More than 50 people representing Spanish and Portuguese Science and Technology Parks and universities met on 3 July in the eighth edition of the Iberian Parks Encounters, an event that the Spanish National Assembly of Science and Technology Parks (APTE) and its Portuguese equivalent, the Associação Portuguesa de Parques de Ciência e Tecnologia (TecParques), organise together.
The objective of this event was to promote areas of cooperation in innovation between Spain and Portugal. To this end, apart from sessions during which knowledge and experience was shared to improve Spanish-Portuguese collaboration, in parallel this encounter included a technology transfer encounter in which organisations from the science and business areas of both countries participated.
The presentation of this encounter included, among others, a speech made by María Luisa Castaño, General Director of Innovation and Competitiveness of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and by José Carlos Gómez, Chair of sectorial R&D+i of CRUE and Rector of the University of Cantabria.

During the event, parks’ specialisation in attracting oversees investment through clusters was debated. Jaime Quesado, the representative of the Portuguese Clusters Group explained that the main sectorial areas of Portugal are Forestry, Mining, Maritime and Climate, and that the main challenge lies in creating a value chain of knowledge in these areas.

Emidio Gomes, Chair of the Committee for Coordination and Regional Development in north Portugal, stressed the importance of the scenario for regional collaboration that is opening up in Europe.

Francisco Negre, Chair of the APTE’s Delegate Commission of Financing and General Director of Espaitec, the Science, Technology and Business Park of the UJI, explained the major challenge of forming a new definition of Park, characterised by a financing model based on the creation and exploitation of valuable services for Parks’ organisations, and on the need to generate internal and external human and financing capital flows in order to have an impact on their territory.

Finally, Josep M. Piqué, the Vice-Chair of APTE, explained the clusters model that characterises Project 22@ as an instrument to draw investment that is set up in the city to compete in the world.