VALENCIA, March 8. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) earned 116 million in the 2023 financial year thanks to its activity in I d i, “the highest figure in its history”
The university’s science park hosted the 5th UPV Innovation Conference, which brought together nearly 300 people, including researchers, entrepreneurs and other agents of the innovative ecosystem of the Universitat Politècnica de València.
In that forum, it was highlighted that 2023 was “a record year for research, innovation and transfer with the UPV seal.” His activity in I D I translated into 116.2 million revenues, the highest figure in its history; registered 40 new patent applications; approved five new spin-offs, four of which were owned -Sensing Tools, PhysioMRI, Artikode, Opticalsens, CiberTRS; and registered 26 new software. And it was also a record year for the international projection of its R D I, with 24 new European projects, 3 of them coordinated, and an amount exceeding €5M.
These are some of the main figures from the ‘UPV Innovation’ report, which summarizes a year of R D I at the Polytechnic and which was presented today within the framework of the V UPV-Innovation Conference. Held in the UPV science park, it brought together nearly three hundred people, including researchers, entrepreneurs and other agents of the innovative ecosystem of the Universitat Politècnica de València.
“In 2023, the UPV was another key year for the scientific, technological and business development of the Valencian Community. Our university continued to increase its relations with the productive sector, and we reinforced our commitment to transfer, training, internationalization and communication and scientific dissemination. Without a doubt, 2023 was, once again, a record year for our I D I”, highlighted Salvador Coll, vice-rector for Innovation and Transfer of the Universitat Politècnica de València.
In addition, the meeting included the participation as a guest speaker of Alfons Cornellá, founder and president of Infonomía, who offered a conference in which, under the title “Innovating on the border”, he delved into all the opportunities that arise from explore the limits of the business thanks to innovation.
“There are many problems to be solved, for people, for organizations, for society, and new or better solutions must be found. I believe that a future is coming in which solutions will appear to situations that until now we considered unsolvable, for example, in health (diseases that will be treatable), in energy (sustainable solutions to our insatiable need for energy), in food (more efficient and sustainable processes)”, said Alfons Cornellá.
“We have the wrong impression that innovation is about new products or new technologies, when the innovations that end up having the greatest success are those that provide new value to people, solving problems, providing new possibilities (for example, communicating remotely with mobile phones). when before this was unthinkable, or applying AI to change the way we produce images). There is a lot of possible innovation consisting, therefore, of adding value by solving problems or responding to people’s expectations in better or new ways,” he added. .
The founder and president of Infonomía has advocated “decisively supporting companies that are innovative, that add value, and, especially, companies that are successful exporting their products and services precisely because they are innovative. It is difficult to convince a company that does not innovate to do so, but we can be useful by supporting companies that already have an innovative attitude. When those we support are successful, others will wonder “why those are successful and I am not…” and perhaps then understand that the secret is in innovation… Humans are like that…”, he concluded.
And what do companies think about when they talk about innovation? This is the question that was addressed in a round table with the participation of Beatriz Salvador, Open Innovation Manager at ACCIONA Energy; Nora Romero, Innovation Coordinator, KM ZERO Food Innovation Hub; Lorena González Teruel, director of R&D Management at COSENTINO RESEARCH; and Daniel Ramón, ADM-Biopolis. All of them moderated by Fernando Conesa, head of the i2T Service at the UPV.
The day was closed by Pablo Lozano, director of Talent Acquisition in Spain and Head of Talent Management in Eastern Spain at NTT DATA.
Furthermore, during the event, tribute was paid to the women who are dedicated, directly or indirectly, to innovating and who are part of the UPV-innovation Knowledge Transfer Office, with the screening of the video “Innovative women, women who build futures”. And it has been possible to learn first-hand about some of the UPV’s innovation and transfer success stories, as well as a selection of prototypes from the UPV Spontaneous Generation student groups.
Precisely, one of the groups of this UPV program, the Comic Club, has turned the entire event into spectacular vignettes, capturing on paper the different milestones of this V UPV-Innovation Day.
This day is part of one of the objectives of the SIRVE Plan of the UPV, (UPV Relevant, Objective 6), which seeks to intensify the positive impact of academic knowledge on the socioeconomic fabric and the environment.
The day celebrated today extends to next March 21, with the celebration of an event for students. From UPV-innovación, together with the PIAE and the Permanent Training Center, a training session has been organized for a delegation of UPV students to provide tools and skills in order to innovate from their different schools.
