UAB signs agreement to further develop the Chair in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation
The UAB has signed an agreement with the regional councils of Vallès Occidental and Vallès Oriental and the town councils of Cerdanyola del Vallès, Mollet del Vallès and Montornès del Vallès for the development, over the next few years, of the Chair in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. Among other activities, the Chair - which is also integrated by the Diputació de Barcelona and is attached to the Centre for Studies and Research in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation (CREIS) of the UAB - awards the Eines prizes every year to distinguish activities framed within the seven sustainable development objectives of the United Nations.
The signing ceremony, which took place today at the Rectorate of the UAB, was attended by the rector of the UAB, Javier Lafuente; the presidents of the county councils of Vallès Occidental, Ignasi Giménez, and Vallès Oriental, Emilio Cordero; the mayors of Mollet del Vallès, Mireia Dionisio and Montornés del Vallès, José Montero; the councillor of the University and City of Knowledge of Cerdanyola del Vallès City Council, Mireia Dionisio and José Montero; the mayors of Mollet del Vallès, Mireia Dionisio, and Montornés del Vallès, José Montero; the councillor for University and City of Knowledge of the Cerdanyola del Vallès City Council, Concepción Martínez; and the vice-president and councillor for Economic Promotion and Employment of the Vallès Occidental County Council, Xavier Garcés.
Lafuente described this project as ‘a success’ in terms of the collaboration of the University with the surrounding administrations, praised ‘the impact’ that it generates in society and thanked Professor Héctor Sala, professor of the Department of Applied Economics, for his work in promoting this project. Sala, for his part, said that, with the signing of this agreement, the Chair is entering ‘a new phase of consolidation and growth’ and thanked ‘the very strong commitment’ of the administrations for this project, dedicating a special word to the ‘new actors’ that have joined the Chair as a result of this agreement: the town councils of Cerdanyola and Montornès del Vallès.
The main purpose of the Chair in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation is ‘research and promotion of this area of knowledge’, working closely with the local environment and the network of social enterprises in Catalonia. Each year it organises the Herramientas awards for the best social transformation projects, publishes the yearbook on entrepreneurship, economy and social innovation and promotes the transfer of knowledge through initiatives such as the Master's Degree in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.
Last October saw the fourth edition of the Eines Awards, which distinguished three projects from Catalonia, the Vallès region and the local area. The winners were the projects REVIVE, Retícula and Obrador de pastelería of the Centro Ocupacional del Bosque, committed, respectively, to the cognitive rehabilitation of the elderly through immersive virtual reality, inclusive visual representation and the integration of people with mental disabilities into the labour market through pastry-making. The prizes will be worth 2,500 euros each. The next editions of the awards ceremony are scheduled to take place in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Montornès del Vallès and Mollet del Vallès.