The IKERLAN technology centre and the Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) have signed a partnership agreement with the aim of reinforcing education, training, research, development and scientific and technological innovation, with a focus on the needs of Basque industry. The signing of the agreement took place at IKERLAN's headquarters in Arrasate-Mondragón, and both parties expressed their satisfaction with the creation of the new partnership framework.
This new agreement will not only enable IKERLAN to train and recruit new research staff, but also to increase its technological expertise and to improve its added value in meeting the technological challenges of the industry, since, through collaboration with the University, it will reinforce its strategic areas of research as defined in its Technological Specialisation Plan. As far as the UPV/EHU is concerned, the agreement will contribute fundamentally to reinforcing its technology transfer activity, applying the knowledge and developments of its different research teams to industry in strategic areas such as digitalisation, energy and transport.
The agreement underpins the collaborative scenario of recent years between the two organisations, in which IKERLAN currently has 15 doctoral students collaborating with the university and, in addition, around 20 university students are recruited each year to carry out their end-of-career work at the Arrasate-Mondragón technology centre.
The most noteworthy aspect of this partnership, in addition to the development of new joint research projects, is the inclusion of a special programme through which senior research staff from the UPV/EHU will spend time at IKERLAN. These people will join the IKERLAN teams and will combine their teaching and study activities at the UPV/EHU with their participation in the research areas of the technology centre. This new Programme has already begun with the arrival at IKERLAN of Pablo Angueira, professor and member of the UPV/EHU Signal Processing and Radiocommunications Group, who is participating in projects in the field of industrial communications developed by the centre.
In this regard, Marcelino Caballero, General Manager of IKERLAN, has argued that "this agreement is a very good lever to complement the technological specialisation of both parties; the UPV/EHU has very powerful teams in technological research fields related to IKERLAN's Specialisation Plan such as communications, electronics and control and, by means of this joining of forces, we can achieve much more."
In turn, Fernando Tapia, Deputy Rector of Scientific Development and Transfer at the UPV/EHU, pointed out that "collaboration with a leading centre in applied research in industry such as IKERLAN shows that the UPV/EHU is an open and innovative organisation that promotes a culture of partnership with stakeholders in the region and confirms that we are on the right track in our commitment to research and transfer."
About IKERLAN
IKERLAN is a leading centre in technology transfer and in the contribution of competitive value to the company due, among other things, to the specialisation of its researchers. It offers comprehensive solutions that combine different technological fields into three large areas: Electronics, Information and Communication Technologies (EICT), Energy and Power Electronics and Advanced Manufacturing. In 2018, IKERLAN obtained certification, via AENOR, for the integrated management system (UNE-EN ISO 9001:2015 and UNE 166002:2014), which recognises the excellence of the centre in the field of R&D&I. It currently has a staff of more than 300 people.
About UPV/EHU
The Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea is the main institution of higher education in the Basque Country and one of the most important in Spain in terms of the volume of academic results, research, and innovation and technological development. Currently, it is listed among the 500 best universities in the world, according to the Shanghái ranking. As a University, the UPV/EHU is the most important educational and research institution in the Basque Country, responsible for 60% of all research carried out in this area. It currently has more than 280 well-established research groups. It produces eight doctoral theses a week, of which four are international and one is carried out in partnership with socioeconomic stakeholders in the area.
