The Espaitec innovative project, financed by the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), launches its new platform coinciding with the development of the third phase, in which 294 technology companies have been identified in our province.
podcast drives the «Technological Map of the province of Castellón», whose main objectives are map Castellón companies of an innovative and technological nature; visualize the state of your technology, detect recent lines of research or emerging technologies, know technological needs and opportunities for continuous improvement; identify opportunities for collaboration between the business sector and the rest of the province's innovative ecosystem; and communicate the current supply and identified demand offered by each of the agents of the innovative ecosystem.
El «Technological Map of the province of Castellón» has focused its methodology on the current situation of the territory's technology; the identification of the main indicators, coming from the European Innovation Scoreboard 2019-2021 (European Union) and the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI); the design of a survey with questions related to innovation and technology; carrying out surveys to companies; the mapping of the participating companies; identifying opportunities for collaboration; and the communication of data through the project website (www.mapatecnologico.uji.es), whose functionality and presentation have been redesigned in this third phase to facilitate the visibility of the technological and innovative capabilities of companies in the Castellón territory.
Based on the data obtained from the companies participating in the project, a distribution of useful information has been observed for characterize our provincial environment from an innovative and technological point of view. The study has been accompanied by a meeting with each participant, allowing the identification of their technological needs and projects that can be implemented through collaborations between our companies and other agents of the national innovation ecosystem.
RESULTS OF THE PROJECT
Thus, the initiative has been able identify a total of 294 companies in the province with a strongly innovative and technologically based component whose distribution of the R&D component by sectors is as follows: ICT (31,76%); Industrial Technologies (23,65%); and Energy and Environment (11,49%) aligned with the Intelligent Specialization Strategy of the Valencian Community (RIS3CV). It is noted that in the sector of Optics, Materials and Nanotechnology, the distribution of R&D is practically zero in the province, reaching only 1,35% of the companies surveyed, followed by Biotechnology and Health, with 4,05%. As for the market positioning, 33% of the companies have it highlighted in the province, 33% have a defined positioning at the national level and 50% of the companies have little presence both in the European Union and in the rest of the world.
Regarding the training level of employees, it stands out the gap between male and female employees, even taking into account that the hiring of men is much higher than that of women. Regarding doctorates, 70% are men and 30% women; university students, 65% are men and 35% women; non-university students, 72% are men and 28% women; and R&D specialists, 71% are men and 29% women.
43% of the investee companies have own R&D department in the company, which means that they do not need to outsource that area. Refering to Protection of Intellectual and/or Industrial Property It should be noted that almost 74% of companies exercise their rights regarding intellectual property of the corporate brand. Also that one in three participants protects their rights regarding copyright, patents and industrial design.
As to computer literacy degree 70% of the companies surveyed affirm that their employees have an advanced degree of computer literacy, while 20% assure that their level is intermediate.
According to the heat map that includes the participating companies, investment in R&D It is located mainly in the geographical areas with the largest number of inhabitants and most industrialized, these are: Castellón de la Plana, Vila-real, Vall d'Uixó, and somewhat further behind Onda and Nules.
El «Technological Map of the province of Castellón» strengthens the commitment to contribute to increasing the capacity for growth and competitiveness of the provincial business fabric, especially in times of crisis where innovation must become a business constant.
