On the morning of Tuesday 17 December, the Presentation of the outcomes of the Espaitec innovative projects took place. During this presentation, the following projects were presented by the responsible technicians: the Technology Map of the province of Castellón by Lidia Vidal, UJI.>LAB by Francisco Martínez; Knowledge Transfer Antennae by Sonia Damas and María Jesús Gascón. These projects intend to improve business competitiveness, favour University–Company collaboration and reciprocally transmit knowledge.
This event was opened by the person in charge of the Technology Institutes Area and the CEEI of IVACE, Mariano Carrillo, along with the Deputy Vice-Rector of Transfer, Innovation and Enterpreneurship of the UJI, David Cabedo, and the Manager of the General UJI Foundation, Juan Antonio Bertolín. These three innovative projects have been carried out thanks to the collaboration of and financing by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) by means of the Collaboration Agreement between IVACE and the General UJI Foundation to promote knowledge-technology transfer between the university and companies to support innovative enterprising.
The three innovative projects
The aim of the Technology Map of the province of Castellón is to identify and make visible technology-based and innovative companies in the province, and to explore the possibilities of synergies and collaborations among them. One main objective of this study is to geolocate, divide and point out technology-based companies. This project is constantly progressing and developing.
UJI.>LAB is essentially a creative project that came about given the need to design technology-based solutions for the various challenges that society demands by mechanisms like End of Graduate or End of Master Works. This project is linked to the cooperative LivingLab methodology (the Quadruple Helix Framework: Industry, Government, Academia and Society) which the European Network of LivingLabs (ENOLL) encourages, whose Managing Board Espaitec has formed part since 2011.
It is worth stressing that UJI.>LAB has a FabLab whose main mission is to transform ideas into real prototypes that can be used by society. Thus tangible solutions are sought that can be developed in future start-ups. To this end, considerable investment has been made in the latest generation machinery like: 3D Printer, Resin Printer, Laser Cutter, Cutting Plotter, Precision CNC and Large-Sized CNC.
Finally, the activity of Knowledge Transfer Antennae project has focused on making contact between professionals from firms in the areas of Sagunto and Vinaroz and groups of researchers from the Universitat Jaume I by means of face-to-face sessions to explore collaboration possibilities. To do so, two Transfer Events have been held in Sagunto and Vinaroz to facilitate networkings (working in networks and bilateral meetings among professional from companies and research groups). The themes covered were, for instance, the integrated management of Agricultural Pests, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Ceramics, Glass and Nanotechnology, Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering, Waste Engineering, Electricity, Electronics and Automatics, Refrigeration and Climatisation, Transferring Heat, Cold and Electricity, Multiphase Fluids, Solid-State Chemistry, Environmental and Occupational Hazards, Processes Reengineering and Business Digitalisation.
