With the aim of promoting the development of a knowledge-based innovation ecosystem in regions and its benefits for the community, the Seminar “Innovation for Competitiveness and Sustainability of the Araucanía Region” was held on August 23rd at the Chilean Chamber of Construction in Temuco.
The initiative, organized by the company Colbast Capital and the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, AC3E, of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, had 1 the participation of about 80 people, among whom were mainly investors, managers and academics, who witnessed the presentations of Dr. Iván Vera, Founder of Innspiral, Magical and Turingo; Dr. Carlos Isaacs, academic of the Universidad de la Frontera and former regional secretary of Economy, and the Center’s researchers Dr. Samir Kouro and Dr. Mauricio Araya.
Dr. Kouro gave the presentation “Technological innovation as an agent of change,” in which he shared some concepts related to technological innovation and the risk/benefit levels it brings, which depend on the maturity state of a technology and its potential market, and then showed the audience some examples of innovations, technology transfers and ventures carried out at AC3E.
“This is the second consecutive year that we have organized an event of these characteristics in the Araucanía region in conjunction with the company Colbast Capitals, which is seeking to articulate the innovation and investment ecosystem in the technological area of the region. It was a nice experience, since the area has a large number of innovations that can help local development. In addition, it has all the ingredients to generate a technology-based innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem: universities that attract very good talent, local challenges, entrepreneurs willing to invest, regional programs to support innovation and demographically it has been increasing after the pandemic, since many families from the central area emigrated seeking better quality of life, which will also impact the critical mass necessary to generate an ecosystem that grows over time,” highlighted the academic.
For his part, researcher Dr. Mauricio Araya, spoke about “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation,” where he highlighted where Chile is currently and what is being done in both disciplines. He also stressed the importance of replicating this type of initiative to other regions to advance as a country in terms of innovation.
