22nd July 2015
Orkestra, together with the Institute of Competitiveness of the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU) and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), has presented, in Uruguay, the smart specialisation strategy project based on innovation in Uruguay.
General Director Mari Jose Aranguren and Susana Franco, project coordinator for Orkestra, travelled to Uruguay, where they presented the smart specialisation project based on innovation, together with Guillermo Moncecchi, MIEM's deputy secretary, Enrique Moreno, MIEM's national head of industries, and Roberto Horta, head of the UCU's Institute of Competitiveness.
The goals of this initiative focus on the joint development of research projects, promotion and exchange of technical teams with the aim that the Uruguayan Government's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) develops capabilities which contribute to the design of new strategies that can guide industrial innovation policies.
In the words of Mari Jose Aranguren“because of its characteristics Uruguay has multiple advantages when it comes to incorporating smart specialisation strategies”. Along these lines, throughout the project's presentation, Roberto Horta maintained that “the country has participatory structures, such as the Sectorial Councils that head the MIEM, that can help to form the government that its implementation requires”.
This type of strategy, promoted particularly in Europe, are of special interest from the territorial competitiveness point of view, given that they are geared towards the differentiation of the country, bearing in mind the strengths and opportunities that the territory offers. For their effective implementation, evaluation and monitoring, the participation of key actors and bodies- government, knowledge institutions, investors, civil society- are needed; in this case, in the area of innovation.
The project, which will be worked on at Orkestra by Susana Franco, as coordinator, Mari Jose Aranguren, Miren Larrea and Mikel Navarro, will focus on contributing and providing support on these points, together with the UCU's Institute of Competitiveness, to the Uruguayan Government's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining.
