• The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science- and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago.

The five winners of the first version of the Despega USACH contest organized by the Department of Technology Management, had an intense work period at the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI), in Menlo Park, California, USA. The purpose of this contest is to promote science-and-technology-based innovation among students at Universidad de Santiago

The group was made up of Sofía Michelson, a biochemist who is working on the development of an ointment to combat melanoma; Dr Daniela Toro Ascuy, who is in charge of the platform for the development of vaccines for the salmon farming industry; Pablo González Alarcón, leader of Class Track, a curriculum management software; Sebastián Sanhueza Tapia, representative of Crea en 3D, a company for 3D parts and design, and Álvaro Monserrat, representative of NurseEye, a clinical instrument to assess and measure wound surface areas.

All members of the group agreed that their experience at Silicon Valley, the world’s land of entrepreneurship, was “an incredible experience” where they learned to come up with ideas, create a company, look for investors and sell a product, allowing them to strengthen their ventures and market their products.

High level students

Phillip Whalen and Robert Schoettle, both with large experience in innovation programs to transform original ideas into successful solutions were in charge of the internship.

According to Robert Schoettle, the team of Universidad de Santiago had been well prepared for the program before arriving in Silicon Valley. “All the teams were able to discover important things to expand their understanding of the world market opportunities,” he said.

“This information significantly changes the business approach of many teams and, in all cases, they said that they would not have been able to get the information in Chile or it would have taken them longer,” he added.

He also highlights the importance of this experience at the world’s capital of entrepreneurship, a transforming opportunity for Chilean youngsters.

“Understanding how business owners think and act will allow innovation to flourish among new generations. World economy is becoming really global and Chilean people have the chance of thinking beyond their own country’s boundaries to produce a big and significant impact on global markets,” Schoettle explained.

After our students’ stay at the SRI, Robert Schoettle says that he thinks that Chilean business people and the ideas coming from our country are exceptional and provide examples of how early knowledge of  marketing activities can be useful. “All this knowledge can be used both immediately and in the future, in the flourishing Chilean business ecosystem,” he said.

Despega Usach 2016                                       

The winners of the first version of the contest call on their classmates to participate in the next Despega USACH 2016, for they can learn about innovation and entrepreneurship besides meeting students who are working similarly at the university.

Soon, the Department of Technology Management of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation will be informing about the contest.

Translated by Marcela Contreras