A delegation from Brazil, led by the mayor of Campinas, Mr. Dário Saadi and the rectors of the universities Pontificia Universidad Católica de Campinas and Unicamp visited Barcelona from May 14 to 17 to hold a series of institutional meetings with representatives of the ecosystem of Catalonia. The purpose of the visit was to carry out a reference investigation on the concept of Smart Cities and its relationship with sustainability, territorial development policies, innovation ecosystems and business opportunities in both countries.
During the visit, institutional meetings were held with the University of Barcelona, ACCIÓ, Barcelona Activa, LaSalle and other key players in the Catalan ecosystem. The topics to be discussed included the definition of a Smart City in Barcelona, its position in global rankings, territorial planning and structures, the relationship between universities, hubs and technology parks, the development of municipal hubs, technology transfer and entrepreneurship, the Digital transformation and its social implications.
The first result of this visit is that a collaboration between StartUB!, the University of Barcelona (UB) and Unicamp has already been established. Two prominent members of StartUB! they will participate as mentors in the “Unicamp Challenge”, a competition that promotes the creation and development of new businesses based on protected technologies, such as patents and programs. Participants will receive training in the Lean Canvas methodology and will have the support of mentors from the market and academia to develop their business models.
This initiative exemplifies how the visit has generated tangible results and promoted active collaboration between academic institutions from both countries. This exchange of knowledge and experiences is expected to be the first of many.