The Vice President of Cantabria, Dolores Gorostiaga, and the Minister of Industry, Juan José Sota, have presented to a delegation from the Region of Nantes the activity of the Science and Technology Park of Cantabria (PCTCAN).
The French representation, which has been "very impressed" with the projects and infrastructures that are being developed, has traveled to Cantabria to learn about the policies of the Community in the field of ICT and renewable energies.
Gorostiaga explained to the members of ACEL, Loire-Atlantique, Port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire and the UMNP the strategy developed in recent years, sustained on three pillars: the axis of water and energy, with the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics and the Great Marine Engineering Tank at the head; the axis of Biotechnology, in which the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of Cantabria stands out, and the axis of Telecommunications, through which a Center for Research and Innovation in the field of ICT will be created.
These three axes converge in "an integrated project that unites business, economy, research and knowledge", a "unique combination" that has allowed to configure the Science and Technology Park, "strategic project" that concentrates "pioneering" actions, not only at the national level, but at the European level, Gorostiaga stressed.
For the Vice President, this infrastructure is "a sample of the innovation that Cantabria can offer abroad", and has been "proud" of the work that is being done to place the region on a competitive level at European level, in sectors that will be "key in the immediate future".
Cantabria is a "small, but dynamic" Autonomous Community, he said, with a Government that believes in its possibilities and has made an "important investment effort" to promote research, development and innovation "intensively", a bet that has placed us at the head of Spain in growth of R + D + i, both public and private.
In this sense, Gorostiaga recalled that in the last eight years there has been a "decisive impulse" to the modernization of a region, which had a strong industrial tradition "that did not take advantage".
R&D&I IN FIGURES
During the meeting, the Vice-President explained to the French delegation how during 2009, in the midst of the economic setback caused by the crisis, Cantabria registered a growth of almost 6% in investments dedicated to Research and Development, the second in the country. This boost has meant that the contribution of investment in R + D + i in our GDP is 1.12 percent, when, eight years ago, it barely reached 0.5 percent, he said.
The vice president, who has assured that it will continue in this line, explained that the Government of Cantabria works to expand the Science Park in the face of the success of the first phase and the "determined" support that the Ministry of Science and Innovation is providing.
Proof of this is the agreement signed at the end of 2010, through which Cantabria will receive from the Government of Spain 70 million euros within the National Innovation Plan, for investment in R + D + i projects aimed at the ICT sector and renewable energies.
Due to the size of the region and the population index, Gorostiaga said, the autonomous community would have corresponded to a quarter of that amount, but the "quality" of the actions that are being carried out and the "magnitude" of the projects in which it is working has led the Ministry of Science and Innovation to prioritize its investment in Cantabria.
DELEGATION OF NANTES
The Fracesa delegation was composed of the President of ACEL and the General Council of Loire-Atlantique, Patrick Mareschal; the Vice-President of the General Council of Loire-Atlantique, PhilippeGrovalet; the Director General of Services of the General Council of Loire-Atlantique, Patrick Reix; the Head of Press and Information-General Council of Loire-Atlantique, Jerôme M. Alemany; the Director of Cabinet and Communication of the Port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire, Pascal Freneau (Port); the president of the UMNP, Marcel Le Roux; energy-CCI advisor Nantes Saint-Nazaire, Celeste Christelle; the general delegate for ACEL, Gaëlle Rougeron, and the chargé d'affaires-ACEL, Isabel Thoumin.
Accompanying them have been, in addition to the Vice President of Cantabria and the Minister of Industry, the CEO of Sodercan, Salvador Blanco; the director of the Science and Technology Park, Andrea Pérez, and the president of the Port Authority, Cristian Manrique. (EUROPA PRESS)
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