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‘Gipuzkoa’ accesses the Boston-based MIT’s international network to assist with projects improving mobility

Posted on abril 14, 2023 by BasqueScience

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa in Basque Country, MUBIL, and the region’s knowledge agents will have access to this prestigious university’s resources; will be able to collaborate with institutions in cities like Toronto and Shanghai.

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Mubil Foundation, and Media Lab’s City Science from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have signed a collaboration agreement for the creation of the ‘City Science Lab Gipuzkoa’, which will transform the region into an innovation laboratory for implementing mobility projects. Provincial Minister of Economic Promotion and Strategic Projects Jabier Larrañaga, MUBIL General Director Ane Insausti, and MIT City Science Network Director Kent Larson have signed an agreement in Boston to include Gipuzkoa in the ‘City Science Network’, the exclusive collaborative network of MIT-backed cities around the world, including Shanghai, Helsinki, Toronto, Taipei, Hamburg, Guadalajara (Mexico), Andorra, Ho Chi Minh City, and Concepción (Chile).

This international community of institutions and researchers share the common goal “to enable more livable, equitable, and resilient communities.” The ‘City Science Network’ proposes a unique work methodology based on research laboratories in benchmark cities around the world in order to respond to community challenges and assist in moving forward new models for cities and regions. Within the framework of this initiative, these cities are integrated into an international network of cooperative laboratories working together with the MIT Media Lab to develop experimentation-focused research that drives key technology and concept creation, which is then implemented and assessed in real-life environments.

In the case of Gipuzkoa, research work and innovative projects will be focused on mobility, with the aim of promoting the transition towards a new model that meets the needs of residents in the region’s various communities and helps improve their quality of life and well-being.

Likewise, with its economic endowment of 1.2 million euros and three-year duration that can be renewed upon completion, the agreement represents a major push forward for this area’s research and development in Gipuzkoa and Euskadi through on-the-ground testing of solutions and innovative pilot programmes aimed at meeting society’s current and future needs. The region will also be able to access an international community of leading experimentation and research centres with which to connect and cooperate while adopting and implementing new innovative processes and methodologies.

“We are going to be able to collaborate with cities that are already part of this network and learn from their experiences. Networking and mutual learning opens up a limitless horizon of possibilities”, said Ane Insausti, who noted that “this is not just an MIT, Provincial Council, or MUBIL project, rather, the involvement of Gipuzkoa research centres when it comes to creating teams and energising projects will be essential to obtaining successful results”.

The relationship between the MIT Media Lab and Gipuzkoa goes back for some time. The collaboration between MUBIL and TECNUN, the University of Navarre’s school of engineering, has upheld an academic relationship with MIT for years, which led to MIT Media Lab members participating in a MUBIL-organised event with universities, companies, and the region’s centres last April to rethink mobility. As a result, the MIT Media Lab saw great potential in the region, along with ideal conditions for folding it into their international network, including solid R&D capabilities; an appetite for innovation and experimentation driven by the public sphere in close collaboration with the private sector, knowledge centres, and the public; widespread acceptance of public transport; the ever-increasing presence of electric and hybrid vehicles in transportation fleets; and a transition towards the use of soft modes of transport like bicycles, that have been gaining ground against other means of transport.


Presentation Event​​​​​

An event to present Gipuzkoa’s début as a member of this network took place on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, more precisely at the Samberg conference centre, where some 40 Centre representatives were in attendance. The region was represented by Innovation Director Jon Gurrutxaga and TECNUN Director Raúl Anton, whose centre will actively participate in the activities to be carried out at the ‘City Science Lab Gipuzkoa’. Apart from signing the agreement, they were able to better understand the work MIT carries out in Gipuzkoa’s areas of interest such as nanotechnology, quantum technologies, and artificial intelligence through two days of visits and meetings with experts.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is considered by numerous rankings to be one of the best and most prestigious universities in the world, and was founded in 1861 with the aim of driving the industrial revolution through innovation, technological development, and human talent. Education, research, and innovation are elements that characterise the institution, which stands as a global leader in knowledge production. MIT Media Lab was created in 1985, and is currently one of the world’s leading research and academic organisations. It endeavours to bring together researchers from diverse campuses that combine a vision of a digital future with a new manner of creative invention. Over the course of its first decade in existence, it has worked on developing emerging technologies that may very well change learning, entertainment, and self-expression in its contribution to the first steps towards a digital revolution.

‘City Science Lab Gipuzkoa’convertirá el territorio un laboratorio de innovación para la puesta en marcha de proyectos de movilidad.

La Diputación Foral, la Fundación Mubil y el City Science de Media Lab del MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) han firmado un acuerdo de colaboración para la creación del ‘City Science Lab Gipuzkoa’, que hará del territorio un laboratorio de innovación para la puesta en marcha de proyectos de movilidad.

