Prticipation in the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP)

The MIT REAP is a capstone global initiative at MIT designed to help regions accelerate economic growth and job creation through innovation-driven entrepreneurship (IDE). Partner regions form multi-disciplinary teams and commit to a two-year learning engagement with MIT. During this engagement, teams work with MIT top faculty and the broader REAP community through a series of action-learning activities to build and implement a custom regional strategy for enhancing their IDE ecosystems.

YUZZ: Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for ICT Projects

The Yuzz scheme, run by the Banesto Foundation and the Ministry of Finance, Innovation, Science and Employment of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, provides support to young entrepreneurs working on ideas related to new information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of the YUZZ programme, in which PTS Granada is the local partner, is to discover talent, but also to turn that talent into a real business project. The Yuzz scheme has been up and running for 2 years, and during that time the Banesto Foundation, and its partners in the 22 provinces where the scheme is run, have provided the selected entrepreneurs with everything they need to develop their ideas so that they can launch them on the market: a network of experts, business training, personalised advice and tutorials, an online collaborative work platform, and all the administrative and legal support they need should their business idea become a reality.

RIS3

Participation in the definition of the New European Funding Policy 2014-2020: RIS3: “Regional Innovation and Smart Specialization Strategy”. Andalusia has identified various strategic sectors: Agrotech, Biohealth, Clean Energy, Aerospace, Tourism and Information and Communications Technology (ICT). It has started the creation of unique “Centres of Excellence” in the region for each strategic sector.

BIC Granada Soft Landing Program

Through this program, The PTS Granada Business Innovation Center, BIC Granada, offers a solution for Spanish Innovative Companies working in life sciences and health sector which are interested in selling their products and services outside Spain.  This program is also designed for companies trying to find partners and collaborators in other countries and markets. Some of the Soft Landing services are: Access to offices of BICs along Europe and other incubators in different international areas; Access to new international markets by means of agreements between EBN (European Business Center Network) and USA, China, Russia, Brazil and other countries; Logistic support and specialized consultancy from the BIC or the international partner; Help for managing new legal, financial and cultural challenges when starting a company in a new country.

Organization of specific brokerage events and focused or sectorial company visits abroad

• I & II International Biotechnology Meetings: The aim of these annual trade events is to identify international opportunities for business and scientific collaboration in the markets selected, which include Morocco, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, France, the United States, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They also aim at helping Andalusian companies taking part make new business contacts. This event includes presentations on key topics for the biotechnology sectors in the invited countries, as well as one-on-one business meetings.
• II Congress of Scientific Entrepreneurs: in 2014, the PTS hosted the II Congress of Scientific Entrepreneurs including the II Congress of the Association of Scientific and Technological Entrepreneurs, the I Workshop and the XXXI National Congress of Junior Enterprises, the VI University of Granada Spin-offs Session, an Andalusian Technology Corporation seminar and a Private Investment Forum. Congress attendees also had the opportunity to share success stories by entrepreneurs in the fields of ICT, biotechnology, biomedicine and geology.

Participation in the 2014 Medical Expo in Casablanca (Morocco): PTS Granada organized the joint visit of a delegation of companies and institutions to the 15th MEDICAL EXPO and 7th AFRICAN-ARAB FAIR FOR HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, celebrated in Casablanca (Morocco) from 19th to 23rd March 2014. Granada's group of delegates, which had its own booth at the event, was made up of 33 representatives from PTS-based institutions and companies. They had the chance to establish commercial exchanges and explore business and collaboration opportunities for research, advanced training and technical assistance for the governments and healthcare institutions present at the Fair. They also participated in the Scientific Programme, with 6 conferences centered in the research and economic potential of a technological space like PTS Granada. The Medical Expo is sponsored by Morocco's Ministries of Health and Industry, and the Africa-Arab Fair is sponsored by the Commission of the African Union and the League of Arab States. Representatives from around 50 countries attended the event, which provides the perfect opportunity for national and international investors to sound out new potential partnerships in the health sector.