President of IASP talks about Barcelona and Medellín in meeting for Alliance for Innovation in Porto Alegre
Photo: Rodrigo W. Blum/Unisinos
Cases from Spain and Colombia are inspiring sources for the Alliance for Innovation in Porto Alegre, an initiative that involves PUCRS, UFRGS and Unisinos designed to making the city a reference in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. With that in mind, the presidents of the three universities, government and media representatives, researchers, businesses and other opinion makers joined an event on Jul 4. “It is time we took action and built a global ecosystem of innovation, with an eye to the international scenario”, said the President of PUCRS, Br. Dr Evilázio Teixeira.
Piqué discusses cases of Barcelona and Medellín.
Photo: Rodrigo W. Blum/Unisinos
The president of the International Association of Science and Technology Parks (IASP), Josep Piqué, gave details about the 22@ Barcelona, sponsored by the city’s local government. The project is considered the most important one in terms of urban transformation recently and one of the most ambitious in Europe, as a very powerful initiative in real estate that led to the total renovation of the city’s public infrastructure. For two years, Barcelona was considered the European capital of innovation. “Without entrepreneurship, there will be no productive innovation. Every year, as many as 1,000 startups are created in Barcelona. This is how we can develop an entrepreneurial culture”.
Piqué stated that, because of El Gran Pacto Por La Innovacion, they were able to create a mechanism to bring together a number of projects involving talent, technology and internationalization. “These are mechanisms for productivity, competitiveness and employability. We need to spot talents and bring them to the ecosystem. It is also important to put together an agenda involving universities, businesses and the government by sharing the economic and social challenges”, said he.
As for Medellín, in Colombia, Piqué made mention of the critical conditions of the city, as the cartel dominated the city, but which then became one of the most innovative cities on the planet. “We understand the local problems and sought to create mechanisms to advance innovation by bringing the local institutions in districts”, said he.
