Chile continues to strengthen its position as a regional benchmark in dual innovation, a field that brings together science, technology and defense with a direct impact on economic and social development. In this context, on October 24, Innovapolinav, Viña del Mar will host the third edition of the Dual Hub Summit: Dual Innovation Ecosystems in Chile, as part of the 8th Chilean Navy Innovation Meeting.
Organized jointly by the Chilean Navy’s Technological Innovation Center (CiTA), Innovapolinav and Know Hub Chile, the event has become the leading space for collaboration among defense, academia, industry and the public sector on dual innovation. Its goal: to generate technology solutions with strategic value for both national sovereignty and citizens.
A meeting that brings together defense, science and productive development
Since its first edition in Concepción, where more than 200 people took part in a pioneering meeting of academia, defense, industry and entrepreneurship, the Dual Hub Summit has evolved into a platform for multisector dialogue and coordination. The second edition, held in Santiago, deepened public-private cooperation and ties with national science and defense policies, consolidating a network that today underpins the country’s dual innovation ecosystem.
In the words of Javier Ramírez, executive director of Know Hub Chile, the 2025 edition reinforces the meeting’s maturity and relevance: “The Dual Hub Summit has become a reference point for the dual innovation ecosystem in Chile. In this third edition, the partnership with the Chilean Navy, through CiTA and Innovapolinav, reinforces the vision that innovation is not built in isolation: it requires collaboration among all the country’s strategic players.”
Dual innovation with a global outlook
The event will feature prominent international speakers, including Lars Frølund, an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), part of the MIT REAP program and a board member of the EIC Fund (European Innovation Council Fund), Europe’s largest investor in deep tech.
Frølund, who has advised governments and universities in more than 50 regions around the world, will offer a global perspective on building dual innovation ecosystems and applied technology transfer for defense, industry and economic development.
Also taking part will be Arturo Ojeda Demaria, UXS specialist at the Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Technology Development Unit of the United Nations Global Service Centre. A former commander in the Chilean Navy, Ojeda has built his career across the navy, the private sector and the United Nations, focusing on maritime security, crisis response and international cooperation. His talk will address the protection of undersea infrastructure, coastal resilience and the use of unmanned systems as tools for security and technological innovation.
Chile and the consolidation of a dual innovation model
Dual innovation, understood as the development of technologies that can be applied both in defense and in civil society, has become increasingly important worldwide. In Chile, its progress is aligned with the National Strategy for Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI), the National Defense Policy and CORFO guidelines aimed at strengthening the links among applied research, productivity and technological sovereignty.
Initiatives such as the National Shipbuilding Plan and new funding instruments are paving the way to connect scientific capabilities with the country’s strategic needs, fostering an economy based on knowledge and sustainable innovation.
The Dual Hub Summit is shaping up as a key space for accelerating this convergence of science, defense and industry, facilitating technology transfer and strengthening public-private cooperation. It is also a unique opportunity to learn about national and international experiences in dual innovation and the models that are setting the pace in global technological development.
Innovapolinav: the epicenter of dual innovation in Chile
Holding the third Dual Hub Summit at Innovapolinav in Viña del Mar carries strategic significance. This open innovation space of the Chilean Navy symbolizes the union of defense, academia and industry, showing that cross-sector collaboration can generate high-impact technology solutions. “Chile is moving forward in activating strategic capabilities in defense, productivity and innovation, following a model that is already an international trend: linking science, technology and dual development,” says Javier Ramírez.
The event, free and open to ecosystem players, will be a meeting point to share knowledge, promote collaboration and discuss public policies that strengthen scientific and technological innovation in the service of the country.
More information and registration at www.dualhub.cl
Read the original article at https://laquintaemprende.cl/2025/10/chile-consolida-su-ecosistema-de-innovacion-dual/
