Entrepreneurs from TecnoCampus have begun to collaborate with large companies and public entities in the development of innovative technological solutions such as a digital platform focused on mental health and another on virtual reality. These are two examples of the technological challenges proposed in the Open Innovation Challenges, business meetings that aim to connect companies and public entities that seek innovative solutions with others that offer technology.
The TecnoCampus of Mataró, through its internationalization support service, opened a line of work in 2023 to promote its companies and startups at international fairs such as, for example, the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the Smart City Expo World Congress, the Barcelona Deeptech Summit or the Advanced Factories, among others.
In collaboration with the Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCIÓ!), several B2B events have been organized within the framework of these large international conferences held in Catalonia. In these meetings, large international companies or public entities propose their technological challenges and look for technological startups that can solve them.
“The Open Innovation Challenges are the ideal space to connect with companies and entities that want to integrate technological solutions or invest in new technologies through individualized meetings,” explain Yolanda Fernàndez and Maria Palet, from the TecnoCampus business growth service.
In the last year, several companies have participated in the Open Innovation Challenges. One of them, Leviathan Creative Studios, is currently collaborating with the Gale government, which was looking for a solution to support the mental health and well-being needs of children and young people in the country and accompany the transition to adulthood to promote well-being in adults.
After meeting with the Welsh government at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2023, the TecnoCampus-based startup that was already working on developing a platform in the field of mental health, is in the process of developing a concrete solution to the need to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Wales.
Another example of the collaborations that emerged within the framework of the Open Innovation Challenges is the one carried out by the startup Into Reality with the Catalan Cultural Heritage Agency, which emerged within the framework of Integrated Systems Europe 2024. In this case, the Agency raised the Challenge: How to manage the Agency’s digital production to make it available to the public and reach new audiences? In response to this need, the Into Reality project, focused on the creation of a Virtual Reality Platform, has seemed to fit with the Agency’s need that allows the user to experience a sensation of brutal immersion.
TecnoCampus is now preparing to promote its companies in the Open Innovation Challenges that will be held within the framework of this year’s Mobile World Congress, which will be held between February 26 and 29, and at the Alimentaria 2024 fair that will take place in April .
Companies interested in participating in these meetings can register at the following links: Mobile World Crongress and Alimentaria.