El diputado de Promoción Económica y Proyectos Estratégicos Jabier Larrañaga, la directora de MUBIL Ane Insausti y Kent Larson, director del MIT City Science Network han rubricado en Boston un convenio que supondrá la entrada de Gipuzkoa en ‘City Science Network’, la exclusiva red colaborativa de ciudades de todo el mundo auspiciada por el MIT, de la que forman parte Shanghái, Helsinki, Toronto, Taipei, Hamburgo, Guadalajara (México), Andorra, Ho Chi Minh y Concepción (Chile).

Se trata una comunidad internacional de instituciones e investigadores que comparten el objetivo común de contribuir a que “las comunidades sean más habitables, equitativas y resilientes”. La ‘City Science Network’ plantea una metodología de trabajo única, que se basa en laboratorios de investigación de ciudades de referencia en todo el mundo para dar respuesta a los retos de la ciudadanía y para contribuir en el avance hacia un nuevo modelo de ciudad/región. En el marco de la iniciativa, estas ciudades, integradas en una red internacional de laboratorios cooperativos, trabajan junto con el MIT Media Lab en el desarrollo de investigaciones que conduzcan al desarrollo de conceptos y tecnologías clave que se implementan y evalúan en entornos reales, con la experimentación como eje.

En el caso de Gipuzkoa, estos trabajos de investigación y proyectos innovadores se centrarán en el ámbito de la movilidad, con el fin de impulsar la transición hacia un nuevo modelo que responda a las necesidades de la ciudadanía de las diferentes comarcas del territorio, y que contribuya a mejorar su calidad de vida y bienestar.

Por otra parte, el convenio, que cuenta con una dotación económica de 1,2 millones de euros y una vigencia de tres años renovables a su conclusión, supondrá un gran impulso al desarrollo e investigación en este ámbito para Gipuzkoa y Euskadi, probando soluciones y pilotos innovadores en entornos reales, orientados a responder a las necesidades actuales y futuras de la sociedad. Asimismo, el territorio podrá acceder a una comunidad internacional de centros de investigación y experimentación de referencia, con los cuales cooperar y poder vincularse para la adopción y puesta en marcha de nuevas metodologías y procesos innovadores.

“Vamos a poder colaborar con las ciudades que ya forman parte de la red y aprender de sus experiencias. El trabajo en red y el aprendizaje mutuo abre un horizonte de posibilidades enorme”, ha afirmado Ane Insausti, quien ha aclarado que “este no es un proyecto solo del MIT, la Diputación o MUBIL, sino que la implicación de los centros de investigación de Gipuzkoa tanto en la configuración de equipos como en la dinamización de los proyectos va a ser fundamental para que los resultados sean exitosos”.

La relación entre el MIT Media Lab y Gipuzkoa se remonta tiempo atrás. La colaboración entre MUBIL y TECNUN, la escuela de ingeniería de la Universidad de Navarra, que mantiene desde hace años una relación académica con el MIT, facilitó que en abril del año pasado, miembros del MIT Media Lab participaran en una jornada organizada por MUBIL para repensar la movilidad, junto a universidades, empresas y centros del territorio. Como resultado, el MIT Media Lab observó en el territorio un gran potencial y condiciones idóneas para pasar a formar parte de su red internacional: sólidas capacidades en I+D; vocación por la innovación y la experimentación impulsada desde la esfera pública y en estrecha vinculación con el sector privado, los centros de conocimiento y la ciudadanía; gran  aceptación del transporte público; una presencia cada vez mayor de vehículos eléctricos o híbridos entre las flotas de transportes; y una transición hacia el uso de medios de transporte blandos como la bicicleta, que ha ido ganando terreno frente a otros medios de transporte.


Acto de presentación

La puesta de largo de Gipuzkoa como miembro de la red tuvo lugar en un acto realizado en el campus de MIT en Cambridge, concretamente en el centro de conferencias Samberg, con la participación de en torno a 40 representantes del Centro. La representación del territorio la han completado el director de Innovación Jon Gurrutxaga y el director de TECNUN Raúl Anton, centro que participará de forma activa en las acciones a realizar en ‘City Science Lab Gipuzkoa’. Además de firmar el convenio, han podido conocer en dos jornadas de visitas y encuentros con personas expertas el trabajo que realiza el MIT en áreas de interés para Gipuzkoa como la nanotecnología, las tecnologías cuánticas o la inteligencia artificial.

El Instituto de Tecnología de Massachusetts (MIT), considerada por numerosos rankings como una de las mejores y más prestigiosas universidades a nivel mundial, se fundó en 1861 con el objetivo de impulsar la revolución industrial a través de la innovación, el desarrollo tecnológico y el talento humano. La educación, la investigación y la innovación son elementos que caracterizan a la institución, que se configura como un referente en la generación de conocimiento a nivel global. En el año 1985, creó el MIT Media Lab, actualmente una de las principales organizaciones académicas y de investigación a nivel mundial. Surge reuniendo a investigadores e investigadoras de campos muy diversos que combinan la visión de un futuro digital con un nuevo estilo de invención creativa, y a lo largo de su primera década en activo, trabajó en el desarrollo de tecnologías emergentes que podrían transformar el aprendizaje, el entretenimiento y la autoexpresión, contribuyendo en los primeros pasos de la revolución digital.

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