Tríptic CatLabs
Tríptic CatLabs. Font: CatLabs.

The Government adopted on 8 November CatLab program to strengthen the potential in the region in terms of social collaborative and digital innovation and give it visibility.

The aim of CatLab is to seek involvement and promote collaboration between local stakeholders (governments, companies, public and private entities) who have projects in areas such as information and communications technology (ICT), robotics, industry drones, the coworking, digital manufacturing (FabLabs, makers, cultural centers, etc.). The result of their synergies may arise in the short/medium term initiatives and projects in the field of innovation designed from the territory.

Collaboration Point of ICT and regional meetings

The program has Points ICTs as agents of innovation with a proven track record. The program aims to provide new alliances and future prospects their projects. It also aims to incorporate all entities that make innovation in Catalonia. In this regard, recognizes the role of the telecentres as territorial reference in the field of ICT and invites them to suggest actors around who might be part of this network and to identify new ones.

To begin work on it during the months of February and March 2017 meetings will be organized in September, at the delegations of the Catalan Government, in order to explain to Punt TIC in detail the program and connect up with other agents that make innovation your environment. For now, they confirmed the following meetings:

  • 8 of February: Lleida
  • 15 of February: Pyrenees (Tremp)
  • 22 of February: Girona
  • 1 of March: Central Catalonia (Manresa)
  • 8 of March: Tierras del Ebro (Tortosa)
  • 15 of March: Tarragona
  • 22 or 29 of March: Barcelona

You can send your impressions about it and suggest projects or organizations in your province that can form part of CatLab through an email addressed to technicians of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Cybersecurity and Digital Society:

  • Holly Monica: macebo [at] gencat.cat
  • Susan Morillas: smorillas [at] gencat.cat
  • Ricardo Benitez: ricard.benitez [at] gencat.cat

The promoters of this initiative, which is part of the strategy RIS3CAT and has the support of the FEDER Operational Programme for Catalonia 2014-2010, are the departments of the Presidency, through the Ministry of Telecommunications, Cybersecurity and Society digital and Vice, through the Directorate General for Economic Development. Also involved are the Ministries of Enterprise and Knowledge and of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, and the Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC). Finally, CatLab has the expertise i2CAT, acting as Technical Office program.