On May 31st, the ‘Agora’ conference was held at the Link by UMA building (University of Malaga). The event was organised by the Telefónica Chair at the university and reflected on the role that technological networks can play in fostering cooperation ties and strengthening social and cultural cohesion. In this respect, certain problems that these technological networks can present and their risks were addressed. This conference coincided with the celebration of the second anniversary of the Telefónica-UMA Chair. On the occasion of this birthday, a video compilation was screened showing numerous activities carried out since its inception with the slogan «Creating community since 2021».

The opening ceremony was attended by the Rector of the UMA, José Ángel Narváez; the Regional Delegate for Educational Development and Vocational Training and University and Innovation of the Andalusian Regional Government, Miguel Briones, and Joaquín Segovia, Southern Territorial Director of Telefónica Spain. In addition, the director of the Telefónica Chair at the University, Professor Nuria Rodríguez, acted as presenter. The Rector emphasised the “opportunity” that this Chair represents for the University. UMA, The university has to move forward hand in hand with business in order to change the world. It is our responsibility to discuss the ethical and social values of digital transformation to promote an egalitarian society where no one is left out,“ he said. After the inauguration, a diploma was awarded to four UMA students who participated in the ”Hack for Good‘ hackathon, organised by the Telefónica Chairs Network. These students came second in the local classification with their solution based on Artificial Intelligence for the challenge posed around the accessibility to the cultural offer and queue management of museum entities.

Agoras

This was followed by an Agora of students and teachers on ‘Human-centred technologies’, which was moderated by the director of the ETS of Telecommunications of the UMA Rafael Godoy. It was attended by Gloria Corpas, director of the Research Institute of Multilingual Linguistic Technologies of the UMA; Francisco Velasco, PhD in Telecommunications Engineering and professor of the ETSI of Telecommunications; and postgraduate students Ángel Lumbreras and Lucía Yébenes, from Humanities and STEM, respectively.

The second Agora focused on the techno-social and techno-cultural sphere. Under the title ‘Towards an ecosystem of open innovation’, it was moderated by the director of the UMA University Institute of Telecommunications Research, Carmen Aguayo, and included the participation of Enrique Navarro, director of the UMA Institute of Tourism Intelligence and Innovation; the vice-rector of Business, Territory and Digital Transformation, Javier López; Almudena Moreno, Head of Telefónica Open Innovation Campus, and Ana Medina, CEO of Genengine.

The closing ceremony featured the Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer of the University, Teodomiro López, who analysed in his speech the role of university chairs as network builders.

The Telefónica Chairs Network

The Telefónica Chairs Network emerged in 2001 as an instrument of collaboration between universities and Telefónica for the development of training, research and knowledge transfer activities, with the common objective of analysing the current situation and identifying trends in the impact of ICT on society from a multidisciplinary perspective. The network is currently made up of 23 chairs in 25 leading Spanish universities.