IACTEC: commited to technological training

(From left to right) Lucas Bodson, Vasco Mendes and Paula Sosa, university students completing their training at IACTEC. Credit: IACTEC
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Since it started in 2017 this technological and business unit of the IAC has hosted over 20 university students for short term stays. Thanks to this training programme the students develop their technological capabilities and improve their aptitutde for working locally in the field of technology.

One of the aims of IACTEC, in its role as the IAC’s unit of collaboration between the public and private sectors, is to build up the fabric of local high technogy companies in areas close to the IAC’s specialities. To support this productive structure IACTEC offers training opportunities, mainly to students at he University of La Laguna, but also at other universities, both national and European, which take the form of practical training (both within and outside their courses), co-advising their end of degree, and Master’s research projects, as well as summer scholarships.

According to Pablo Redondo, technical manager at IACTEC, this technological unit “provides innovation, cutting edge projects, and the experience of its professionals, who act as tutors for each of the students during their stay, and also open doors to future work prospects, because the accumulated experience, and the specific nature of the technical work, contribute very notably to improving merits in open competition thrughout the country and indeed throughout the world.”

During barely four years of activity, there have been 20 of these stays at IACTEC, which include 13 short apprenticeships, 1 end of Master’s dissertation (TFM), 2 end of degree dissertations (TFG), and 4 summer studentships, which implies an average of 5 students per year. Currently there are 5 of these stays underway (3 apprenticeships, 1 TFM and 1TFG) and the selection process for this summer’s studentships is under way.

“This type of training” notes Redondo “is a staircase which allows a student ot show talent and capacity and so begin to climb step by step, starting with the brief apprenticeships then going on to the end of degree dissertation, and a studentship, upwards to a working future in a sector which is so interesting, important, demanding and competitive: technology."

The different training modes within IACTEC are supervised autonomously by the staff. Notably the implication of those in the IACTEC Capacitation Programme (funded by the Cabildo of Tenerife) which has supervised 75% of the stays up till now.

“From IACTEC we encourage new generations of students to join this initiative, and we encourage the tutorial supervisors to maintain their commitment and their support of local talent” emphasises Redondo.

IACTEC has financial support for its Capacitation Programme, in the framework of the Programme TFINNOVA 2016-2021, within the Strategic Programme of Island Development (MEDI) and the Canaries Develpment Fund, and of infrastructure (the IACTEC building) of the Cabildo of Tenerife.

More information:

- IACTEC Website

Contact:

Pablo Redondo, predondo [at] iac.es

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