The heavy rain that fell this Wednesday in Buenos Aires did not dampen the cocktail-debate organized by OBREAL at the headquarters of the Delegation of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the Southern Cone. The event was attended by representatives of various public and private organizations from South American and European countries.
The discussion focused on the challenges of cooperation between universities and companies. With representatives from different regions present, we were able to compare models and discuss possible avenues for cooperation. Especially between the Catalan and German models, as the event was held at the Delegation of the Catalan government and was attended by representatives of the DAAD. But it was also discussed how to involve Argentine, Mexican and Colombian universities in this discussion in order to generate synergies between South America and Europe.
And if one thing became clear after the interesting debate, it was the conviction of those present of of the need to promote international cooperation, research and mobility. Therefore, it is necessary to think of better incentives and financing schemes to promote development through research transfer.
The Debate: participants from European and South American public and private organizations
The debate was attended by representatives of public organizations, such as the Delegate of the Generalitat in the Southern Cone, Josep Vives, the Vice-Rector for Internationalization Policy of the University of Barcelona, Raúl Ramos, and the Vice-President of the University of Regenburg, Dr. Ernst Tamm. But it was also attended by representatives of technology-based companies of Argentine origin located in Barcelona, such as the Founder of The Black Puma, Patricio Pagani.
The objective of the meeting was precisely to create a conversation between these sectors to discuss practices and opportunities to promote public-private knowledge transfer focused on development.
The Cocktail: with music and wine with meaning
Following the debate between these speakersall the attendees were able to enjoy a cocktail with music by Juan D. Villegas Restrepo.who played German pieces with his violin – such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony – or the traditional Catalan piece “El cant dels ocells” in a version by Pau Casals.
The wine offered during the cocktail also had a specific meaning. It was offered by Antropo Wines, the first urban winery in San Salvador de Jujuy. Antropo Wines is an innovative project that is constantly working to improve its processes with local producers and with the national universities of Jujuy and Cuyo, promoting the link between research and production focused on development.
