IMDEA Networks hosts Madrid Open Innovation group meeting

The meeting was attended by members of the regional government, companies and institute staff

17 March 2023

IMDEA Networks hosted today March 17th the meeting of the Madrid Open Innovation Group, composed of members of the regional government of the Community of Madrid and companies such as Telefónica, Repsol, Prosegur, Cofares, Airbus, Sacyr, Merck, Grupo Lantero and Cepsa. The choice of our institute as the venue for this meeting is part of an initiative of the Madrid Open Innovation Group to build bridges between large companies with a presence in the region and an active interest in innovation efforts, and the IMDEA institutes. In short, it was an opportunity to get to know each other and establish possible synergies.

The event began with the presentation of the group by the Director General of Innovation and Technological Research of the Community of Madrid, Ana Isabel Cremades, and the presentation of each of its members. This was followed by an update on initiatives by the Community of Madrid.

Narseo Vallina Rodríguez, Research Associate Professor at IMDEA Networks, was in charge of explaining the research and projects being carried out at the institute and which make us at the forefront of the development of future network principles and technologies. IMDEA Networks is, according to CS Rankings, among the best research centers in Europe in the following areas most aligned with our 3 lines of research: Measurement and Perf. Analysis (#1 in Europe), Mobile Computing (#1 in Europe), and Computer Networks (#18 in Europe). He also talked about our efforts to attract international talent and how we do technology transfer. As an expert in privacy and cybersecurity, he has commented on works of interest that have had great repercussion due to their social impact. Research Professor Antonio Fernández Anta also spoke about SocialProbing, scalable and affordable data collection and analysis techniques for social surveys.

On the other hand, Javier Talavante and Dayrene Frómeta, PhD Students at IMDEA Networks, have talked about their newly formed startup LiFi4Food, which offers solutions for digital and precision agriculture, addressing the challenge of food scarcity by promoting its production in high-tech agri-food facilities.

Finally, Ignacio Berberana, Senior Research Engineer, has talked about the research we are conducting on wireless networks, millimeter waves and 5G/6G networks. At the same time, he has deepened in the use cases that are developed in 5TONIC, an open innovation laboratory founded by IMDEA Networks and Telefónica. Afterwards, the attendees were able to visit it physically to learn about some of the cutting-edge technologies it houses. They were also able to visit all our facilities first hand.