Concept
"Indra Accessible Technology Chairs" is the umbrella name for the partnerships which the company maintains with knowledge institutions to develop innovative solutions and services in the field of accessibility and inclusion.
Indra's aim is that in the short to medium term the chairs will lead to a significant impact for society and the market, and that the company will become an international benchmark not only in the quest for excellence in the development of accessible technology but also in university-business partnerships and technology transfer.
The main lines of work pursued through the chairs are geared to promoting social and workplace inclusion for disabled people:
- Independent living
- Accessible education
- Accessible employment
Initiative
The field of accessible technology is both sensitive and strategic. In line with the three European plans eEurope 2002, eEurope2005 and the current i2010, it encompasses aspects such as the basic needs of a specific sector of society and the general recognition of a better quality of life for all citizens.
The initiative is based on the following premises:
- Indra's firm belief that its habitual activity – innovating in IT solutions and services – is the best way to demonstrate its corporate responsibility.
- Indra's conviction that partnerships with knowledge institutions are crucial for this innovation, and that these institutions represent a strategic audience for the company.
- The recognition that accessibility and inclusion constitute a fundamental field in which IT can make a real difference to people's lives and to the communities in which we operate.
Objectives
The Accessible Technology Chairs agglutinate a variety of partnerships with knowledge institutions aimed at generating innovation in the field of accessibility and inclusion. These partnerships range from developing lines of research to undertaking specific projects with financial support from Indra. They also enhance the training of university students and Indra's engineers, as well as promoting activities to spread knowledge within the field. The specific objectives are as follows:
- Contribute to innovation and technological development in the field of disability.
- Reinforce university-business partnerships, harnessing the talent and capabilities which the institution places at the disposal of the company while simultaneously promoting a business culture in the academic world.
- Create a viable model of university-business partnership that promotes technology transfer and positions it in the market, with both parties obtaining mutual benefits from the synergies established.
- Maximize the social, economic and scientific impact of the chairs, striving for excellence in the development of accessible technology.
- Turn the chairs into an international benchmark in university-business partnership and accessible technology research.
- Work jointly with universities on academic initiatives to promote knowledge diffusion.
- Attract talent in the academic world with a view to possible recruitment to the company, and encourage Indra professionals to take an interest in research and partnerships with universities.
Action plan
An annual Accessible Technology Chair action plan is drawn up and monitored at intervals throughout the year by the Chair Monitoring Committee, the central body that coordinates the different chairs. The Monitoring Committee is made up of representatives from Indra's eInclusion Unit and the Talent, Innovation & Strategy Division.
From the organizational point of view, each Chair belongs to one of Indra's Technology Development Centers. For example:
- The Polytechnic University of Madrid Chair belongs to the Indra Technology Development Center in Madrid.
- The University of Castile-La Mancha Chair belongs to the Mixed Research Center in Ciudad Real which Indra and the university have run jointly since May 2001.
- The University of Lleida Chair belongs to the Indra Technology Development Center located at the Lleida Technology Park.
Partnership structure
The figure below illustrates the partnership structure, coordinated by the Coordination and Monitoring Committee, made up of professionals from Indra's eInclusion Unit and Talent, Innovation & Strategy Division, which manages the communication with the Technology Development Centers to which the different Chairs belong.
The teams and facilities used for each Chair are mixed: part of the work is undertaken at the university and part at Indra's facility.
The Coordination and Monitoring Committee also works closely with the Adecco Foundation to ensure that the technological solutions proposed genuinely promote the workplace and social inclusion of disabled people.
Impact
The impact of the Chairs can be classified into three categories:
- Social impact: due to the objective pursued by the Chairs, which is none other than to encourage the workplace and social inclusion of disabled people, and due also to the advantages which the technological solutions developed can provide for this sector of society.
- Scientific impact: due to the agglutination of a critical mass of people working together in a university-business partnership and undertaking research into such a sensitive, specific and strategic field like accessible technology. This Chair of Chairs will promote synergies between Indra and the research groups at the different universities in order to develop pioneering solutions in the field of disability with an enormous scientific and technological impact..
- Economic impact: due to the value of anticipation, and the differential value for Indra of including Design for All principles in the technological solutions offered to its clients. Indra believes there are unequivocal signs that accessible technology will have a decisive weight in the future of the Information Society. This is clearly illustrated by the European strategies to promote the Information Society and the legislative framework of the European Union member countries:
- Importance of digital inclusion in European strategies. In line with the Lisbon Strategy (2000) and one of the three pillars of the i2010 Strategic Agenda. Digital inclusion has played an important role in the three plans to promote the Information Society (eEurope 2002, eEurope 2005 and the current i2010).
- o Increasingly stringent legislative framework on accessible technology, which is gradually becoming a decisive factor in public procurement processes.
Beneficiaries
This university-business partnership model has three broad beneficiaries:
- Indra, which:
- Has the opportunity to develop solutions in which the spearhead of international knowledge is accompanied by academics and university research departments.
- Benefits from the university-business technology transfer.
- Attracts talent in the academic world with a view to possible recruitment to the company.
- Encourages Indra professionals to take an interest in research and partnerships with universities.
- Includes Design for All principles in its products, which gives them a competitive advantage.
- Benefits from academic initiatives that improve the training of its professionals.
- Benefits from the talent and capabilities which the university places at its disposal.
- The universities, which:
- Benefit from the promotion of a business culture in the academic world.
- Benefit from academic initiatives targeted at the training of university students, through work experience, grants, prizes, etc.
- Have the opportunity to provide sustainability to research teams funded through the Chairs and working in partnership with the company.
- Promote creativity and a business culture in the academic world, encouraging a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship among students.
- Increase the ratio of technology transfer and the conversion of scientific developments into technological innovations with applications for the market.
- Disabled people, who:
- Benefit from the technological solutions developed by the university-business partnerships.
- Improve their workplace and social inclusion.
- Have the opportunity to participate in the design, development and assessment of the technological solutions developed. This participation is articulated through various consultation mechanisms (direct input, presentations, events, etc.) which encourage the different groups of disabled people to feel personally involved in the projects undertaken.
Scope
The Indra Accessible Technology Chairs are not a one-off activity but a strategic line of action for the medium and long term, and their continuity is therefore guaranteed.
Indra's experience in university partnerships and its years of experience in accessible technology research projects are clear evidence of the company's interest in developing innovative solutions to provide disadvantaged groups of people with easier access to the Information Society.
We believe that the Indra Accessible Technology Chairs are unique. We have not found any similar initiatives anywhere in the world that offer an interuniversity and interregional model of university-business partnerships for the purpose of developing joint solutions in the field of disability.
The Indra Accessible Technology Chairs in Figures
Doctoral theses and final-year projects
The Indra Accessible Technology Chair at the University of Lleida has given rise to one doctoral thesis (currently in progress) and two final-year projects.
Partnerships with institutions
- Mixed Research Center in Ciudad Real which Indra and the university have run jointly since May 2001.
- Indra Technology Development Center in Madrid (Cerro de la Plata).
- Indra Technology Development Center at the Lleida Technology Park.
- Rafael del Pino Foundation.
- ASPAYM-Madrid (presentation of the HeadMouse project and forthcoming assessment of HeadMouse by people with spinal cord injury).
- La Paeria (Lleida City Council): Demonstration and exhibition at CiberLleida, Lan Party and the University-Business Conference.
- Center for Agricultural Mechanization (CMA) of the Regional Government of Catalonia.
- Private foundation Libra, which promotes initiatives in support of people with intellectual disabilities.
- ASPID Lleida, which carries out activities for the inclusion of disabled people.
- Private foundation ASPROS.