias (40 km by the A8).
The hotels offer in Gijón is wide, with numerous accommodation options according to the preferences and availability of the users. All the hotels proposed by the organization are located in the centre of Gijón at a distance slightly farther than 4 km from the Conference venue at the Campus of Gijón.
