IQS has once again become an accredited entity with the TECNIO seal. This is the recognition that the Government of Catalonia awards through ACCIÓ to identify and give visibility to technology developers in the R&D&i system in Catalonia who have distinguishing technological capabilities and the ability to transfer them to strengthen the business network and make the Catalan innovation ecosystem attractive. The new call for applications for the 2025 – 2028 period is maintaining its commitment to excellence, combining research requirements with a clear business orientation.
TECNIO accreditation: fostering excellence in research and innovation
IQS has once again managed to become a TECNIO accredited agent, a seal granted by ACCIÓ under the Government of Catalonia to identify and give visibility to R&D&i technology developers in Catalonia with distinguishing technological capabilities and the ability to transfer them to the business network.
The TECNIO seal is an open door to a dynamic ecosystem of innovation and collaboration that offers significant advantages for both research centres and companies. For research groups and centres, obtaining TECNIO accreditation allows us to access a range of unique opportunities, such as greater visibility and recognition thanks to the TECNIO seal associated with excellence, privileged access to certain lines of aid, specific ACCIÓ programmes, and participating in activities to make connections with companies, organized in order to establish valuable contacts and explore collaboration opportunities.
For companies, collaborating with a TECNIO-accredited centre offers substantial advantages such as quality assurance, access to talent and knowledge, and a collaborative framework thanks to the existence of programmes and tools for collaborative projects between companies and TECNIO centres.
In this way, ACCIÓ promotes collaboration between the industrial network and universities that demonstrate their distinguishing technological capacity. Conducting R&D projects and transferring technology and knowledge is encouraged for direct application to the technological challenges at any moment in the various sectors of the local economy, in a determined commitment to excellence through transfer and public-private collaboration.
At IQS, we have a solid track record in fundamental and applied research, technological development, technology application, and knowledge transfer in the industrial environment. Research and technology transfer activities form part of our mission. Therefore, collaborating with companies to carry out R&D&i projects is an activity that IQS teaching and research staff combine, as part of their university work, with teaching and research.
In 2000, the IQS Molecular Engineering Group became part of the Technological Innovation Support Centres Network (IT Network, Government of Catalonia). Since then, many things have changed. In recent years, not only has the formula for recognition by the Government of Catalonia been modified, but IQS has also grown and become consolidated.
In the most recent calls for accreditation, IQS Tech Transfer has been the formula chosen to present all research and transfer activities as an accredited TECNIO agent under a single umbrella. In this year’s call, we have opted for a transformation that allows us greater visibility across the diversity of industrial sectors with which we collaborate and the scientific and technological fields in which we are strongest. With this in mind, IQS has presented four proposals for TECNIO agents:
- IQS Tech Transfer – HEALTH, which includes topics directly related to people’s health, such as advanced and emerging therapies, biomedicine, and nanomedicine.
- IQS Tech Transfer – ENVIRONMENT, for issues directly related to environmental sustainability, the circular economy, natural resources and energy.
- IQS Tech Transfer – CHEM&BIO, including all areas of chemistry, biotechnology, biochemistry, microbiology, materials, and nanotechnology.
- IQS Tech Transfer – TECH4SOCIETY, which covers diverse topics such as industrial, economic, and social transformation taking into account phenomena such as globalization, demographic changes, citizen needs, and the challenges of climate change from an industrial perspective with a broad outlook based on new manufacturing technologies and solutions from the digital world such as 3D printing, industry 4.0, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, emerging enabling technologies, and more. The overall objective is to transform various productive and service sectors, without neglecting social transformation processes.
Being part of this system allows us to continue growing, to professionalize our activity even more, to be linked to the economic and business reality of our surroundings, to adapt to the way companies do business, to gain in quality and competitiveness, and to feel like a key player in Catalonia’s technological innovation system above all. Dr Núria Vallmitjana
Director of IQS Tech Transfer
