Panel Discussion: AI and the Open Innovation Era: What Does It Mean for Innovators?
Panellist: Professor Esteve Almirall , Esade, Spain
Biography: Esteve Almirall is a Full Professor of AI & Innovation at Esade and Director of the Center for Innovation in Cities, with a distinctive career that blends academia, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership. Before entering academia, he built a strong trajectory in the business IT and banking sectors, becoming the youngest CTO in the Spanish banking industry and a pioneer in online transactions and online banking. He also worked as a consultant for multinational firms and founded several companies while participating in technology startups, gaining hands-on entrepreneurial experience. He has since applied this entrepreneurial mindset to academic and innovation ecosystems, creating high-impact programs such as a Smart Cities initiative with the World Bank and Esade’s Master in Business Analytics, ranked among the top programs worldwide. A co-founder of the European Network of Living Labs, he has coordinated major European innovation projects exceeding €29M and advised international institutions. His work focuses on digital technologies, AI, and innovation, with a strong emphasis on Smart Cities. @ealmirall
Panellist: Alex Tortosa, Plug and Play Tech Center, Spain
Biography: Alex Tortosa is a Senior Manager at Plug and Play Tech Center, where he leads startup relationships, corporate innovation initiatives and strategic partnerships. With a strong background in innovation strategy, startup ecosystems, and international market development, he works at the intersection of corporations, investors, startups, and public institutions to turn emerging technologies into real business impact.
As a global leader in open innovation, Plug and Play Tech Center connects startups, corporations, investors, universities and governments to accelerate technological advancement at scale. Operating in more than 50 locations worldwide and partnering with over 500 leading corporations, Plug and Play runs industry-focused accelerator programs across sectors including fintech, health, sustainability, mobility and enterprise tech. Through curated deal flow, startup scouting and matching, corporate innovation programs, pilot facilitation and venture investment, it enables large organisations to de-risk innovation while giving startups direct pathways to customers, capital and global markets, making it one of the most active open innovation ecosystems in the world.
Panellist: Dr. Josep Miquel Piqué, La Salle Technova, Spain
Biography: Josep Miquel Piqué is Executive President of Technova Barcelona–La Salle Innovation Park (Ramon Llull University), XVII President of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP), II President of the Triple Helix Association, and a Board Member of Ramon Llull University. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the 22@Network and coordinates the IASP World Innovation District Alliance.
A Telecommunications Engineer from La Salle/UPC with an MBA, he holds a PhD in Innovation Ecosystems from Universitat Ramon Llull, along with executive diplomas from MIT and UC Berkeley. He has been strongly influenced by Professors Henry Etzkowitz (Triple Helix), Francesc Solé Parellada (Entrepreneurship), and Jerome Engel (Clusters of Innovation).
He is the Founding President of XPCAT (Catalan Network of Science Parks), Vice-President of APTE (Spanish Network of Science Parks), former President of IASP, and President of the Triple Helix Association. He is also an expert for the European Commission (DG REGIO) and a member of the UNECE Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies.
With extensive experience in university and public-sector leadership, he has led postgraduate programs, technology transfer centres, incubators, and science and technology parks, and promoted university–industry–government partnerships. His public-sector roles include CEO of 22@Barcelona Innovation District, Director of Strategic Sectors at Barcelona Activa, and CEO of the Office of Economic Growth of Barcelona City Council.
His work focuses on building knowledge-based economies and smart, knowledge cities through the Triple Helix model.
Panel Moderator: Maria del Carmen Adan De Manuel, La Salle Technova, Spain
Biography: Carmen Adán is currently the Manager of La Salle Technova Barcelona, the innovation park of La Salle-University Ramon Llull. She has also been CEO of the Network of Science and Technology Parks of Catalonia (XPCAT) until 2017, where she is currently member of the Board of Directors.
With a background in sociology and advanced training in strategic innovation, design thinking, and digital transformation, Carmen specializes in translating emerging technologies into real economic and social impact. Her work sits at the intersection of advanced technologies, startups, and collaborative innovation.
She has more than 20 years of experience in innovation management, entrepreneurship, and knowledge transfer in various sectors. And she has published different articles on innovation, entrepreneurship and science and technology parks. Some of them, “Suporting digital Deep-tech startups by ScaleUp Champions PanEuropean Accelerator” with Anna Tórz paper submitted at 39th IASP World Conference at Seville (Spain); and “Startups dynamic capability: a path to foster collaboration with corporations” with Aruana R Souza and Josep M Piqué paper submitted at the Triple Helix Conference at Fiorence (Italy).
