The BEC Center was established by the Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia in Trento in June 2002, following a selection made by an international panel. In 2006, INFM became part of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), which in turn was reorganized in new institutes. As a result of such a reorganization, since February 2010 the BEC Center has been finally incorporated into the Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO), a division of the Department of Physical Sciences and Technologies of Matter of CNR.

The BEC Center is hosted by the Department of Physics of the University of Trento (UniTrento) which provides facilities and services as well as a multidisciplinary scientific environment. Personnel and researchers of CNR and UniTrento work together in the BEC Center, sharing projects and resources. Graduate and undergraduate students of the University actively participate in the scientific activities and CNR researchers are regularly involved in education and training programs.

The activities of the BEC Center are funded by UniTrento and CNR, with a significant contribution of the Provincia Autonoma di Trento. The Center is also supported by national and international funding agencies on specific projects.

The aim of the BEC Center is to promote research on the various phenomena related to Bose-Einstein condensation, the physics of ultracold atomic gases and related areas. Since the first observation of BEC in cold gases in 1995, the study of ultracold gases has become an emerging area of research at the crossing point of several disciplines, including atomic and molecular physics, statistical mechanics, condensed matter physics, quantum optics and quantum information. The goal of the Center is to strengthen the synergy between interdisciplinary theoretical research and cutting-edge experimental activities. Our mission is pushed forward in close contact with the leading institutions around the world.