The Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, and the Regional Minister for Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, Rogelio Velasco, presented the Ricardo Valle Innovation Institute Foundation (INNOVA IRV), which was created with the aim of becoming a centre for applied research and innovation, focused on microelectronics, digital technologies and the circular economy.
The founders of the Ricardo Valle Institute of Innovation Foundation, INNOVA IRV, are the Regional Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, Málaga City Council, Mayoral, Sando Foundation and Myramar Group.
Together with the Mayor of Málaga and the Regional Minister, the rector of the University of Málaga, José Ángel Narváez, the president of INNOVA IRV, Ezequiel Navarro, the director of Málaga TechPark, Felipe Romera, and the president of Ametic, Pedro Mier, took part in the event.
According to Rogelio Velasco, “INNOVA IRV is a new solid commitment to innovation and knowledge transfer in our region”. This action, he pointed out, “is part of the economic transformation policy promoted by the Andalusian government, in which public-private collaboration is fundamental”. The Andalusian economic head wanted to emphasise that “INNOVA IRV was created with the aim of becoming a centre of reference in the advancement of technologies that are highly demanded by the market, in advanced research with high potential, technologies that, in addition to bringing benefits to society, will help to modernise the Andalusian productive fabric, improving competitiveness, the international projection of our companies, attracting investment and generating new business initiatives”.
For his part, the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, thanked Mayoral, Sando and Myramar for their involvement in the creation of this foundation, as well as all the collaborating entities and companies. He stressed that the launch of this project is another step in the city’s long history linked to innovation, which began almost two decades ago with its inclusion as one of the cornerstones of strategic planning. De la Torre recalled that Málaga is a benchmark city as a demonstrator of national and international innovative projects and highlighted the value of INNOVA IRV as “the administration must be a lever of change for economic transformation and encourage local companies to continue specialising in sectors that allow them to compete on a global scale, attract talent and generate skilled employment”. He also stressed that “the formula of public-private collaboration allows us to walk alongside the business fabric and join forces in the same direction”. De la Torre was convinced of the opportunities that this foundation will offer not only to the city, but also to Andalusia and Spain due to its openness to the whole country.
The president of the Foundation, Ezequiel Navarro, stressed that “the Foundation is an instrument for the collaboration of companies and the enhancement of the innovation ecosystem”. “The key is to connect with the market with innovations that create value and employment”, he stressed.
Among the collaborating entities participating in this project are Accenture, Premo, Dekra, Google, Aeorum, Tupl, Endesa, Tinamica, Simon, Top Digital, Málaga TechPark, Ametic, Orange, Ericsson, Vodafone, Esesa, Aertec, Bic Euronova, Famadesa, Unicaja, Universidad de Málaga, Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad de Granada, Junta de Andalucía, Ayuntamiento de Málaga and Diputación de Málaga.
The project is also supported by Ametic, the employers’ association representing the digital technology industry sector in Spain, which counts among its members companies of all sizes, such as large global IT, telecommunications, electronics, services and digital content companies, leading companies in digital transformation, as well as associations of a key sector for employment and competitiveness, with a significant impact on national GDP.
The creation of this foundation aims to strengthen the collaboration of technology companies with the knowledge provided by the University of Málaga, together with the University of Granada and the University of Seville.
