They will generate 150 jobs
MADRID, 14 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Vice President and Minister for Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, and the Minister for Universities, Joan Subirats, launched the Network of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Chairs this Monday at an event held in Madrid, with which almost 45 million euros will be mobilized.
The program, part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, includes the creation of 16 cybersecurity chairs through Incibe with a budget of 22.4 million euros, and another 16 through the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, eight in collaboration with companies and eight international, with the same endowment.
The network has been presented at an event in which the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, Carme Artigas; the president of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), Juan Romo, and the general director of Incibe, Felix Barrios.
During the closing of the event, the vice president highlighted the enormous challenges posed by digital transformation and the importance of it bringing better opportunities for progress for the Spanish economy.
“I like that we combine and articulate technological change with social welfare”, assured the Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs during her speech.
Calviño has underlined that he hopes that the Spanish tractor companies will participate in the process, as well as that the process of the Startups Law will be completed. In addition, he has highlighted the favorable legislation for investment and legal certainty.
Artigas has highlighted that the objective is that the private sector contributes at least a quarter of the financing of the chairs with companies to help the duration of the chairs in the long term.
Likewise, he has highlighted the objective that Spain occupies a position of leadership at a scientific and business level in the field of artificial intelligence in the next four years.
Subirats has summoned “the next few days” for the publication of the call for universities to be eligible for funding to launch the network. In a subsequent statement, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has indicated that the chairs may be requested in 2023 in a month yet to be determined.
The institutions will have a main researcher, two doctoral students and two postdoctoral students, which will add 150 jobs, and will have public financing for three years with the universities obliged to finance a quarter with resources contributed by themselves.
Each chair will receive 1.2 million euros if it is national or 1.6 million euros if it accredits agreements with international entities. All of them must carry out their activity in Spain, combining the face-to-face and virtual nature, and will require co-financing by the selected universities of 25% of the amount of the development of each chair.
The artificial intelligence chairs will address the aeronautical and aerospace sector, agriculture, the data economy, language technologies, robotics, green algorithms, law, responsible AI, geopolitics, music and arts, sustainable development, health sciences and challenge demographic.
For their part, the cybersecurity chairs will address topics such as advanced cryptography resistant to quantum attacks; innovative cybersecurity solutions for 5G networks; systems for monitoring crypto-transactions or promoting cyber-resilience in the supply chain.
The expression of interest in this program received 162 proposals from the educational and business community.
