Science and technology parks showcase the technologies of the future

XV APTE International Conference

The technologies presented today during the XV International Conference will transform our way of living and working.

More than 200 professionals have gathered today in the Science and Technology Park of Gipuzkoa in the celebration of the XV APTE International Conference, whose motto is "Beyond 2020: Disruptive Technologies".

Arantxa Tapia, Minister of Economic Development and Competitiveness of the Basque Government, Ainhoa Aizpuru, Deputy for Economic Promotion, Rural Environment and Territorial Balance of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Itziar Epalza, General Director of the Network of Science and Technology Parks in the Basque Country and Felipe Romera, President of APTE were responsible for the institutional opening of the event. They have all stressed the importance of getting on board and joining the technological revolution in which we are already immersed and how science and technology parks must be able to anticipate and read the changes and transformations that are coming.

Barak Barkowitz, Director of Operations and Strategy at Mit Media Lab has made us aware of the speed of technological change and its consequences in all aspects of life and how this technological rhythm is beginning to go crazy. We have discussed with him how services, jobs and concentration of wealth are changing. It has also given us the positive message that all this transformation will bring about technological democratisation and an end to scarcity with the help of technology to mitigate it.

Silvia Leal, expert in Leadership and Digital Transformation, has highlighted the potential of technologies such as gamification, virtual and augmented reality, drones and robotics and artificial intelligence. For Silvia Leal, in the fourth industrial revolution it doesn't matter age, sex or professional experience to join it and find our opportunity, since in technologies such as Internet of the things, it is necessary to multiply by 15 the number of professionals and it will generate 6 times the current business of the pharmaceutical industry.

In line with such innovative themes, the Association of Science and Technology Parks of Spain has taken advantage of the opportunity to award the prizes for best practices in Science and Technology Parks 2017, which have awarded the parks of Extremadura and Bizkaia in the form of parks under and over 10 years old respectively and on the other hand, in the category of runners-up in each of the modalities, have been recognized the practices of the Science Park.

In the last part of the event, we met companies, specifically Mizar, Graphenea, SPC Net and Irisbond, who not only study and analyze the technologies of the future but are already working with them. 3D fabrication of prostheses for human bodies, graphical nanostructures for flexible electronics, cybersecurity for safe transactions or minimizing the impact of cyber attacks, artificial intelligence to control devices with the eye and apply them to people with disabilities have been analyzed in depth in the first block of Elevator Pitch.

In the second block we have seen in depth the activity that the participating companies are developing, specifically, Nem Solutions, Tecnalia, Oceantec and Vivebiotech, in technologies such as Big Data as a generator of new business models, global information networks to rapidly disseminate large amounts of information with application in sectors such as defense, aerospace industry or autonomous vehicles, new sources of energy from the seas or how to convey medicines through the Internet.

All of them have agreed that the surroundings of the science and technology parks are ideal for developing their activity through the infrastructures, scientific and technological services, access to talent and the possibility of collaborating with other innovative companies and research organisations they offer, as well as the concept of the network they represent and the capacity to connect them.

The next event will be in Avilés, in November 2018, where the 16th International APTE Conference will take place, organized on this occasion by the Avilés Science and Technology Park "Island of Innovation". In the presentation of this park, Manuel Campa, has received the witness during the act of transfer of flag, from the hands of the representative of the current park organizer of the Conference, Itziar Epalza and in the presence of the president of APTE, Felipe Romera.