Oriol Alcoba, Director of Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at ESADE, has always been closely linked to the world of innovation, which he defines as the ability to do things differently in order to be more competitive and generate a positive impact on the surrounding environment.

According to Alcoba, innovation means staying one step ahead and successfully bringing new ideas to market by combining creativity, research and execution—since an idea without execution has no value.

Throughout his career, he highlights projects such as the reindustrialization of the Nissan plant as one of his most rewarding experiences, due to its real impact on the territory.

From his role at ESADE, he works to identify the institution’s capabilities and assets and to connect it more closely with its environment, with the aim of positioning ESADE as an open business school committed to the territory.

In this regard, he emphasizes that innovation is a local phenomenon, and that Sant Cugat brings together all the key elements of an innovative ecosystem—large corporations, a diversity of actors and critical mass—with clear opportunities to generate new businesses. BIVA plays a fundamental role by facilitating ecosystem connectivity, promoting the creation of an innovation hub where startups and companies converge, and fostering trusted relationships that enable the development of new value propositions and impactful innovation, including through artificial intelligence.