Arturo del Villar highlights investment in innovation and entrepreneurship as key to the country's development
The rector of INTEC made those statements during a meeting of the the University Network for the Advancement of Dominican Education (RUNED) in the They analyzed public policies and mechanisms to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO. – The rector of Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and coordinator of the University Network for the Advancement of Dominican Education (RUNED), Arturo del Villar, stated that investment in research, innovation and entrepreneurship is one of the most important tools to promote sustainable development and competitiveness in the Dominican Republic.
During the meeting “Regulatory frameworks and financing mechanisms for research, development, innovation and entrepreneurship in Latin America: success stories and recommendations for the Dominican Republic”, organized by RUNED at the Ibero-American University (UNIBE), Del Villar stressed that Dominican universities have the challenge of articulating efforts to transform knowledge into economic growth and social well-being.
“True progress is not achieved by nations that only consume technology, but by those that invest in creating it,” the rector stated, emphasizing that a robust funding system for science, technology, and entrepreneurship should be seen as a strategic investment and not as an expense.
Del Villar explained that strengthening economic support for researchers and entrepreneurs would allow for the retention of local talent, reduce brain drain, and generate high value-added jobs, as well as promote innovative solutions to national challenges such as energy sustainability and the strengthening of industries.
He also noted that the universities grouped in RUNED represent one of the main sources of talent and knowledge generation in the country, but warned that for research to become marketable projects, adequate financial instruments are required.
“Agile competitive funds, seed capital, venture capital, and public-private partnerships are essential to ensure that ideas don't stay in the classroom, but reach the market and translate into wealth and social well-being,” he said.
Keynote lecture
Dr. Víctor Gómez Valenzuela, former Vice-Rector of Research and Outreach at INTEC, and research professor at the university, gave the lecture “Knowledge Economy and Productivity: Research and Development in the Dominican Republic”, in which he addressed the role of science, technology and innovation policies in the economic and productive development of countrieshighlighting the intentional strategies that achieve economic transformation. During his speech, he noted that Appropriate STI policies guide the productivity of countries, giving direction to the integrated actions of their various actors, such as university-business linkage, indicating that STI is not educational policy.
Gómez Valenzuela indicated that average spending on research and development in the LAC region is 0.61 percent of GDP, while in the Dominican Republic it reaches only 0.04 percent. He emphasized that knowledge has become the main strategic infrastructure for contemporary development and that “the persistent differences between economies increasingly depend on their capacity to transform knowledge into productivity, technological learning, and productive sophistication.”
The agenda also included a panel on regulatory frameworks and financing mechanisms for research, development, innovation and entrepreneurship in various Latin American countries. highlighting the role of the state in technology transfer and the role of academia in promoting competitiveness, working in a coordinated manner with the business sector.
The panelists were Verónica Hernández, from the Costa Rican Science and Technology Promotion Agency; Sebastián Arango, from Comfama Ventures, Colombia; Rubén Altman, from Antom, Argentina; Fabián Aguilar, from Angel Ventures, Mexico; and Patricio Herrera, from CODESSER Chile. The panelists shared experiences, lessons learned, and perspectives on support models for the research, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region. The panel was moderated by Guadalupe Silva, from UNPHU, and Leandro Féliz-Matos, from UNIBE.
About RUNED
The University Network for the Advancement of Dominican Education (RUNED) is made up of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC), the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), APEC University (UNAPEC), Ibero-American University (UNIBE) and Pedro Henríquez Ureña University (UNPHU)
The activity took place within the framework of the XV edition of the Seminar-Workshop for Professionals of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Latin America, PRODEM, and brought together representatives from the business, government, academic sectors, international experts and actors linked to innovation and entrepreneurship, with the aim of reflecting on successful models from the region and perform recommendations that contribute to strengthening the Dominican ecosystem of research, development and innovation.
The opening of the meeting was led by Dr. Odile Camilo, rector of UNIBE, and also included the presence of Dr. Erik Pérez Vega, rector of UNAPEC; and Dr. Edwin Reyes, rector of ISA University.