TECNIOspring PLUS ACCIÓ programme to foster mobility of researchers with a focus in applied research and technology transfer
Project Objectives
To develop a professional career for experienced researchers in innovation & applied projects and provide top training in technology transfer in alignment with MSCA culture. To bring technological research closer to the industrial sector by attracting research talent to Catalonia in order to strengthen the technological capacities of the Catalan productive industry. To promote the establishment of strategic alliances with leading (inter)national entities.
Courtesy of IASO.
Project Funding
This project is funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 712949. MSCA-COFUND-2015-FP - Marie SkłodowskaCurie Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND-FP)
Contact Details
Project Coordinator, Rita Riba ACCIÓ - GenCat Pg. de Gràcia, 129, 08008 Barcelona, Spain T: +34 934 849 603 E: tecniospring.accio@gencat.cat W: http://catalonia.com/innovate-incatalonia/tecniospringplus/index.jsp Rita Riba
Rita Riba works in the Talent Group as senior project manager currently in charge of the coordination of TECNIOspring PLUS programme (MSCA- COFUND Grant Agreement 712949) and TecniospringINDUSTRY programme (MSCACOFUND Grant Agreement 801342). She has more than 20 years’ experience in the management of R&D projects and European public funding. She holds a degree on Economics from Universitat de Barcelona (UB), a master’s degree in Management Engineering from Université de Clermont Ferrand and a postgraduate in Regional Development from Universitat de Barcelona (UB).
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like cancer. After the project, Daniel Esteban created a start-up ViReInstruments, which is now enrolling new research capabilities through the Tecniospring INDUSTRY programme. Gerard Cortina pioneered smart parasols at the IASO company in Lleida. The solar panels, enabling the parasols to efficiently and costeffectively provide light outside at night, an innovation that benefits the hospitality industry with a significant energy cost saving. The parasols incorporated high efficiency single-crystal photovoltaic cells and light supporting materials to bring down the weight of the panel. The solar radiation is stored in a battery which has enough energy for five hours of luminosity. “The aim of the project,” explained Gerard, “Is to combine a solar protection element and then harness the energy from which we are protecting ourselves, to use if for lighting during the night, exploiting the functionalities of the two existing products and combining them to create sunlight.” The autonomous lighting has widescale application and is a significant achievement for innovation in renewables. A knock-on effect for this innovation was that companies noticed the parasols were ideal for highlighting their brands and sought advertising space on them, adding another financial benefit for the sector. There are so many examples of impressive work, including tackling a children’s disease, wearable technology to track glucose through sweat, animal nutrition advancements for farms and a new system for the detection of toxic algae. Such innovations drive big returns, societal changes and industrial transformations. The collaborations generated through the network can be hugely beneficial for many reasons.
The researchers can accumulate a wealth of experience from working at the business end of applied research, together with access to training and stewardship from a range of business and academic mentors, sector experts and key people from ACCIO. The international and intersectoral opportunities, developed over time have become invaluable and there is the tight-knit relationship forged from the programme, between fellows and companies working on R & D. With the generous financing from the project toward salaries for researchers pioneering to new heights in applied fields, it’s a win-win for both industry and academia.
Progressing careers and applied science The feedback from those working with industry within the programme illustrated that being integrated reports benefits both to research and personal careers. Researchers involved in TECNIOspring PLUS reported more than 50 Open Access accepted papers, together with 94 oral presentations in congresses, symposia and events. From 2016-2021, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a 75% increase in the number of start-ups only in Barcelona. Catalonia is going from strength to strength with R&D, innovation and applied sciences and this is in part due to a culture that has a strong collaboration between the EU, ACCIÓ, academia and the private sector. What is demonstrated through TECNIOspring Plus is that being closer to industry, making R&D financing viable for startups and companies of every shape and size, means Europe can accelerate innovation and build highly successful careers around applied research.
EU Research
