On 22 and 23 September, Barcelona is hosting SOMMa Connect, a gathering that connects the innovation developed at Severo Ochoa centres of excellence and María de Maeztu units (which make up the SOMMa alliance) with companies, investors and the innovation ecosystem. Javier Aramayona, director of ICMAT and vice-president of SOMMa, closes the event together with Elisa Rivera, Director General for Planning, Coordination and Knowledge Transfer at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
The event, organised by SOMMa and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), showcases some of the technologies and projects with the greatest potential to emerge from excellence research carried out in Spain, and seeks to explore new opportunities for collaboration, investment and knowledge transfer.
Representatives from some of the leading institutions driving and funding innovation in Spain and Europe are taking part, including the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), alongside investors, companies and organisations linked to the transfer and innovation ecosystem.
The programme on 22 September included an Investment Pitch Session, in which various projects presented their proposals to experts from the investment and business ecosystem, organised into four broad areas: HealthTech; Agro-Food & CleanTech; DeepTech & Advanced Engineering; and Better Societies, reflecting the diversity of disciplines and technologies developed at Spain’s centres of excellence.
The second day, 23 September, focuses on the mechanisms needed to turn excellence research into innovation and on the partnerships that make this process possible, through presentations and round tables.
About SOMMa
SOMMa is the Alliance that brings together the Severo Ochoa centres of excellence, including ICMAT, and the María de Maeztu units of excellence. Its mission is to help strengthen and give international visibility to a leading scientific community, promoting frontier, interdisciplinary and high-impact research. SOMMa also fosters collaboration between its centres and with other agents in the knowledge and innovation ecosystem, supporting the transfer of results, interaction with the productive sector, and the generation of scientific, economic and social impact. Through its activities and working groups, the Alliance also promotes the exchange of good practice and the development of joint initiatives that help strengthen the excellence and transformative capacity of Spanish research.
This text has been automatically translated from Spanish and may contain inaccuracies.