The meeting aimed to share successful experiences of higher education institutions with academics, researchers, managers and students of the U. Católica del Maule and U. Tecnológica Metropolitana.

The Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI) of Viña Concha y Toro was the venue for the seminar ‘Science as a basis for value creation’. Academics from the Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM) and the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM) were present to discuss the Elementum project.

This project, supported by the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID), is a joint work between the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and the Environment of the UTEM and its similar faculties of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences and Basic Sciences of the UCM.

Elementum in its first stage will develop a strategic plan that will impact undergraduate and graduate programmes in science, identifying gaps in R+D+i, knowledge and technology transfer, innovation and scientific-technological entrepreneurship, along with promoting female participation and leadership, both at UCM and UTEM.

Álvaro González, Director of the CRI, commented ‘This event led by the consortium between the Universidad Católica del Maule and the Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, two institutions that actively collaborate in R+D projects with the CRI, invited us to reflect together with Evelyn Villagra (Director of the Department of Forestry Sciences) and Álvaro Ossa (Director of Innovation UC), regarding good practices and experiences of university-industry collaboration, an area in which Viña Concha y Toro presents a model open to the R+D ecosystem that has proven to be successful during the 10 years of existence of the CRI’.

The seminar was welcomed by the Alternate Director of the Elementum Project, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Environment of UTEM, Soledad Toledo Bejar.

This was followed by the talk ‘Applied science for innovation and technological scientific entrepreneurship’ given by Dr. Alvaro Ossa Daruich, author of the book ‘From the Laboratory to the Market’, Director of Transfer and Development of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and President of the Network of Technological Managers of Chile.

The event continued with a tour of the CRI facilities by UCM and UTEM undergraduate students with Professor Dr. Cristián Becerra. Finally, the PhD students together with academics and directors participated in a discussion with Dr. Álvaro Ossa; the Director of the CRI, Álvaro González; and Dr. Evelyn Villagra from UCM.