Ciencia 2030: Universidad de Chile researchers train in creating science- and technology-based startups

Through Know Hub Chile’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leveling program, they will gain knowledge and tools to identify challenges and seek solutions suited to the context in which they work.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leveling program with researchers from the Universidad de Chile will run for a total of 10 weeks, divided into eight theoretical-practical classes and two in-person sessions (bootcamp) of 4 hours each.

Participants will include researchers, faculty members and graduate students from the fields of Agronomic Sciences, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Veterinary and Livestock Sciences, as well as other areas of the university.

In sessions taught by Know Hub Chile professionals, participants will learn about a range of topics such as technology transfer models and mechanisms, the fundamentals of science- and technology-based entrepreneurship, Go to Market strategy and science communication.

The goal is for them to be able to identify challenges and seek solutions suited to the context in which they work. To do so, they will engage with the Customer Discovery methodology in order to integrate the perceptions of potential customers or beneficiaries of their technology proposals.

A boost for EBCTs

Know Hub Chile’s Executive Director, Javier Ramírez, emphasizes that one of the goals is to contribute to a cultural transformation, “so that faculty members and future generations of scientists have the tools to bring their research and technologies ever closer to society and the market.”

This program, Ramírez adds, “seeks to give them a first introduction to topics that may be useful to them, from taking a new approach to their project applications to venturing into creating their own science- and technology-based startup.”

Christian González Billault, General Director of the Ciencia 2030 UCH program, highlights that “the opportunity to provide formal training in innovation and entrepreneurship is a first and necessary step to strengthen the capabilities and skills of our academic community.”

The training provided by Know Hub, Billault notes, will help faculty members, graduate students and researchers be better prepared to project the Universidad de Chile’s research beyond the classroom and to devise science-based solutions to problems of economic and social relevance. “We are very excited about the impact this training can have on the future formation of multi- and transdisciplinary teams seeking to solve the country’s problems,” he stresses,

Know Hub Building

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leveling program with the Universidad de Chile is part of Know Hub Building, an initiative that aims to strengthen Know Hub members’ institutional frameworks for innovation, as well as to develop capabilities in managing research results and intellectual property, integrate good technology transfer practices, build culture, and support the creation and growth of technology-based startups.

Ciencia 2030 Program

Driven by CORFO, Ciencia 2030 is part of the Universidad de Chile’s mission to bring academic knowledge closer to citizens through technologies and services that impact their quality of life in various areas.

With the support of the Vice-Rector’s Office for Research and Development (VID), the first stage of this initiative concluded with a diagnosis and the design of a strategic plan to support the work of the faculties of Sciences, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Veterinary and Livestock Sciences, and Agronomy, which account for 30% of the regular Fondecyt and Fondef grants awarded to the institution and which together produce three times the university’s average number of academic scientific publications.