From 2 to 6 December, the heads of the Technology Transfer Units of several centres of the CERCA system made a strategic visit to the cities of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, Argentina. The mission aimed to strengthen international relations and promote knowledge transfer between Latin America and Catalonia, in the framework of the CIMNE Labs network and the CERCA system. Francesc Cano, Director of Transfer at the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC); Javier Marcipar, Director of CIMNE Tecnología, and Jordi Jiménez, Director of Tech Transfer and Innovation at CIMNE, took part in the visit.
The agenda included key meetings with reference institutions such as the National University of Litoral (UNL) and its Technology Park, the CONICET, the National Technological University (UTN) at its Santa Fe and Buenos Aires sites, and the Buenos Aires Technology District, as well as meetings with local technology companies and startups. Among the topics discussed were technology transfer, the creation of strategic alliances and the development of joint projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, bioeconomy, computer vision and sustainability.
In Santa Fe, meetings were held with the heads of CIMNE classrooms in the region, including UNER and FICH (Faculty of Engineering and Water Sciences), as well as with representatives of the SINC(i) group, specialised in signals, systems and computational intelligence, and the Group for Innovation and Development in Multiple Devices (GIDETEM). In Buenos Aires, opportunities for collaboration were explored with the GIAR (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Group) of the UTN and with start-ups in the Technology District.
The visit allowed the exchange of experiences and good practices in technology transfer in these universities, technology parks and districts, incubation and acceleration formulas for start-ups, as well as the identification of opportunities for joint projects and future collaborations between Argentinean institutions and CERCA centres.
The visit has been financed with the ‘CERCA VES-HI KTT’ grant from the I-CERCA, for the mobility and exchange of transfer professionals within the programme to boost knowledge transfer and innovation, through transversal actions aimed at promoting and communicating the transfer of the CERCA system, within the framework of the Strategic Plan for Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, of the Directorate General for Knowledge Transfer and Society, and the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
This trip has been an important step to extend the international projection of the CERCA centres, positioning their innovation and technology transfer capacities as a reference in the international context.
 The Delegation at UNL |  Javier Marcipar, Director of CIMNE Tecnología |
 Jordi Jiménez, Director of Tech Transfer & Innovation |  Francesc Cano, Director of Tech Transfer, CTFC |
 The delegation outside the UNL Building |  Outside view of the CONICET-CIMEC building |
 Outside the UTN Regional Santa Fe |  The group at the Technology District of Buenos Aires |
 The group at the Technology District of Buenos Aires |  A photo group at UTN Regional Buenos Aires |
