December 19, 2020 6 min read
Intrapreneurs, those collaborators who continually design and undertake solutions for the benefit of organizations, members and stakeholders, verified that the reconfiguration of the environment and work spaces is in their hands.
Under this premise, Indra, one of the main global technology and consulting companies, which was recently recognized with the National Innovation Award, launched for the fourth consecutive year Innovators. This initiative aims to expand and strengthen its connection with technological innovation ecosystems at a global level: startups , entrepreneurs, research groups from universities that are experimenting with emerging technologies, and the company’s own professionals.
There are three winning ideas, out of more than 330 disruptive ideas submitted by 11,000 collaborators from 40 countries in response to the new post-covid era.
First place: A virtual crisis room that improves emergency care in tunnels or other infrastructures, “due to its applicability to customers in different markets and because of its perfect fit into Indra and Minsait’s technological strategy”.
Second: A tool to guarantee social distancing in the metro “because it responds to one of the challenges that COVID-19 has put on the table and has developed part of its code within the Onesait Platform, the open source platform of Minsait ”.
Third: Facial recognition solution with Artificial Intelligence that will allow to measure the level of attention of the audience and the quality and effectiveness of remote communication and training.
Indra’s Innovation Committee, made up of representatives of corporate units, executives of all business units and technical experts, were in charge of selecting the winning ideas from among 10 finalists. It should be noted that a dozen of the ideas presented have been complete prototypes with code developments on the Onesait Platform of Minsait, an Indra company.
The finalists had the opportunity to present their proposals through a one-minute elevator pitch , in the style of investment rounds in startups, in a virtual event held on December 10, to which Indra professionals from all over the world were connected. Through Minsait’s Onesite Democracy Election Online electronic voting solution, workers who followed the event live were also able to vote to choose the idea whose author made the best pitch, which turned out to be a device designed to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities visual. The idea received a fourth recognition, joining the ideas selected by the jury.
In addition to a prize of 5,000 euros and a positive assessment in their professional evaluation, the winners of Innovators will have the opportunity to dedicate 10% of their working time for three months to the development of a business plan , jointly with the area of Indra’s business to which you apply your idea. Indraventures will also participate in this acceleration program, which will culminate in presenting the business plan to the investment committee, which will analyze it and, if approved, will provide the chosen initiatives with the necessary means for their development until the idea becomes an Indra’s real product.
Julie González Guartos, selected as the best presentation. Photo: Courtesy Indra
The day of innovation at Indra
The final Innovators event has become the celebration of Indra’s innovation day. This year has been 100% virtual and has had the intervention of some Indra professionals who have stood out for their solidarity and innovative ideas, such as an Indra professional in Brazil who developed a self-taught respirator to help in the toughest months of the COVID-19.
One of the winners of Innovators 2019, from Peru, also shared her experience, which has already made her idea of a solution to guarantee the supply of medicines in hospitals come true, which has been key in Peru during the pandemic. Thanks to winning Innovators , he has won a scholarship at Singularity University, a Silicon Valley university, and has given different talks to encourage young Peruvians to undertake.
The event also featured Jordi Ros, CEO of Labdoo, who made known the activity of this non-profit organization that brings disused laptops to schools around the world.
With Innovators , Indra intends to consolidate its innovative culture in order to continue transforming the company, mobilizing all available talent and promoting the transversal generation of ideas. The ultimate goal is for these to crystallize into new Indra solutions that reinforce its technological leadership and positive impact on society, contributing to sustainable development through technology.
In its lifetime, nearly 2,000 innovative ideas have already been presented to Innovators and some of the winning proposals have led to new Indra products, which are already part of the company’s portfolio and value chain.
Pillar of the innovation ecosystem
Innovators, launched through its corporate innovation vehicle Indraventures, is part of Indra’s innovation model, which broadens and strengthens its connection with the technological innovation ecosystems at a global level: startups , entrepreneurs, research groups from universities that are experimenting with emerging technologies and the company’s own professionals, who make up a multidisciplinary network of experts from around the world.
Through Indraventures, Indra also analyzes close to a thousand startups a year, closes collaboration agreements with dozens of these SMEs and invests in many others to help accelerate their projects with digital business models.
In this way, Indra plays the role of the driving force behind R + D + i, also through its collaboration with universities, technology centers and other knowledge and innovation institutions, as well as by stimulating the intrapreneurship of its own professionals.