TECNIOspring PLUS has been implemented for 68 months by ACCIÓ, the Catalan Agency for Business and Competitiveness, attached to the Ministry of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia. With an approved budget of 10.195.200€, the project has addressed experienced researchers to develop projects with a focus on technology transfer. The host organisations, Catalan companies and entities of the Catalan research and technology transfer system, are the beneficiaries receiving a grant for contracting the researcher for a period of two years.
TECNIOspring PLUS has been the follow-up of a previous COFUND project managed by ACCIÓ entitled TECNIOspring and funded under FP7 grant agreement nº 600388. It has also been the predecessor of TECNIOspring INDUSTRY, another COFUND project funded under H2020 grant agreement nº 801342, more focused on industry and companies.
TECNIOspring PLUS has granted Catalan entities, offering high-quality professional opportunities for researchers. During the lifespan of the project, three calls have been published allowing fair competition between applicants through open, merit-based selection processes. Funded projects have focused their research on one of the cross-cutting enabling technologies and sectors identified in the Smart Specialization Strategy of Catalonia (RIS3CAT): ICT; Nanotechnology; Advanced Materials; Photonics; Biotechnology; Advanced Manufacturing; Chemistry, energy and resources; Food; Industrial Systems; Sustainable mobility; Design industries; Health industries; and Experience-based industries.
After the three calls, 65 researchers (35% women) of 22 different nationalities have joined 40 Catalan host organisations and 31 abroad host organisations from 12 countries.
Researchers have attended 118 congresses; undertook 187 presentations invited to talks; made 112 supervision of PhDs and Master studies and guidelines standards; and participated in 490 meetings, conferences and/or workshops. In terms of scientific publications, 249 papers have been submitted for publication in Journals and Books, and 185 have been accepted, with 179 Open Access publications.
Researchers have gained a wealth of experience from working at the business end of applied research. They have further counted with the support of an experienced and internationally recognized scientific supervisor and a career development plan. Additionally, a wide range of soft and complimentary skills trainings with a focus on technology transfer have been offered. Researchers have attended 611 trainings related to their field of scientific knowledge and 225 on soft and complementary skills organised by ACCIÓ. They have also carried out 63 public awareness activities and published 70 press releases.
