CEIT, 40 YEARS AT THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH

This October, the technology centre, which is a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), is celebrating forty years collaborating with the top companies in the Basque Country to promote technological innovation in the region. To celebrate this important milestone in its history, the technological centre held a special event yesterday at the San Sebastian Aquarium, creating a meeting point between the entity's main collaborators.

Institutional representatives in attendance included Arantxa Tapia, the Basque Government’s regional minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, Markel Olano, president of the Regional Council of Gipuzkoa, and Eneko Goia, Mayor of San Sebastian. Ceit was also joined on the occasion of its anniversary by a number of key collaborators and representatives of the corporate fabric of the area, such as Iñigo Ucín, president of GRUPO MONDRAGON and Ibon Iribarren, CEO of Linqcase, among others.

In addition to offering a presentation on the past, present and future of the centre, the event discussed the current challenges facing the technological centre and the rest of the industrial fabric in the region at a round table attended by key members of Ceit such as Reyes Elizalde, Scientific Director, Igone Vélez, Director of the ICT Division, and Íñigo Iturriza, Director of the Materials and Manufacturing Division, with representatives from technological companies such as Jorge Rodriguez, Director General of Mainrail, Ibon Iribarren and Ibon Cerro, Directors of JEMA Energy.

A thorough analysis was also carried out to achieve a sustainable future for San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country as a whole, deciphering some of the challenges that the technological future needs to address.

During his intervention, the president of Ceit, José María Rodríguez Ibabe, thanked all the collaborators for their support, as well as everyone who has worked and currently works at the centre. He also remarked that “this challenge opens up a new and exciting stage with many goals on the horizon and we will keep our commitment to specialisation, developing new technological assets and managing talent, as detailed in our new Strategic Plan for 2022-2025”.

In this regard, the centre will prioritise specialisation in the areas in which it is already a benchmark, such as advanced manufacturing, sustainable transport, the circular economy or digitalisation, in order to offer a better service to companies, both in the surrounding area and in Europe as a whole. To accomplish these goals, the centre's new strategic plan, presented at the beginning of this year, aims to spend 40 million euros on developing new assets.