The event is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and Saab and endorsed by the Chilean Navy’s Cita, FACh, Fidae, DTS and Spain’s CDTI
Know Hub Chile will hold the second edition of the Dual Hub Summit on August 5 at the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of Universidad de Chile, an event that will bring together national and international leaders to consolidate dual innovation as a key strategy to diversify the economy, strengthen security and boost technology transfer.
The event is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and Saab; supported by Corfo, Corfo Bío-Bío and the National Research and Development Agency (ANID); and endorsed by the Chilean Navy’s Technological Innovation Center (Cita), FACh, Fidae, Open Beauchef, the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of Universidad de Chile, DTS and the Center for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI) of Spain.
According to Know Hub, dual innovation, as a bridge between science and defense, is gaining strength as a key strategy for national development. In its second edition, Dual Hub: Una oportunidad país (Dual Hub: An opportunity for the country), the goal of the meeting is to bring capabilities together and boost the country’s growth through shared technology solutions.
The meeting, which was previously held at Universidad del Bío-Bío on May 6 and 7, seeks to showcase real cases, open new opportunities for collaboration and consolidate an active community around dual innovation.
Know Hub Chile’s executive director, Javier Ramírez, highlighted the importance of the event, explaining that it “connects scientific knowledge with the country’s concrete needs, allowing development in defense to be transformed into solutions that also benefit civil society.”
Connecting talent with real challenges
In Chile, this strategy opens opportunities for universities, startups and industries that can collaborate with the defense sector while generating social and productive impact. “Dual innovation is neither a distant concept nor exclusive to the military world. It is a real opportunity to diversify the productive base, foster technological autonomy and create high-value jobs,” Ramírez stresses.
Through its Dual Hub platform, Know Hub Chile has positioned itself as a catalyst for initiatives that drive public-private collaboration. One example is Desafío Avante, developed together with the Navy’s Technological Innovation Center, which invites startups and research teams to solve naval challenges with potential civilian uses.
Another case is Proa I+D, a program that connects researchers with the Navy to accelerate technology transfer through the joint development of solutions of naval interest. The Navy contributes to the design and validation of the solution, and also facilitates access to spaces, knowledge and key capabilities for its implementation. Among its achievements is the oxygenation project led by Dr. Flavia Zacconi, who was awarded Fondef funding to continue its development.
In addition, initiatives such as Desafío Fortis, in collaboration with the international company Lockheed Martin and awarded to Universidad Austral, make it possible to explore new applications of the Fortis exoskeleton, demonstrating the potential of dual technology in
areas such as mining or wildfire fighting.
To strengthen this vision, Know Hub Chile has also promoted the Libro de Innovación Dual (Dual Innovation Book), a joint publication with Cita that compiles expert views, interviews and national and international cases, seeking to bring the topic into public debate and offer a roadmap for those leading innovation processes in universities, research centers, the armed forces and industry.
Expert experience
The first Dual Hub Summit, held in May 2025 in Concepción, had more than 230 attendees, seven thematic sessions and several examples of effective collaboration. The meeting made it clear that dual innovation is not an abstract idea but a concrete and achievable tool for Chile. It also showed the urgency of addressing the structural disconnect between strategic sectors and the national science and technology ecosystem.
The second meeting, to be held in Santiago, seeks to move forward on this path, promoting a strategy in which existing capabilities are connected with real problems. “We want scientific knowledge to find application and public investment in technology to be a lever for productive, territorial and sustainable development,” says Ramírez.
The executive director of Know Hub Chile notes that the task is not easy, but the potential is enormous. “With strategic vision and collective commitment, dual innovation can become a true engine of development for Chile.”
Featured speakers will include Gene Keselman, executive director of Mission Innovation Experimental (MIx), head of Proto Ventures and lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, with extensive experience in the startup world and in the development of dual-use technologies.
Another notable speaker is Enrique Bustos Martín, who holds a PhD in Chemical Sciences and is the CDTI delegate in Chile. The CDTI, part of Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, is a key player in fostering business technology innovation, supporting Spanish companies and startups with more than 2.3 billion euros in 2024, a figure it plans to maintain in 2025 and the following years.
Read the original article at https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/5379164/chile-conectara-ciencia-defensa-e-industria-dual-hub-summit-impulsar-innovacion-tecnologica
