Opening a space for collaborative creativity and innovation in the College of Science

Under the eyes of professionals, academics and university authorities, the Provost of the UACh, Dr. José Dorner, and the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Dr. Leila Cárdenas, opened the doors of the CoCrea laboratory space, which seeks to encourage creativity and collaborative innovation with the public and private sectors and thus achieve linking capabilities with the college’s students and academics.

On this occasion, guests were introduced to rooms equipped with specific resources and furniture to develop dynamics, workshops and business sessions with companies, entrepreneurs, students and society. Through the Science 2030 program, the College of Science provided these facilities to those interested in developing initiatives related to science, entrepreneurship, the environment, and developing solutions directed towards the social and productive environment.

Agreeing to embody ideas

The opening ceremony was the preparation for the signing of an agreement between the Faculty of Science of the UACh and the Patagonia StarUps incubator, dedicated to accelerating innovation and business initiatives in southern Chile focused on climate change, on a scientific and technological basis. Solutions designed in nature, among other points of interest.

“We stand in this new world where science is being asked to take charge of challenges that are global and also local, such as climate change, forest fires, etc. This space was designed for this reason,” said Dean of the Faculty of Science, Dr. Leila Cárdenas, in her initial greeting. It was called Kokria.

For his part, Ricardo Icarte, CEO of Patagonia StarUps, appreciated the initiative to create collaborative spaces, noting how it encourages the acceleration and birth of ideas.

“I think space is very good because the spaces that are created through collaboration are ultimately where things happen. Sometimes they are conversations, sometimes they are ideas that they make, especially here, in this area of science where researchers may be working on lines Completely different and they will intersect to generate a third derivative or maybe accelerate some processes. Or maybe now that we will stimulate this connection with the company a little bit, new lines of business will also be opened. “For us, who know the world of startups, co-working “And all these collaborative spaces are where really new things are born, and it’s very interesting and very fast.”

The signed agreement includes that both the university’s college unit and the company will implement joint actions to support entrepreneurs in an integrated manner and implement activities to support the regional and national ecosystem with a special focus on sustainability and the circular economy.

“Show them new business models; these connections with venture capital that have not happened before or are not well known by academia are part of the agreement. Start forming incubators with students and researchers who are developing specific research,” Icarte noted.

“What we want to do here is hold meetings. The idea is that these meetings are for students who are going to meet our former students. Also look, for example, for instances or tools that the university offers. So the call for us is to start talking seriously,” the dean said. “On how we want to make that connection with the outside, both from science to the outside, and why we don’t go there.”

This event, whose main focus was the relationship between academia and the private sector, culminated in dialogue.”“Environmental Awareness: Challenges of Linking Science and Business” The dialogue in which the ecologist attached to the Institute of Geosciences, Dr. Eduardo Jaramillo, and the National Academic Award of the University of California in Natural Sciences Fabian Jaksic were invited, both of whom have extensive experience in this intersectoral relationship (See linked note).