Rector Maria Vicenta Mestre and Pedro Carrasco, director of the Science Park, inaugurate the new building 5 of the Science Park where the UV Innovation Center and the AgrotecUV business incubator will be housed
Building 5 of the University of Valencia Science Park was officially inaugurated this morning. This building will house the AgrotecUV High-Tech Agri-Food Innovation Incubator and the UV Innovation Centre. In attendance at the event were the UV principal María Vicenta Mestre, the General Director of Science and Innovation Rafael Sebastián, the Director General of Innovation Juan José Cortés Vélez and the Director General of the INCYDE foundation of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce Javier Collado. They were accompanied by Pedro Carrasco, director of the Science Park, and members of the university governing board, as well as a few deans and members of the university and scientific community.
The New UV Innovation Centre
Building 5 of the Science Park blends seamlessly into the urban environment, which is characterised by open, low-rise buildings with a uniform composition, and is in line with the design of the campus as a whole. The building has a floor area of 2,773.18 m² distributed among 5 floors. Each floor consists of a central corridor, allowing access from both sides to the various spaces. The building’s most noteworthy spaces include the translucent laboratory in the semi-basement, the double-height social area between the ground and first floors and the co-working space on the second floor.
This new building is part of a major project undertaken by the University of Valencia to demonstrate its commitment to infrastructure. This infrastructure project also includes the refurbishment of the Lluís Vives Hall of Residence on the Blasco Ibáñez campus, the construction of the new Faculty of Biological Sciences building on the Burjassot-Paterna campus and the construction of the West Classroom Building 2 on the Tarongers campus, among others.
This new construction, costing around 4,230,000 euros, was jointly funded by the University of Valencia, the Generalitat Valenciana through the Reseach, Technological Development and Innovation Programme, and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Multi-region Operative Programme of Spain 2014-20 managed by the INCYDE Foundation.
AgrotecUV Incubator
The new AgrotecUV High-Tech Agri-Food Innovation Incubator plays a crucial role in the transfer of scientific knowledge in the agri-food sector. It not only promotes the development of new technological and innovative businesses, but it also largely contributes to the sustainability and modernisation of the agri-food sector.
AgretecUV is a benchmark in the creation of an innovation ecosystem that fosters research and development, generating added value and competitiveness. By focusing on sustainable agriculture, the incubator responds to climate challenges and consumer needs, promoting a healthier and more inclusive agri-food system. This project not only benefits the incubated business, but it also boots the local and regional economies by creating new opportunities for employment and development.
New agreement for an additional incubator
At the inauguration led by Rosa Maria Donat, Vice-Principal for Innovation and Transfer, a new collaboration agreement between the UV and INCYDE was signed by the INCYDE General Director. Through this agreement a new incubator that specialises in Artificial Intelligence and digital enabling technologies will be formed.
Pedro Carrasco, head of the University of Valencia Science Park, stated, ‘This is the first time in 15 years that the Science Park has inaugurated a new building and an incubator, in addition to signing an agreement for an additional incubator’. He wished all those involved great success as in their future endeavors, “it is a unique collaboration framework, between a university and its science park, aimed at supporting and promoting the creation of companies in a specific field. The agreement we are signing today repeats the scheme of AgrotecUV, the business incubator specialized in the agri-food sector that today is installed in this new building; and lays the foundations for the creation of a new incubator in the field of Artificial Intelligence and digital enabling technologies,” he said after highlighting the importance of the ERDF grants received for this purpose from the Regional Ministry of Innovation, on the one hand, and from the INCyDE Foundation, on the other.
Juan José Cortés, General Director of Innovation of the Generalitat Valenciana, reiterated the Valencian Government’s ‘steadfast commitment’ to innovation projects, as they help strengthen the link between ‘knowledge and businesses to solve market challenges’.
Rafael Sebastián, Director General of Science and Research, congratulated the UV on their infrastructures project and confirmed that the GVA will continue to support the construction of infrastructure and scientific facilities through specific calls for tender ‘in order to continue building a bridge between the university and businesses and to continue to lead the Valencian Community along the path to becoming a region based on a knowledge economy, both sustainable and resilient to all that may come in the future’.
Javier Collado, Director General of the INCYDE Foundation, stated that ‘at INCYDE, we are proud to have signed this new agreement. Collaboration with leading institutions such as the Universitat de València in the development of projects such as this one is crucial as it fosters, through the ERDF Funds, entrepreneurship and innovation and the creation of small and medium-sized businesses. We hope to continue collaborating with the UV to push for a more innovative and sustainable future’.
The event ended with a few words by the Principal of the Universitat de València, Maria Vicenta Mestre, who stated once again her many thanks to the funding agencies, GVA and INCYDE. She reminded the audience that, as a public university, the UV must work hand in hand with the other institutions. Finally, she thanked Javier Collado for signing the new agreement, which ‘will allow us to continue working on research and the transfer of knowledge, which is our responsibility to society’.
See the summary of the day
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