September 2, 2024

The event, held in the city of Puerto Montt, and in which the Salmon Council participated, was attended by the Minister of Science and Technology, the Vice-President of Corfo and the CEO of Sky Airlines, among others.

On Friday 30, the Wake Up Chile 2024 event was held at the Inacap Puerto Montt headquarters, where interesting presentations and panels addressed innovation, science and entrepreneurship that drive the regional industry. The event, which included an impeccable presentation by Paulo “Polo” Ramírez, began with the words of the executive director of the Salmon Council, Loreto Seguel, who explained that “in this southern part of Chile we are far from being immobile. And we have to be proud of that and say it very strongly. Because here in Los Lagos many things are happening, as we say in colloquialism, everything is happening, and we know that. And how can we not say strongly that we are ambassadors for Chile, and also for the world, of entrepreneurship, technology, science, innovation. And so I think we have to say it loud and clear and with great pride”. He also added that “Wake up was born in the south of Chile. Why? Because it makes us talk about these issues. It makes us talk about innovation, entrepreneurship, different views, different roles and also from different visions, but with something in common. Conviction, passion, because all of us who are here, I am sure, have it”. Then the regional governor, Patricio Vallespín, took the floor and said that “something definitive is happening, thought from the territories. Because I always say that reality is situationally localized. Sustainable and inclusive development in Arica Parinacota is not the same as in the Los Lagos region. They are different productive activities, different actors, different processes that occur in the territories”. “If the reality is situationally localized, we have to build from the territories our own views on how we want to make our regional development sustainable and inclusive. But this, which is real, which is a situationally localized reality, has elements that are global and complicated and have to do with what is happening in the world today. With an increasingly complex reality. In other words, the complexity of the processes to make larger local developments,” continued the regional governor. “That is why it is important to be in collaboration, because from the territories we can build views, we can agree, we can build the future, and mark that maybe we can make public and private profits, where the national and regional levels come together to make the region, truly, a space where the future can be created and the future can also be contributed,” he concluded. Then the national rector of Inacap, Lucas Palacios, took the podium, who referred to the audience commenting that “it is no coincidence that we have the presence of the Minister of Science and Technology, Aysén Etcheverry, and José Miguel Benavente of Corfo, because they have permanently raised the importance of strengthening the region. This, it must be recognized, emanates from a vision of the President of the Republic himself”.

He went on to say that “Chile will not develop well if we do not put our chips on the regions, which are differentiated from one another and that, therefore, we must have the capacity to investigate policies, agreements and ways of working that strengthen each of the regions with respect to the diversity they represent, because diversity enriches Chile. It is good news that we have 16 regions, each one with different productive vocations, each one with its own history, each one with its own way of relating to its culture. And in a world where we have so many challenges, climate change, as Governor Vallespín said, but not only that, but we also have an aging population, which is also important”. He concluded by saying that “we have very deep and very accelerated technological changes, which can be a risk for many people and for many companies, but can also be a tremendous opportunity. And that is where innovation and new ways of creating and doing things can be the path we must follow. And innovation also requires a new way of working together, a new way of relating to each other, which will lead us to a country where there is greater social cohesion”. Then it was the turn of the Minister of Science and Technology, Aysén Etcheverry, who was emphatic in saying that “I am certain that the development of countries comes hand in hand with science and technology. And the certainty that in Chile there is an amount of knowledge, science and technology available that can help us to advance in this development much further than we imagine. That is my certainty and that is the basis on which we have been working during this period of government to try to achieve it”. He went on to say that “then, what do we want? We want the private sector and academia to work together. Not out of voluntarism, but because universities are the place where questions are generated and where knowledge is generated. That’s where a lot of new knowledge is generated in universities.” “And if universities are able to work with the private sector, it turns out that the program is going to advance this, that you are going to know a lot of what you are going to understand, which is the investment spending that is developed in each of the countries.” “I wanted to bring them as an example because I believe that what we were called to in ENADE, this of not standing still, or Wake up, has a lot of this. To look at the diagnosis, to know what is happening, but also to trust that as a country we have developed tremendous capabilities and that many of the answers to the questions we are asking ourselves are there. You have to be a bit creative in how you approach it, you have to be quite generous in how you communicate it and give it to others. But above all, you have to dedicate a lot of time to get together and try to speak a common language”, he concluded. Corfo’s vice-president, José Miguel Benavente, concluded his introductory remarks by mentioning that “it is necessary to develop capacities from the point of view of supply, that is to say, the world of science and technology that is offered, of course, is fundamental. But that is one half of the story. The other half is the competencies and capabilities in technology centers oriented almost exclusively to meet the requirements, demands, challenges, that occur in the productive world, as well as in the public world”.

He went on to say that “in Chile the traditional productive sectors do not develop their own technologies, mining is dominated by suppliers, in the agro-industrial sector it is dominated by suppliers. Here we have BTA, as the Minister said, with the base of science and technology-based entrepreneurship, many of which have emerged from the problems of the agro-industrial sectors and that is an opportunity that we have to take and that is where we are moving, for example, with the figures such as the figures of the technology centers”. Then came the panel, which was made up of the director of the Salmon Council, Loreto Seguel; the executive president of Sky Airlines, Holger Paulmann; the founder of Oxxean Chile, Jorge Pacheco; and the vice-president of Corfo, José Miguel Benavente, who discussed the importance of applying principles of entrepreneurship for economic growth. The seminar concluded with the second panel, with the participation of the national rector of Inacap, Lucas Palacios; the president of Mujeres Empresarias, Francisca Valdés; the president of Fundación Chile, Pablo Zamora; and the CEO of Kran Nanobubbles, Jaime de la Cruz, who discussed the contribution of research and development in research and productive efficiency.

SOURCE: AQUA.CL