A high-level briefing featured Josefina Bueno, the minister responsible for Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society, addressing an audience of more than 300 national and international experts. Representatives from 150 companies and more than 1,500 startups joined, while the regions of Alicante and Elche were named Spain’s AI and Aviation capitals, highlighting a targeted regional strategy in these critical sectors.
Speaking at the Valencia Digital Summit 2022, an event expected to draw over 10,000 attendees from 35 countries, the Valencian Community stressed the advantages of relocating a national AI oversight agency and a space agency to Alicante and Elche. The keynote showcased Valencia’s ability to cultivate talent and attract it, alongside the active engagement of the entire productive network in these high-impact initiatives. The message was clear: regional collaboration can accelerate national capabilities in artificial intelligence and aerospace.
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Beno emphasized the need for solid backing to accompany the two nominations. He noted strong local enthusiasm within the Valencian Community but also pointed to gaps in local support. The minister highlighted the backing observed from Valencia’s public administrations, universities, technology institutes, chambers of commerce, business associations, and the wider corporate ecosystem.
He described the steps taken after discussions in Madrid that established a broad, two-way communication channel. Local experts and national AI advocates shared the community’s excitement about these nominations and their potential to stimulate innovation, attract investment, and generate jobs across the region.
With this momentum, Josefina Bueno outlined to an international audience the Valencia region’s strengths and its strategic position to host two national agencies. Alicante and Elche were identified as ideal locations due to their strong international connections by land, air, and sea, promising smooth exchanges of people and ideas.
The councilor also underlined the pivotal role these agencies could play in shaping the Valencia area by advancing a transformed regional production model and making innovation accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as micro-enterprises. The aim is to speed up digital adoption and translate cutting-edge technology into practical solutions for local businesses.
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Concurrently, the Consell has pursued broad backing from the region’s public and private universities for the Alicante and Elche candidacies as the headquarters for the AI and Space Agencies respectively. Bueno met with university leaders from both public and private institutions to assess alignment and gather input to strengthen the case for Alicante as the AI Supervision Agency hub and Elche as the Space Agency hub.
The talks with university leadership form part of a wider plan to anchor these agencies in a region known for robust educational resources, strong research capacity, and a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. These collaborations are expected to connect academic research with real-world applications, ensuring new AI and space initiatives align with local industry needs and talent pipelines.