Innovation and smart design throughout San Sebastian

Tuesday, 17 October 2017

The fourth edition of Donostia WeekINN - San Sebastian Innovation Week, organised by the Department for Economic Development, Commerce and Tourism through Fomento de San Sebastián, will be held from 23rd to 27th October and will feature the life of the city with over 200 hours of activities related to innovation. Entry to the talks and sessions will be free of charge, in which international experts, companies, research centres, schools and agents from different sectors, among others, will showcase the innovative ecosystem of our city as a driving force for change, growth and cohesion for San Sebastian.

The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Economic Development, Ernesto Gasco, wanted to highlight that “this fourth edition of the WeekiINN has evolved in the most important declaration or exhibition of citizen visibility in terms of innovation, and therefore, talent, that has ever occurred in the history of San Sebastian, both in quantitative terms by number of events, but particularly through the mass participation and involvement of diverse entities from San Sebastian, positioning our city as an international reference."

During a week, San Sebastian will once more be the capital of Innovation. Backed by Fomento de San Sebastián, this fourth edition of WeekINN is still committed to a varied and quality programme, with over 78 events aimed at companies, undergraduates, schoolchildren, researchers, citizens, etc. This year, they will be held at over 37 venues throughout the city, offering over 200 hours of activities. This year’s new developments include an APP to consult the different daily scheduled activities, with detailed information, times and venues, and which will offer the possibility to register directly. A daily blog will be published on the website: www.fomentosansebastian.eus with a summary of the leading activities at Donostia WeekINN, and a graphic mural with the developments of WeekINN that will be drawn in the Citizens’ Marquee which will be set up in the Boulevard, based on the concepts and activities developed.

Furthermore, this year Innovation Week will develop a leading theme, Connecting Talent – Connecting to innovate through people, with which it aims to communicate, spread and reinforce the San Sebastian Connecting Talent programme. In fact, the programme of activities is structured into three key blocks, such as education, the company and international connection, which are considered to be strategic areas to obtain a talent connected city, which enables talent to be attracted, developed and retained, strengthening its innovative system.

Since its first edition in 2014, the WeekINN has grown in all aspects, both in terms of quantity and quality, until reaching highly relevant levels, with a positive balance of participation, whereby 2,600 people took part in the organised activities in 2016. This event shows that innovation is not restricted to specialised research centres, but is present in the everyday life of the city: in shops, schools, companies, etc, forming a favourable ecosystem for the development of innovative projects.

For the second consecutive year, WeekINN will have a large marquee that will be set up in the San Sebastian Boulevard with free entry for citizens throughout the day as a space to demonstrate innovation and technologies. There will be the opportunity to participate in robotics workshops, technology testing sessions, and to discover innovative entrepreneurial projects. Furthermore, during the Innovation Week, the DonostiaINN business innovation awards will be presented, which were awarded for the first time last year and which aim to recognise the efforts made by companies in the city in two different categories: consolidated companies and start-ups.

The Innovation Week is going to take place in 37 different venues with over 78 events of which the following can be highlighted:

- Monday 23rd October: The Kursaal will be the venue for a conference aimed at the young people of San Sebastian, where they will be able to work on their own brand for job seeking and professional development. Andy Stalman, expert in identity and branding, will be there as well as local companies which will display their needs and will have stands to meet candidates, as well as practical workshops and networking.

- Tuesday 24th October: The Tech Talks cycle will begin in a dynamic format in which an open dialogue will be developed on the impact of technology in fields such as banking, commerce or sports, with experts from Barrabés.Biz, Real Sociedad, Kendu and Banco Sabadell.

- Wednesday 25th October: The City Council’s Assembly Hall will host the final of the San Sebastian Innovation League, an event that will put the finishing touches to the school competition that has been held in recent months, in which the five final teams from the following schools: Axular, St. Patricks, Jesuitak, Santo Tomas Lizeoa and Luberri, will present their proposals to the Urumea challenge to the jury.

- Thursday 26th October: DonostiaINN prize-giving ceremony at the Hotel María Cristina, in the presence of Emilio J. Castilla, expert in talent management policies and programmes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the Sloan School of Management.

- Friday 27th October: The Miramar Palace will be the stage for the presentation of the new San Sebastian Design School, with a speech by the expert, Alberto Barreiro, from Barrabes.Biz.

Furthermore, in another block of the programme, around 30technology centres, companies and entrepreneurs from San Sebastian will give talks, robotics and programming workshops and social entrepreneurship workshops throughout the Innovation Week, within the framework of the Berrikuntza Gerturatuz cycle.

WeekINN 2017 includes the following collaborators:

AEG, AFM, ALTZAKO BHI, ANGULAS AGUINAGA, ANTIGUA-LUBERRI BHI, ASOCIACIÓN DE EMPRESARIOS DE HOSTELERÍA DE GIPUZKOA, AXULAR LIZEOA, BANCO SABADELL, BARRABES.BIZ, BIODONOSTIA, BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL, BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY, CANARD DRONES, CATO BRANDS PARTNERS, CDTI, CEIT-IK4, CENTRO COMERCIAL GARBER, Ci BSC, BUSINESS SUPPORT CENTRE LTD., CIC BIOMAGUNE, CIC NANOGUNE, CITY OF ZAGREB, COUNTERCRAFT, DABADABA, DENEB MEDICAL, DIARIO VASCO, DO PLAY, EDUMOTION-Javier Miguel Garay, EIDE, EKILOR, ELKARGI, ENISA, ENRIQUE RODAL, ESTRATEGIA EMPRESARIAL, EUSKARA BILDUA, FARSENS, FEDERACIÓN MERCANTIL DE GIPUZKOA, FORO KEIRETSU EUSKADI, FORO TECH DEUSTO, GRAPHENEA, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL, HISPAVISTA, HOTEL AMARA PLAZA, HOTEL MARIA CRISTINA, IAMETZA INTERAKTIBOA, IED MADRID, IKOR, IKUSI, ILINE MICROSYSTEM, INTIA, IURISMÁTICA, JESUITAK DONOSTIA, KENDU, LAUAIZETA BHI, LAZIO REGION, LIKUID NANOTEK, LINKEDINBRANDING, LISBON CITY COUNCIL, LURRARTE, MENTORES EN REFLEXIÓN EMPRESARIAL, MIT- INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MASSACHUSETTS, MUNICIPALITY OF THE CITY OS THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, NESPLORA, POLYMAT, REAL SOCIEDAD, RED.ES, RESTAURANTE ARIMA, SALA KELER, SAN SEBASTIAN SHOPS, SANTA TERESA IKASTETXEA, SANTO TOMAS LIZEOA, SAVVY SYSTEMS, SAYMA, SELCOACHING 360, SERIKAT, SINNPLE, SLOW FOOD, ST. PATRICK’S SCHOOL, SUMMA ALDAPETA, TECNALIA, TECNUN, TIM SMITHERS, UNIVERSIDAD DE BARCELONA, UNIVERSIDAD DE DEUSTO, UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO, USANDIZAGA-PEÑAFLORID AMARA BHI, VICOMTECH-IK, VILNIUS CITY MUNICIPALGOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATIO, ZABALA INNOVATION
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