Tech Transfer Day celebrates its 5th edition with a focus on technology transfer in health
The annual meeting of the Technology Transfer and Innovation Offices of the BioRegion of Catalonia brought together 150 professionals from universities, health research centres and institutes, and technology centres to share strategies, challenges and opportunities in the sector.
Tech Transfer Day held its 5th edition this 5 May at Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, consolidating its position as the benchmark annual meeting for the Technology Transfer and Innovation Offices of universities, research centres, health research institutes and technology centres in the BioRegion of Catalonia. The Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB) collaborated in organising the event.
The event, organised by Biocat, brought together 150 professionals from the field of innovation and technology transfer to share knowledge, identify trends and strengthen the connection between the stakeholders working to bring research results to the market and the healthcare system.
The session began with an institutional welcome by Robert Fabregat, Director General of Biocat; Joaquín Arribas, Director General of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), and Ramon Maspons, Strategic Director for Health Innovation at the Ministry of Health. Afterwards, Núria Martí, Director of Innovation and Business Development at Biocat, moderated the fireside chat “Tech Transfer Strategies: spinoffs/licensing as value levers”, with the participation of Miriam Ors, Director of Innovation and Technology Transfer at the Sant Pau Research Institute, and Rafael Navajo, Director of Innovation and Business Development at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).
The discussion focused on the role of spinoffs and licensing agreements as ways to generate value from scientific and technological knowledge. The speakers shared experiences and criteria on how to structure transfer strategies, how to support projects in their early stages and how to strengthen the connection between research, industry and investment.
The event also included a presentation of HMRIB’s transfer model by Ismael Ávila, Head of the centre’s Technology Transfer and Translation Unit. His presentation offered an in-depth look at the institute’s approach to promoting the valorisation of research results and facilitating their path towards impactful applications.
After a networking session, the event addressed the role of artificial intelligence and health data in the activity of technology transfer offices. Anna Escoda, Technology Transfer Manager at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), gave the talk “AI and health data: from hype to real impact for TTOs”, focused on the opportunities and challenges these technologies pose for innovation and transfer.
The international and strategic dimension of innovation in health was also present in the speech by Montse Daban, Director of Strategic Analysis and International Relations at Biocat, who analysed the geopolitics of health innovation in a changing global context.
The event concluded with a presentation of Biocat’s programmes aimed at promoting technology transfer and innovation in health, delivered by Núria Martí, and an institutional closing session led by Javier Selva, Director General for Knowledge Transfer and Society at the Ministry of Research and Universities. At the end of the event, there was a networking session and aperitif that facilitated interaction among participants.
With this new edition, Tech Transfer Day has strengthened its role as a meeting space to share good practices, generate connections and advance the professionalisation of technology transfer in the BioRegion of Catalonia.