ARA awards Catalan technology with impact in the first FAR awards

BarcelonaCatalonia, whenever there is a forum, shows off its capacity to innovate. Startups, hubs digital, international investments; are increasingly finding their home in the Principality. The technology figures, however, quantify a multitude of projects that, in the words of ARA's director, Esther Vera, "work to seek not very complex solutions to very complex problems". To give a voice—and bestow some well-deserved laurels—to a handful of these initiatives, the newspaper celebrated this Thursday the first edition of the FAR awards, dedicated to technology with an impact on society; in fields as diverse as education, health, or environmental preservation. The evening was hosted by journalists Laura Rosel and Cristina Sáez.

In this first gala, held at the MACBA and supported by the collaboration of Banco Santander, Cellnex, and the Government of Catalonia, the FAR awards recognized five companies that apply technology where it is most needed. In a speech during the event, the Minister of Research and Universities of the Government, Núria Montserrat, praised the initiative, as well as its title, which she considered a great success. "It recalls the Lighthouse of Alexandria, an infrastructure that served to guide and instruct, featured in many works to shed light on what is important", celebrated the minister.

A spirit that Esther Vera has also reflected, who recalled that while "technological progress is cumulative, often moral, ethical, and social progress is not." The solutions highlighted in the FAR awards aim to remedy this historical dysfunction.

Against pessimism

The initiatives that have walked away with a FAR award statuette prove the thesis presented by Genís Roca, a technology expert and president of Accent Obert: there is no room to be depressed in Catalan technology. "There is a certain pessimism surrounding the digital sphere," observed Roca, "which I do not share. We have enormous opportunities and enormous responsibilities," he reasoned. A flattering attitude shared by Laia Corbella, the brand new director general of the Mobile World Capital foundation, who has elevated Barcelona and Catalonia to "a technological hub." "And there is no need to argue that they are," she stated.

According to the executive, digital talent, which nowadays is "a national infrastructure," generates a good part of the value the Principality can offer. "The first question a company asks when it wants to come is what capacity we have to generate and retain talent," she recalled. The competition, however, is fierce and international. "It is a battle of cities: we are competing with Shanghai, with Berlin..." she listed. In this sense, she focused on the companies awarded at the gala, from whom she highlighted the capacity to generate "benchmarks to incentivize vocations and choose preferences." "It is very hard, if we don't have them, to define where we want to go," she reiterated. The FAR awards, therefore, seek to point the way.

Market and ideas

A large part of the cutting-edge technological activity generated in Catalonia stems from highly competitive knowledge infrastructures. Among the most notable is the Institute of Photonic Sciences. Its founder, Lluís Torner, has been one of the authoritative voices of the evening. Torner has acknowledged the relevance of technology transfer, the engine for bringing scientific advances to where they can be used. However, he warned against an excessive focus on market leaps: "we must focus on transferring, but also on continuing to generate ideas." After all, he stressed, scientists "want what they investigate to be useful." "That what they investigate reaches the market and ends up improving people's lives is a spectacular prize," he assured.

For his part, the rector of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Francesc Torres, has taken on the challenge of transferring knowledge to daily use; a task that the school fulfills, he defends, "through its graduates." "We are increasingly trying to ensure that the profiles that emerge are closer to what companies need," he continued. Beyond the vanguard ideas, more than present in Catalonia, Torres shed light on "a very active, very export-oriented, and very competitive industry" of which the country can boast. A large part of the work of the Catalan knowledge ecosystem, therefore, is to maintain excellence also in the productive spheres of day-to-day life.

The award winners of the night

Among the evening's award winners at the FAR, honoring their purpose, there have been projects with goals such as the rapid detection of breast cancer, accessibility in children's education, or the support and care of the elderly. In the field of Health innovation, the recognition went to The Blue Box, one of the leading biotechnological start-ups in the Catalan ecosystem in recent years. The company has developed a technology to perform a rapid, non-invasive, and radiation-free test to facilitate the early detection of a breast tumor. The company's technology is capable of detecting markers compatible with this type of cancer in a urine sample. The company's CEO, Judit Giró, adopted the evening's maxim, arguing that "technology and innovation make no sense if they are not dedicated to doing something good in the world".

The winner of the FAR award for transformation in education demonstrates that screens, when well-guided by teachers, can be an essential learning tool. The recognition has gone to Nextus Social Learning, an audiovisual platform with more than 2,000 educational resources that it offers to teachers to bring the learning from documentaries and other didactic materials into the classroom. The project manager at the company, Eloi Trullàs, has reclaimed the capacity of audiovisual media to "help foster critical minds" among students.

Far from the uncertainty they may generate in the scales furthest from society, artificial intelligence and robotics can have more than desirable applications. This is demonstrated by SOM Care, the winner of the award for social and community contribution. The project, which is part of the Saltó Group, combines social robotics and AI to accompany elderly and dependent people, and facilitate the tasks of social-health professionals by putting "technology at the service of people". In addition to the sector award, SOM Care also took home the grand jury prize of this first edition of the FAR awards. Jaume Saltó, CEO of the Saltó Group, has emphasized the importance of recognizing "companies that work with a purpose".

The sea is, increasingly, a companion to the local business ecosystem, especially in a Barcelona that is increasingly aware of the scope of the blue economy. In the field of environmental preservation, sustainability, and mobility, the winner was Bound4blue, which has developed a wind-based propulsion technology for ships, the eSAIL sail, which allows for the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and the emissions linked to maritime mobility. Lorena Herreros, manager of marketing and digital communications at the company, valued their purpose: "to transform maritime transport into a more sustainable process, for the oceans and for the planet".

At a time when food sovereignty, and its sustainable character, is at the center of the European debate. The winner of the rural development award demonstrates that the sustainability of agricultural activity can be guaranteed; and that it can be done, moreover, from the territory itself. Altinco, a company of the Cerestia-MatHolding group, develops biostimulants and biocontrol solutions from Mollerussa that help to grow more efficient crops with less waste. The general director of Altinco, Joan Minguella, has claimed his project, "very ambitious and with great transformative capacity for agriculture". "We have the opportunity to transform agriculture both on a national and global scale", he concluded.

The trophy

The trophy that the winners have taken home also deserves a special mention. Its manufacture has been carried out by Sustain Awards, a company specialized in the production of design trophies and unique awards with special care for aesthetics and sustainability. The design of the piece bears the signature of Ricard Marfà.