Creation of the MIDE collaborative platform to promote entrepreneurship and innovation within the Madrid Community

Ferrovial, Pascual and IBM, amongst other companies, have joined Madrid’s Technical University (UPM) to launch the Madrid Innovation Driven Ecosystem (MIDE), as the first not-for-profit collaborative platform. With the support of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the aim of the platform is to promote entrepreneurship and innovation within the region. According to the REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme) methodology, acceleration and development of entrepreneurship and innovation in any region of the world requires having the 5 key groups in the ecosystem on board: companies, universities or business schools, entrepreneurs, investors and public administrations. With this in mind, the MIDE multidisciplinary team is comprised of 8 institutions which have been working with MIT for a year and will be responsible for carrying out specific actions and initiatives in the region. These institutions are: the Madrid Community, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Ferrovial, Calidad Pascual, IBM, Tetuán Valley, Alcorcón ecity and Unlimiteck. The platform aims to incorporate new stakeholders from this ecosystem in the near future. The official presentation of the MIDE was chaired by Cristina Álvarez, deputy councillor for Educational Policy and Science for the Madrid Community, and attended, amongst others, by Federico Flórez, Ferrovial’s Systems and Innovation Manager. Federico Flórez highlighted the fact that Ferrovial is aware that the best talent may not necessarily be within Ferrovial, and that there is therefore a need to work together with external agents to acquire new knowledge, especially with start-ups and universities as knowledge hubs. In his speech, Flórez reflected on the importance of developing the innovation ecosystem of which Ferrovial is a part, following the company’s ways of working on innovation.

“We want the Madrid ecosystem to be further developed to enable the emergence of technology and talent which can be used to make the region more competitive and unique, thus facilitating access to international projects.”

I Hackathon for Industry 4.0

MIDE roots will start bearing fruit in the coming months, through various initiatives focused on positioning Madrid within the top 3 entrepreneurial cities in Europe. The ranking is currently London, Berlin and Paris. MIDE will simultaneously run the I Hackathon for Industry 4.0, which, in March, will bring together 50 students and entrepreneurs at an important 3-day event aimed at solving challenges in the field of reduction and optimisation of maintenance and energy costs in industrial plants. Ferrovial and Calidad Pascual will contribute know-how, and managers and experts from both companies will be present and provide mentoring. From an organisational point of view, a hackathon is a horizontal, intensive event where participants apply their experience and individual skills for developing specific solutions. In this particular event, MIDE will propose a challenge for participants focusing on industry 4.0. In addition to these initiatives, in the coming months MIDE will continue to add members to its extended network, develop links with Latin America, and serve as a tool for actively listening to entrepreneurs for the purpose of identifying their needs and expectations. The participation of MIDE in MIT’s REAP programme ends in the coming month of July, but the platform expects to continue its work within the Madrid entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moreover, it will take part in all of MIT’s GIN (Global Innovation Network) initiatives to boost the Madrid Community’s continuous presence on the international scene and facilitate benchmarking activities.

Masterclass by the director of the martin trust centre for entrepreneurship

During the presentation, Bill Aulet, professor at MIT and Director of the Martin Trust Centre for Entrepreneurship, gave a masterclass on innovative entrepreneurship.