Telefónica’s Chairman Claudio Muñoz visited the facilities of the Universidad de Chile Center for Mathematical Modeling. There, he met with some researchers to analyze future possibilities for projects and the creation of a joint working agenda.
“It was a very positive meeting,” he explained. “Fundamentally, it was a meeting with a vision of the future. It had to do with how we think about the challenges we face today with innovative solutions. This, through the collaboration between the CMM and a company like Telefónica.”
During the meeting with director Alejandro Jofré, deputy director Alejandro Maass and the researchers Salomé Martínez, Joaquín Fontbona, Iván Rapaport, Jaime San Martín, Felipe Tobar and Patricio Torres, the conversation focused on the needs of the most important productive sectors of the country -such as mining, agriculture and telecommunications, for example– of facing new visions.
“We ended up talking about education: how we the public world and the private world can collaborate with teachers, students, and the education in general,” Muñoz said.
The executive also spoke on the disconnection between the university and the industry: “I think this is a criticism in both directions. Also, the companies are more distant from the academy and I think that we have to reverse this situation. One way of reversing it is by approaching each other, first, and, second, by talking frankly and with a practical focus, as happened in this meeting. ”
For the industrial civil engineer of the U. of Chile, this conjoint agenda can lead to advances in the academia-industry alliance: “I believe that there is an opportunity for the country here. If more companies link to more universities, that collaboration will likely be key. ”
“I’m very excited. We have an important agenda to push forward and now we have to work,” he concluded.
