Proa I+D: challenge driven by the Chilean Navy and Know Hub opens applications for scientific researchers

The initiative seeks to drive the development of innovations that benefit not only the institution but also society. Registration is open until July 24.

With the aim of further strengthening the Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (CTCI) system in Chile, the Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile), together with Know Hub Chile, has just announced a new challenge for scientific researchers. It is the Proa I+D competition, which seeks to drive innovations that contribute to the institution and to society.

This program aims to provide researchers with spaces to develop projects of mutual interest. The competition will assess the institution’s interest in the research, as well as the support in resources and testing spaces the projects need to apply for national or international funding.

The director of the Naval Polytechnic Academy, Captain Fabián González, explained that “as an academy, we are always developing initiatives that allow us to connect with the civilian world and thus develop solutions to problems the Navy faces. One of the mechanisms we have found is to develop those that allow us to operate within the innovation ecosystem, such as Proa I+D.”

González added that the program seeks to ensure that people doing research in Chile see the institution’s problems and challenges as their own incentives and motivations, making use of its spaces to carry out their work. The competition will have scouting support from Know Hub Chile’s experts, who will also contribute to the project selection and implementation process.

Know Hub Chile explains that PROA I+D grew out of the experience of Avante, another innovation program it runs with the Navy. There they noticed that many innovators applied with good ideas that were still far from becoming a reality.

“They weren’t entrepreneurship projects but research and development projects, which were very good but had no place in Avante. That’s where we saw an opportunity and thought about giving them a dedicated space, and that’s how Proa I+D was born, which calls on universities and research centers to use the resources available to the Navy to advance new developments and new research,” said Know Hub Chile’s executive director, Javier Ramírez.

Those interested in taking part in this competition must apply with scientific and technological research projects backed by evidence supporting a hypothesis for applying a technology, product or service, and which, as the research progresses, achieve validation through a proof of concept. In addition, the model or prototype will be evaluated under laboratory conditions or at small scale within two years.

The winning innovations submitted to Proa I+D will receive support to apply for national or international funding. The detailed rules of the competition are available at the following link; registration is open until July 24.