The director of the HiTT Foundation, Maria Buxadé, is one of the scientists taking part in the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Valleys call for innovation, which is promoted by ACCIÓ in Catalonia. FHiTT and, in particular, its director, takes part in it as the head of the Dryox Health research project, specialized in detecting unmet needs and developing innovative solutions based on medication repositioning. Buxadé’s direct contribution consists of providing first-hand experience of the support received by ACCIÓ for start-up companies with competitive research projects to access European funding. This implies that he has participated in the prospective sessions organized by ACCIÓ, to identify the specific challenges and needs of local collaborators, in order to contribute to placing Catalonia on the innovation map drawn by the European Union.
The ultimate goal of the Regional Innovation Valleys is to promote and connect organizations and professionals of the European Innovation Consortium, leaders in areas such as healthcare, food security, dependence on fossil fuels and digital transformation and cyber security, given the far-reaching challenges they pose. ACCIÓ selects the entities and professionals who take part: “from the HiTT Foundation we take part in this project as a result of having the EIC Accelerator seal of excellence, granted by the European Commission to excellent innovative projects”, explains Maria Buxadé, for to whom being part of this study linked to innovation is halfway between a shared honour and a responsibility.
Balancing innovation
The guiding thread of the Regional Innovation Valleys is innovation, aimed at enhancing various territories with heterogeneous yields and results. In the case of the project in which FHiTT is involved, organizations and professionals from Belgium, Spain (with Catalonia represented by ACCIÓ), Greece (at the head of the project), Hungary, Ireland and Malta take part. The initiative wants “to provide answers about the capacity of Catalan companies and organizations to innovate in the context of Europe“, according to Ruiz, its manager at ACCIÓ. Ruiz also points out that in the consortium of countries participating in the regional innovation project, “Catalonia provides different strategies and support services to emerging companies through ACCIÓ and the entities that make up the Catalan ecosystem, which have helped to achieve good results in calls for European funding in recent years”.
The project will last for one year and includes working with 4 companies, 2 universities and 2 specialists in the scientific field. It belongs to the European research program Horizon Europe, the main research and innovation funding program of the European Union, with a budget of 95.5 billion euros.
The Regional Innovation Valleys facilitate collaboration and strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and applying EU policies, as the ACCIÓ representative explains. And, at the same time, they support the creation and better dissemination of excellent knowledge and technologies.