Innovation built with those who accompany
Fusióni3 Valle concludes with significant results. A general objective was achieved by strengthening innovation in 20 companies in the Valle del Cauca region, which, through their connection with universities, consolidated a culture of collaboration to develop products and services hand in hand with science and technology.
To achieve this, the project carried out various objectives and activities led and coordinated by a human team that acted as a bridge between five universities and entrepreneurs who, although they did not know each other previously, shared an interest in working together.
From managing alliances to closely monitoring each process, the team facilitated spaces for interaction, supported the dialogue, and was able to closely observe the evolution of each initiative, which is now a source of pride for the members of Fusióni3 Valle, who were also recognized by participating researchers and entrepreneurs.
This dialogue also extended to other training settings, such as the Autonomous Foundation of the West, Fundautónoma, where the capacities of 50 young people from its School of Entrepreneurship were strengthened, including job skills related to innovation processes.
The young people learned about the projects firsthand by interacting with entrepreneurs, researchers, coordinators, and managers; they toured company and university headquarters and participated in feedback sessions where they put forward their own solutions and proposals. This exercise broadened the project’s scope and generated expectations for new ways of working closely together between academia, business, and the community.
During the project, strategies were developed to leverage the intellectual capital of universities and their relationship with the productive sector, innovation management was strengthened in 20 companies, and ten university-business alliances were consolidated that developed or improved innovative services and products.
The team's experience beyond success
This is how the team members highlight their participation.
Leadership and coordination, amidst diversity
Fusióni3 Valle is seen as an experience of collective leadership and constant articulation between academic and business capabilities.
Mónica Dueñas – Director and Principal Investigator
“The experience of working on this project was very rewarding. I was accompanied by a team that supported, led, and managed the university-business partnerships that developed innovative products and services, and most importantly, began to create a culture of collaborative innovation.”
Anny Catalina Parra Perdomo – University-Business Connection Coordinator
“I want to highlight the collaboration seen in the execution of the university-business projects, their work to achieve the stated objectives, and how companies recognize universities as allies and service providers that they had not previously identified.”
Stefania Perez – Administrative Coordinator
“One of the most significant lessons learned from the project was the development of a unified voice. Moving from an initially technical foundation to a common language, built jointly between academia and the productive sector.”
Connecting knowledge with real needs
The project allowed us to experience innovation firsthand and understand how academic knowledge translates into applicable solutions.
Michael Urbano Gaviria – Coordinator of university strengthening
“The experience in the Fusióni3 Valle project was key to understanding how these research results are linked to development and innovation, and how academia responds to real needs of the productive sector.”
Valeria Aponte – Manager
“Accompanying both parties in the process of building alliances and finding solutions to their challenges was a very enriching experience. Understanding how both academia and the business sector operate allowed me to provide effective support.”
Ana María Caicedo – Manager
“There was a clear evolution from initial ideas to more solid solutions, designed to operate in real contexts, the result of constant work of adjustment, learning and continuous improvement.”
Innovation also transforms those who accompany it.
In addition to the technical results, Fusióni3 Valle provided personal learning experiences, connections, and new ways of understanding innovation as a human and collaborative process.
Marcela Mora – Business Strengthening Coordinator
“What I value most about the Fusióni3 Valle experience is having witnessed the real growth of partnerships, not only in technical terms, but also in human terms. We went from speaking ‘different languages’ to building honest and collaborative conversations between business and university.”
Andrea Molina – Manager
“For me, Fusióni3 Valle was, above all, an exercise in reality. In understanding what innovation is like when it stops being just a good intention and faces real decisions and concrete conditions.”
Camila Caicedo – Outreach Coordinator
“I greatly value having witnessed firsthand how universities and companies worked together, following their processes and presenting them as a testament to all that can be achieved through collaboration.”
