Arturo Azcorra appointed Director General for Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurial Development at the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

21 October 2009

The appointment by the Spanish Council of Ministers of Dr. Arturo Azcorra Saloña, former Director of IMDEA Networks, asDirector General for Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurial Development at the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation has given a new boost to the Madrid Institutes for Advances Studies IMDEA. His experience in the creation of value and wealth in the Madrid region via technology transfer of scientific and technological advances to industry and society, will now have an impact on the elaboration and implementation of policies oriented to boost Spain’s long-term competitiveness.

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This recognition of Azcorra’s work as Professor of Telematics at University Carlos III of Madrid and international expert in telecommunications confirms the positioning of the IMDEA Institutes at the forefront in the promotionof R&D of excellence and international scope. From its inception in 2007 with the impulse given by madri+d Foundation for Knowledge, the eight IMDEA Research Institutes have established themselves as one of the fundamental cornerstones in the Regional Government’s Science, Technology and Innovation policy. This ambitious proposal is channeled via the Directorate General of Universities and Research (DGUI) of the Department of Education and the Madrid Instute of Development(IMADE) of the Department of Economy and Treasury, responsible for the Madrid Network of Scientific and Technological Parks and Clusters.

The scientific goal of all IMDEAs is to have a durable and significant scientific, technological and socioeconomic impact, as this initiative originates from the need to promote investment in science and innovation as a strategic factor which is of the greatest public interest. The promotion, motivation and improvement of scientific and technological development to face real-life problems, guarantees its direct impact in economic growth, the creation of job opportunities and the generation of knowledge, with the corresponding improvement in the quality of life of all citizens.

Arturo Azcorra: Internet research pioneer in Spain

Arturo Azcorra was born in Santurce (Bilbao) in 1962. He achieved his degree and doctorate in Telecommunications Engineering by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He also obtained an MBA from Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa. He has undertaken academic and research work in the USA as a Visiting Professor at ICSI University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before taking up his new appointment he held the double appointment of Professor at University Carlos III of Madrid and Director of IMDEA Networks.

Azcorra is a pioneer in Internet research in Spain and has played a leadership role in the international scientific community for the past twenty years. At a European level he has participated in and directed 49 research and development projects as well as coordinating two Networks of Excellence. He has also undertaken several consulting and engineering jobs for first rate organizations within the private and public sectors. As Director of IMDEA Networks he has made an effective manner contribution to positioning Madrid as an important location on the global networking research panorama, bringing together a cutting edge international research team to develop the Future Wireless Internet.