The innovation and digital transformation train set off a long time ago and the Canary Islands do not want to be left out, but there are several challenges that the region must face if it is to establish and position itself as a reference point in the sector at the national level. Experts who attended the ‘Futuribles: Technological Innovation, Sustainability and ESG Management’ event organized by ESG said the following: Iberian Press in the Canary Islands and sponsored by Telefónica, Philip Morris Spain and the European University of the Canary Islands.
A day when government, the private sector and universities agree to highlight the importance of development. Focus on education and the need to find formulas that allow the transfer of knowledge Canary business texture.
«Our commitment is for R&D expenditures to reach 1.25% of society’s GDP»
Fernando González, director of the Futuribles 2023 project, was responsible for moderating the expert panel consisting of Juan José Flores Mederos, regional director of Telefónica in the Canary Islands; Sebastián López, Director of Innovation and Transfer at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; Cristiana Oliveira, rector of the European University of the Canary Islands; and Javier Franco Hormiga, director of the Canary Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society (Aciisi) of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Speakers agreed that the Archipelago has “all the ingredients for the casserole” and that the only thing missing is a cook who follows a good recipe. The culinary metaphor was introduced by Flores, and the rest of the participants took advantage of the opportunity. Telefónica’s regional manager said, “It is not worth digitalizing for the sake of digitalization, it is important to sit in front of the food and know the recipe very clearly.” The road to digitalization is “step by step” in the Canary Islands, but there is still resistance to change.
To combat this, Oliveira talked about the manager training plan launched by the European University. “We offered to train 1,300 managers in the Islands to provide them with the necessary qualifications for technology to affect their business,” said the rector, emphasizing that the goal is “to give each company its own personalized recipe.” they are more competitive. The rector proposed a new teaching model based on the possibility of offering short courses and micro-certificates with flexible learning paths, which would allow managers to train in the shortest possible time.
«We must seek the consensus of all actors and remain committed to public-private cooperation»
Transfer of knowledge from universities and innovation centers to the private sector was one of the issues that experts focused on the most. López reminded those present that the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has a university. Technological catalog available for companiesespecially for those without a technological innovation department due to their small size. ULPGC’s Director of Innovation and Transfer insisted on the importance of consensus and public-private cooperation among all actors involved (administrations, companies and universities), because this is where the problem of knowledge transfer often arises.
ULPGC has a technology catalog for SMEs that do not have a digital department.
Aciisi’s executive assessed the Canary Islands’ commitment to R&D&I as essential and announced a commitment to see spending in the sector reach 1.25% of Canary Islands GDP. For this purpose, the Agency creates action axes that include achieving a good governance system that allows monitoring and evaluation of R&D&D policies. In addition to carrying out reforms, creating laws and plans in line with European and state policies, and increasing the budget until it reaches the average of the Spanish regions.
European University proposes microcredentials for entrepreneurs to study
Franco Hormiga took advantage of the meeting to talk about some of the projects being implemented thanks to the national initiative Retech (Regional Networks of Technological Specialisation). A European-funded state instrument aimed at articulating, coordinating, cooperating and complementarizing various regional projects for digital transformation and specialisation.
«The islands are increasingly moving towards innovation, but there is still resistance to change»
There are four projects identified and approved in the Canary Islands. One of them is the Living LaboratoryIt is an initiative led by the archipelago and Developing Artificial Intelligence in Tourism. “It could serve to turn the Islands into a reference region when it comes to artificial intelligence,” said Aciisi’s manager. This project is expected to serve the transformation of the main economic sector of the Islands into a model based on intelligence and sustainability. The agency hopes that the initiative will move towards economic diversification, promoting technological sectors where it can create a hub of talent and expertise.