- The rector of the UPC, Antoni Giró, the director of Innovation at Indra, José Luis Angoso, and the multinational's director of University Relations, Carlos Fernández, signed the agreement in Barcelona
- Both institutions will promote joint projects and training seminars in fields such as smart cities, medical technologies and energy
Antoni Giró, the rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (UPC), José Luis Angoso, director of Innovation at Indra, and Carlos Fernández, the technological multinational's director of University Relations, signed a collaboration framework agreement in Barcelona to carry out joint activities in the field of R&D&i.
Both institutions will promote the creation of specific agreements between Indra and a number of research groups at the UPC to develop research and development projects in several fields, including those associated to smart cities, medical technologies or the energy sector.
The agreement will also promote joint activities such as seminars and training sessions as well as experience exchanges, technology transfer and the mobility of UPC graduates for research matters at Indra.
The agreement was signed at a work session attended by Indra professionals and UPC researchers from all these fields, where they shared experiences and analysed possible areas of collaboration. At this event, Indra presented its general lines, projects and technological solutions in the field of smart cities, health and energy, as well as its future objectives for innovation. On the other hand, the University presented some examples of projects it has carried out and showed its technological capabilities in these areas.
Indra and the UPC have been collaborating more than 10 years in various R&D&i projects. This agreement will strengthen this partnership and create a stable institutional framework for cooperation.
The university as a source of innovation and talent
This initiative falls within Indra's commitment towards innovation, which is the basis for its business and the axis for its sustainability as a company. In its open innovation model, the company searches for and promotes innovation internally and also through its relations with customers, partners, vendors, universities and knowledge institutions, as well as with society in general.
For the technological multinational, universities are an essential source of knowledge that allows it to maintain this commitment with innovation and to attract talent. For this reason, Indra has established relationships with approximately 200 universities and research centres, primarily through chairs, agreements and R&D projects.
Indra in Catalonia
Indra has nearly 3,000 professionals in Catalonia, distributed in eight work centres in the provinces of Barcelona and Lleida. Its regional office is located in Barcelona's 22@ technological district, where it was one of the first companies to establish its presence.
It has a Software Lab at the Scientific and Technological Park of Lledia that, as part of Indra's Software Lab global network, supports the company's operations throughout the world. It also has a User Support Centre (CAU) in Lleida that provides 24x7 support to companies located in Spain as well as abroad.
Indra is the leading technology multinational in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. It is the number two European company in its sector by R+D investment, with close to €550 M invested in the last three years. Sales in 2011 reached €2,688 M, and currently over half of its revenues are from the international market. The company employs more than 40,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries.
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
The UPC is one of the leading technological public universities in Spain. It specialises in degrees and research in the areas of engineering, science and architecture, has approximately 30,000 undergraduate students, 3,000 master's degree students and 3,000 PhD students, generating approximately 275 doctorates each year.
The UPC has earned the International Campus of Excellence recognition and is one of the most active European institutions in the area of research and knowledge transfer. Last year it earned €64 million from research and development activities, it is currently the Spanish university that holds the most patents (more than 400 registered patents), and it is the second most active university in terms of creating spin-offs with a total of 64 companies.
The UPC recently created the Innovation and Technology Centre (CIT UPC), which is focused on improving and promoting the conditions for transferring and valuing research and technology from TECNIO UPC Centres towards companies and society in general.
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