Innova IRV gathered more than 50 companies in its second INNO-DAY held in BIC Euronova, an event that focuses on promoting collaborative innovation projects and digital entrepreneurship.
New measures of the CDTI (Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation) regarding the support of technology companies were presented, such as Transmisiones 2023 and the Innvierte funding, among others.
The Ricardo Valle Institute of Innovation Foundation (Innova IRV) celebrated the INNO-DAY event on 12 July, which was held in Málaga TechPark, more specifically in the BIC Euronova facilities (European Centre of Companies and Innovation in Málaga). The event was attended by more than 50 companies, researchers, experts and institutions that are part of the national innovation ecosystem.
The welcoming speech was given by José Manuel Leceta, general director of Innova IRV, in which he highlighted that “this event, which is the second that Innova IRV organises this year, aims to activate the innovation community and connect with the national and international ecosystems of companies, entrepreneurs, researchers and experts that can be accelerated with the CDTI’s support.”
The event started with the congress called “Support and growth of technology companies”, where Javier Ponce, general manager of the CDTI, presented new instruments and public aids for business and innovation in the fields of R&D, such as the Innvierte funding or the TransMisiones 2023 initiative, which is coordinated by the CDTI and by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and will allocate €130 million to subsidise R&D projects in order to promote the public-private collaboration in R&D&I.
The participants showed great interest in both programs, which are considered new solutions to the challenges that the European Union is facing to move towards a digital, eco-friendly and inclusive transformation. Enabling technologies play an essential role.
Then, a round table conference was held where they tackled topics such as the circular economy, cybersecurity and connected vehicles. Rafael Sánchez, vice president of Circular Economy at Innova IRV and general manager of Endesa in Andalusia and Extremadura, Patricia Galán, co-founder and CEO of Tamiza and Juan Carlos Mora, vice president of Connectivity at DEKRA, participated in this round table conference.
The chairman of the debate was Federico Flórez, former managing director of Ferrovial and winner of the CIO Awards of Innovation in 2016 by the Forbes magazine. Moreover, he has a broad experience in sustainable information and innovation systems.
The INNO-DAY events are supported by AMETIC so that they become a recurring event to shape new ideas and projects in Innova IRV’S areas of work. In March, they tackled topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 and Food Tech. A third INNO-DAY event will take place in October, focusing on topics like Health, Advanced Communications and Systems, thus boosting the fields on which the Foundation works, together with Microelectronics.
INNOVA IRV
The Ricardo Valle Institute of Innovation Foundation (Innova IRV) in Málaga is the first node of a national network of top-level business innovation clusters promoted by AMETIC.
This model, inspired by the German Fraunhofer Institute, is developed to boost competitiveness, to attract investment and to encourage the creation of tech-based companies.
Innova IRV’s vocation is national while its magnitude is global, creating demand in current and potential markets to foster knowledge.
The Foundation is promoted by Málaga City Council, the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian regional government), through the Consejería de Universidades, Investigación e Innovación (regional Ministry of Universities, Research and Innovation), Miramar Group, Sando Foundation and Mayoral.
Innova is comprised of collaborating entities such as Accenture, Aeorum, Aertec, Agencia Digital de Andalucía (Digital Agency of Andalusia), Ametic, Bic Euronova, Dekra, Diputación de Málaga (Málaga Provincial Council), Endesa, Ericsson, Esesa, Famadesa, Google, Málaga TechPark, Orange, Premo, Simón, Tinámica, Top Digital, Trops, Tupl, University of Granada, University of Málaga, Unicaja, University of Seville, Vodafone, Telefónica, CSG Ingeniería, Iturri and Smart Health TV Solution. Eurecat, Atarfil, Anovo and the Municipal Tourism Office joined the Foundation as collaborators in June.
BIC Euronova
BIC Euronova is the European Business and Innovation Centre (CEEI) in Málaga, a pioneering incubator of innovative companies in the city, based in Málaga TechPark.
Founded in 1991 at the initiative of the European Community Commission, BIC Euronova is 40% owned by the Regional Ministry for Economy, Finance and European Funds of the Regional Government of Andalusia through the IDEA Agency (part of TRADE), 40% owned by the Málaga City Council (Promálaga) and 20% by Unicaja Bank.
BIC Euronova’s mission is to support the creation, incubation, consolidation and internationalisation of innovative SMEs, to boost new activities in the existing SMEs and to advise entrepreneurs and public institutions on innovation, in order to promote the endogenous generation of wealth and employment.
Since its establishment more than 30 years ago, BIC Euronova has contributed to the creation and consolidation of over 520 innovative companies and 5,250 qualified jobs. The technologies being developed by the companies hosted in BIC Euronova are mainly Augmented Reality, AI, e-health, autonomous vehicles, additive manufacturing, machine learning, big data, data mining, cybersecurity, new materials and aerospace photovoltaics.
BIC Euronova is integrated in the European Business Network (EBN), which brings together more than 250 BICs throughout Europe. It is a certified EU|BIC since the beginning of its activity, a label endorsed by the European Commission and that BIC Euronova periodically renews. Furthermore, it is a member of the National Association of BICs (ANCES), which is headquartered in BIC Euronova’s facilities. Álvaro Simón, director of BIC Euronova, presides over the Association.
Due to its international vocation, BIC Euronova forges alliances all over the world with organisations that support the creation of innovative companies.