“Impulsa CITEEC” Turns Industry Challenges into Innovation Opportunities

The Centre for Technological Innovation in Building and Civil Engineering (CITEEC) at the University of A Coruña today concluded the first edition of “Impulsa CITEEC”, an innovation and knowledge-transfer marathon aimed at bringing scientific knowledge to bear on real needs in society and the productive sector.

The initiative brought together 22 participants, organised into six teams, who worked during an intensive eight-hour session to develop proposals addressing six challenges put forward by companies and public entities, including EXTRACO, S.A., Misturas, Obras e Proxectos, S.A., RONAUTICA QUALITY MARINAS, PLEXUS Tech, GOC S.A., Vento Abogados y Asesores and CIVISGLOBAL SLU. The activity brought together different profiles and areas of expertise within CITEEC in an intensive process of analysis, ideation and solution development.

The challenges addressed during the session covered a wide range of areas within building and civil engineering, including innovation in port and road infrastructure, artificial intelligence, sustainability and carbon footprint, mobility, geographic information systems, construction automation and structural mechanics. For reasons of confidentiality, the specific needs put forward by the participating entities and the solutions developed by the teams will not be made public.

The diversity of the researchers’ expertise was reflected in the composition of the groups. Andrés Figuero Pérez, Alberto Alvarellos González and Blas Cantero Chaparro formed “Nexus IngenIA”, a team combining expertise in different areas of engineering that worked on two of the proposed challenges, related to port engineering and process automation.

The team “CARRETERAS”, formed by Ana Mª Rodríguez Pasandín, Santiago Ferro Lojo and Ignacio Pérez Pérez, focused its efforts on innovation in road infrastructure. Its work addressed innovation in bituminous mixtures.

Digitalisation also featured in this first edition. Miguel Roca Rodríguez, Antonio José Álvarez Naveira, Paloma Funes García and Blanca Fernández Amado formed “Multi-TEEC”, which addressed a challenge related to the application of digital tools and information systems in the field of mobility.

The potential of automation and robotics in the construction sector was the focus of the work carried out by Julio César Añón Teijido, Juan Luis Pérez Ordóñez and Diego Carro López, members of “Automatización en obra”.

From the field of structural mechanics, Sandra Sanmartín Fernández, Alberto López López, Andrea Bermúdez Piñeiro, Luis E. Romera Rodríguez and Daniel Eiroa Martínez formed “RE-FORZADOS” to tackle one of the proposed challenges.

Finally, Ignasi Colominas Ezponda, Fernando Martínez Abella, Xesús Nogueira Garea and José París López, members of “Los 4 elementos”, focused their work on two of the sector’s challenges: one related to the railway sector and another concerning materials and structures.

With this first edition of “Impulsa CITEEC”, the University of A Coruña centre is strengthening its commitment to knowledge transfer and collaboration with the productive sector, promoting spaces where researchers and external organisations can work together to identify new solutions to society’s current challenges.

The Winning Teams

Today’s session was the third and final day of the marathon and concluded with the presentation of the proposed solutions in pitch format. A jury comprising representatives of the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN), the Fundación Empresa-Universidad Gallega (FEUGA), the UDC Knowledge Transfer Office, the Galician Civil Engineering Foundation and the UDC International Projects Office evaluated the proposals according to various criteria, including team capabilities, problem and solution definition, technical feasibility, degree of innovation and business model.

Ultimately, the winning teams were CARRETERAS, Los 4 Elementos and Nexus IngenIA, each of which received a €1,500 prize. In addition, CITEEC will provide financial support for the advisory and development of the knowledge valorisation and technology-transfer activities considered most appropriate for each proposal, taking into account its nature and level of maturity.

In this way, “Impulsa CITEEC” aims not only to recognise the most outstanding ideas, but also to help those with the greatest potential move towards effective application and transfer to society.