• The call will be open from June 29 to September 10, 2020
• The program is aimed at any innovator that can provide solutions to the challenges defined by Sacyr: technology companies, universities, innovation centers or start-ups, among others
Today, Sacyr announced the launch of the third edition of Sacyr iChallenges, its open innovation and co-creation program aimed at overcoming, together with the innovating community, four business challenges set by the company.
The call is open to any innovator who can provide solutions to the different challenges defined by Sacyr. Technology companies, universities, research centers, start-ups, etc. can participate. Prospective applicants must submit their proposal through the website www.sacyrichallenges.com by September 10, 2020. The call is global, but is aimed at Spain and Latin America in particular.
Sacyr iChallenges is one of the pillars of Sacyr's digital transformation and innovation strategy, based on a commitment to teamwork and co-creation with the innovating ecosystem on a global scale. With this open innovation program, Sacyr is looking for partners with whom to promote sustainable solutions that help improve the quality of citizens’ lives through better infrastructure and services.
"At Sacyr, we believe that collaboration and diversity are fundamental values for the generation of original solutions that enable us to differentiate ourselves in an increasingly competitive market. We are convinced that innovation, creativity and talent can be found anywhere. This is why we open our doors to the innovating community to identify new ideas that will help us build a better, more sustainable and safer world," says Marta Gil, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Sacyr.
For the innovating community, Sacyr iChallenges represents a unique opportunity to collaborate to overcome challenges with a global group. It also provides access to Sacyr's network of customers and suppliers, as well as to finance, scalability, and visibility, and presents an opportunity to work closely with industry experts.
The Four Challenges of Sacyr iChallenges 2020
The four co-creation and innovation challenges of Sacyr iChallenges 2020 respond to various issues encountered in the company's different business areas:
• Automating site monitoring. How can we report work incidents and progress using environmental data captured by sensors in project resources (people, machines, facilities, etc.)?
• Anticipating geotechnical behavior. Predicting, anticipating and warning of the geotechnical behavior of an area of interest in the context of civil works.
• Carbon footprint calculation and reporting. How can carbon impact for Scope 3 be measured and reported, guaranteeing transparent, truthful and reliable information?
• Vision Zero for lane closures. What new system could be implemented for lane closures to improve the placement of elements, optimize the safety of our workers and avoid putting drivers' lives at risk?
Schedule, Key Dates, and Selection Criteria
Innovators interested in participating in Sacyr iChallenges 2020 can submit their proposals until September 10 at www.sacyrichallenges.com. On this website, you will find all the necessary information on the challenges, key dates, opportunities and selection criteria of the program.
All proposals received will be evaluated by a committee of experts made up of managers from Sacyr's different business areas. This committee will evaluate projects that offer the most innovative and efficient solutions, technology or new business models to overcome the proposed challenges. The experts will also consider the scalability of the projects and the prospects for joint growth with Sacyr.
The selected proposals will be announced in October 2020. Subsequently, for several weeks, the promoters of these projects will work together with mixed teams made up of external agents and Sacyr business experts in order to continue developing their solutions and proposals.
At Sacyr Digital Day, taking place in November at the company's headquarters in Madrid, the selected innovators will present their proposals aimed at overcoming the four challenges set out in this program.
In addition to the lines of collaboration that will be developed between the innovators and the company, the Sacyr Foundation will recognize, as part of the tenth edition of the Sacyr Innovation Awards, some of the initiatives submitted by the innovating community as part of the Sacyr iChallenges program.
The Success of Previous Editions
Although Sacyr is launching the third edition of the program this year, the company has been working regularly with the innovation community for over ten years, identifying and developing solutions with the potential to be applied in its various business areas.
In its last edition, Sacyr iChallenges received more than 190 proposals for overcoming the various challenges set by the company. Today, the company works with a wide range of innovators to develop projects with a high level of innovation and technology. Two successful projects stand out:
• Digital Twin Project Talent Swarm was one of the start-ups that participated in Sacyr iChallenges 2018. The project that Sacyr is developing in collaboration with Talent Swarm is based on the creation of digital twins to optimize the management of the company's industrial water plants. This is an exact digital copy of the actual facility with a view to managing the plant remotely.
• Sacyr Explorer Project Artabro Tech was one of the innovators that participated in Sacyr iChallenges 2019. Sacyr Explorer, a project jointly promoted by Sacyr and Artabro Tech, involves developing a tool for the early detection of business opportunities through machine learning.
