Universitat de València participates one more year at the Valencia Digital Summit (VDS) the largest Valencian meeting for technological innovation and entrepreneurship, celebrated on 22 and 23 October at Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. For over 525 years of history, the institution demonstrates once again how science and public research turn into innovation that is useful for society reaffirming its role as a reference in transfer and collaboration in the productive network.

Among its activities, UV organises the round table ‘Innovation Bridges: University, Business and Society working together’ moderated by Faculty of Pharmacy Professor Lucía Hipólito, with five leading researchers of UV shared scientific advancement that will potentially transform key sectors.

Molecular Science Institute (ICMol) '2D Smart Material Lab' Head José J. Baldoví opened the session with the conference ‘Nanoscience for a sustainable future’. He explored the nanoworld and bidimensional smart materials, a line of research opening possibilities in emerging fields such as magnonics, spintronics, quantum technology and new generation sensors.

Next, Professor in Genetics and research group head at the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio. UV-CSIC) Pilar Domingo Calap presented ‘Therapies in evolution: from laboratories to patient beds’. Her work revolves around phage-based therapies. A biotechnological alternative against antimicrobial resistance that open new ways for infection treatment.

For the environmental area, Department of Earth Physics and Thermodynamics professor and researcher of Image Processing Laboratory (IPL) Belén Franch addressed the advancements on terrestrial observation applied to sustainable agriculture. She explaing how remote-sensing technologies promoted by European programme Copernicus help improve the resilience and planning for agriculture against climate change.

Full-time university professor in Psychopathology and I-Psi-Tec research group Head Rosa M. Baños session revolved around digital innovation applied to mental health. She presented tools based on virtual reality and online platforms to build more inclusive and accessible attention systems and promote psychological well-being and prevention from university research.

The closing session was the round table ‘How I founded ten biotechnology companies and why a I still learning’ by Full-time university professor in Genetics and MENDEL BRAIN scientific Head Manuel Pérez Alonso. Pérez Alonso revisited his career in creating spin-offs and highlighted his entrepreneurship based on science which turned university knowledge into economical and social value.

Universitat de València demonstrated its model for open and collaborative innovation at the VDS, where multidisciplinary research transforms into real impact for citizens. In the words of Principal M. Vicenta Mestre ‘UV connects knowledge with needs of its environment, promoting an ecosystem of innovation that serves collective progress’.