He calculates that for every euro invested by the institute, companies and administrations, a social return of 11.82 euros has been obtained
ALICANTE, July 19. (EUROPEAN PRESS) –
The Technological Institute for Children’s and Leisure Products (AIJU) has mobilized in 2022 more than ten million euros in the development of 65 national and European R&D projects to promote research and innovation in the business fabric.
More than 30 companies, universities and research centers related to child safety, the application of ICT technologies and sustainability or the circular economy participated in these projects. He has also worked on initiatives related to digitization, automation, robotization or artificial intelligence, as indicated by AIJU in a statement.
In addition, additive manufacturing, new patterns and trends for children’s consumers or gamification linked to health and vulnerable groups have been other main lines of innovation at the technological institute and its associated companies.
The president of AIJU, Pablo Cañizares, has highlighted the “numerous projects” developed throughout the year, after the presentation of the 2022 Annual Report. In addition, he has valued the “effort and investment” made in the modernization of infrastructures and machinery of the Technological Center, especially in the area of ??additive manufacturing and the Toy Lab.
“In 2022 we have focused many R D I projects on sustainability and all phases of the product life cycle. It is clear that our children’s product sectors, and especially plastic transformation companies, are very concerned about this technological vector and social”, specified Cañizares.
Regarding technological services, in 2022, AIJU provided 36,377 technological services to 1,713 client companies. Specifically, these services were 21,040 chemical analyzes; 12,110 physical analyses; 2,548 materials and process services and 183 organization, product management and sustainable development services. In addition, during this period, AIJU obtained a total of 8.7 million euros in income, mainly from RD incentives and RD services to companies.
Regarding training, the institute works with a performance evaluation tool that allows “detect and cover training needs in a personalized way”. In this area, during the year 2022, a total of 170 training actions have been carried out, spread over more than 4,826 teaching hours and in which 215 companies and more than 1,495 people have participated, mostly technicians and qualified employees.
“This year, and based on the SROI (Social Return on Investment) methodology, it has been calculated that for every euro invested by AIJU, companies and public administrations, a social return of 11.82 euros has been obtained. This indicator it will be increasingly important in the approval of European, national and regional innovation projects, which allow anticipating the needs of companies”, highlighted the president of the technological institute.
On the other hand, among the outstanding projects in the 2022 financial year, he mentioned the SIMDAT4.0 project, focused on the development of industrial digitization systems based on simulation and data acquisition to reduce costs in manufacturing processes; o DLT4AITOYS, whose goal is to develop a digital passport for smart toys that will prevent counterfeiting and facilitate recycling.
Other of the projects included in the report are related to the field of health, such as the GLIO-IA project, which works on the development of a comprehensive and intelligent platform for precision medicine applied to brain tumors, using technologies additive manufacturing; or a social connection platform through mentoring programs and social games to promote the training and empowerment of older people, through the MENTOR project.
AIJU also participates in other calls for projects and studies at the European level, such as the DELICIOUS project, which analyzes the keys to the impact of the Mediterranean diet on children by creating educational materials through the development of games; or the production of advanced biodiesel from animal waste, through the Life Superbiodiesel project.
In the 2022 financial year, AIJU has highlighted the “improvement” of its environmental behavior, endorsed by its Environmental Management system, according to the UNE-EN ISO 14001:2015 standard, and the fact that it continues “advising companies on their objectives aimed at optimizing the use of resources, energy self-sufficiency through photovoltaic energy or the management of resources that are dangerous for the environment”.
In addition, it has valued the work of raising awareness and environmental awareness of the industrial fabric through the development of European R&D projects, as well as other projects linked to the Circular Economy and the development of more sustainable materials.
In relation to equal opportunities, it has highlighted that it has the 2021-2025 Equality Plan, which contains actions that “favor equality between men and women in various areas”, such as access to employment, reconciliation, professional classification , promotion and training, remuneration, occupational health and non-sexist communication and language.
In addition, the Technological Institute for Children’s and Leisure Products has a Plan to reconcile work and family life. AIJU’s human team is made up of 123 professionals, of which 15 are doctors (40 percent men and 60% women), 47 graduates (54% men and 46% women), 15 intermediate graduates (73% men and 27% women) and 46 assistants (30% men and 70% women).
