2023-06-18 05:01:07
Every June 18 we commemorate the day of Science and Technology of Córdoba in homage to the work and career of Alberto Maiztegui. He was one of the most outstanding personalities of the Province, who left us a transcendent legacy and today renews his validity by recognizing or discovering how his imprint as a disseminator and researcher is present.
Our province, a pioneer in academic training, the cradle of renowned men and women of science, curious and innovative by nature, leader in social and productive development, continues to set trends in the generation, linkage, appropriation, adoption and application of knowledge.
The emerging demands of a society that is undergoing transcendental changes in this technological scientific revolution have configured a new agenda full of productive, social, cultural and environmental challenges, and where the answers lie in talent focused on producing knowledge that will allow us to continue building a Córdoba innovative.
For this reason, we must continue to consolidate and strengthen our scientific and technological system, which is made up of nearly 10,000 researchers and scholarship holders. They represent an average of 2.96 per 1,000 inhabitants, one of the highest in the region, who display skills and a lot of passion every day in more than 2,000 research projects.
This is added to the contribution of the university complex, with indicators in terms of training that exceed 275 thousand students in almost 500 careers (including technical degrees, degrees and engineering), in the 12 university study centers located in the cities of Córdoba, Villa María , San Francisco and Rio Cuarto. It is important to note that in the last two years there was an increase in the choice of so-called “Stem” careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, for its acronym in English).
Knowledge Economy
This enormous potential, placed at the service of the productive sectors, was what allowed a renewed impetus to be given to the activities that make up the Knowledge Economy. The articulated work between the academy, public and private actors makes it possible for it to have been consolidated as the third most important conglomerate within the Cordoba productive matrix, led by the development of software and digital technologies.
Its numbers also reflect a national leadership in the number of companies, growth in billing, exports and the incorporation of talent. The projections indicate that, if this level of growth is maintained, year after year the exports of the Knowledge Economy will have more and more relevance within the economy of Córdoba.
In this wide range of activities, in Córdoba we decided to promote the biotechnological complex, since its disciplines are designed to satisfy the needs and demands of a challenging world due to its applications in health, agriculture, food, inputs and materials, among others.
In our province, moreover, many of the biotechnological scientists and entrepreneurs carry out their activities in inland towns, which demonstrates how the federalization and democratization of knowledge allow opportunities to multiply throughout the province.
The importance of innovation
A global problem, which is among the main issues that deserve attention, is environmental sustainability.
Córdoba is also at the forefront in this: it advances in the measurement, reduction and compensation of the carbon footprint and promotes a comprehensive biofuels program, where our Ceprocor, thanks to its enormous human and technical capacities, created the first public biofuels laboratory that allows testing and certifying the quality of what is produced in Cordoba plants.
The new demands also challenge the traditional models for the generation of consumer goods and promote a productive transformation. Here, the new ideas born from the scientific field, applied to products or processes, are what make it possible to add competitiveness to companies.
In Córdoba, it was revealed that investments in R+D+i registered a significant increase in the last year, and half of them are made by companies and entrepreneurs from Córdoba.
In all these cases, the common denominator is innovation. Not as a concept or an idea, but as a concrete fact that is evident in the attitude of businessmen, entrepreneurs, teachers, students, technicians, researchers and professionals who, together with a present state, promote the culture of innovation. Not as a distant goal to be achieved, but as a path that is constantly traveled, a bridge that helps to continue advancing, that connects wills and talents helping to overcome the difficulties that arise.
* Minister of Science and Technology of Córdoba
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