The digitalization of the economy, accelerated by the pandemic, opens up new opportunities for Spain to manufacture software and devices to respond to this new demand. It is the ‘industrialization of digitalization’, manufacturing the things needed for digitalization, that must be part of the industrial policy, and include digital services. This report analyses the situation and presents proposals for action, both public and private. As a highlight example, it delves into the functioning of the ecosystem in Valencia.

The Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan addresses an important part of these challenges, although the policy paper looks at longer horizons of 2 to 20 years. Some priority areas are established, both in terms of intangible products (software industry, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and communication, cybersecurity and the Spanish language industry) and tangible products (sensors, microprocessors and microelectronics, submarine cables, cross-border communication infrastructures, cloud, 5G and communication satellites). It also analyses the problem of the excessive weight of SMEs in this sector, the management of resources and skills, as well as innovation and patents, and ends with a series of proposals and recommendations, including the study of the creation of a Spanish and European ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and the drafting of a Spanish deep technology strategy.

Participants:

Ximo Puig, President, Generalitat Valenciana | @ximopuig
José Juan Ruiz, Chairman, Elcano Royal Institute | @ElcanoJjRuiz
José Capilla, Rector, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) | @JoseECapilla
Carolina Pascual Villalobos, Innovation, University, Science and Digital Society Counsellor, Generalitat Valenciana | @capasvil
Avelino Corma, Research Professor, Instituto de Tecnología Química, CSIC/UPV
Raquel Jorge, Analyst, Real Instituto Elcano | @RaquelJorgeR
Andrés Ortega, Senior Research Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute, and author of the document| @andresortegak

Venue: Ciudad Politécnica de la Innovación, CPI Cubo Azul_Edificio 8B, access via Avenida de los Naranjos, access J.