UDIT celebrates its III Research Conference focused on innovation and knowledge transfer
Already consolidated as one of the key events in the academic calendar, the closing of the 2024-2025 academic year at UDIT, University of Design, Innovation and Technology, was marked by the holding of the 3rd Research Conference, organised by the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI).
The meeting brought together more than 70 attendees and once again demonstrated the strength and maturity of the institution's research community, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, academic excellence and the transfer of knowledge with a real impact on society.
The inauguration of the Conference was attended by the Rector of UDIT, Juan Cayón; as well as José Luis Olazagoitia, Vice-Rector for Research; and Athenea Mata, Vice-Rector for Students, Employability and Internationalisation. Their speeches highlighted the sustained growth of the University's scientific production, as well as the relevance of these spaces for sharing experiences, aligning strategies and projecting research towards new horizons.
Throughout the day, the different research groups presented the most recent advances in their projects. The programme was opened by Dr. Rafael Conde, principal investigator of the ECSIT group, with a presentation focused on the relationship between technology, education and society. He was followed by Dr. Montserrat Pichel, head of the DESIRe group, who presented experiences in regenerative integral design, and Dr. Eva Hurtado, who shared the VS group's lines of work on the convergence between real design and virtual environments. Dr. Carolina García, from the GUMTS group, presented pioneering initiatives in sustainability and technological fashion, while Dr. María del Mar Martínez Oña, from the GENIUS group, highlighted the crossovers between visual culture, gender and contemporary design. Dr. Bárbara Castillo Abdul, likewise, presented the research of the GITDCom group, focusing on digital communication, media literacy and technological transformation.
The afternoon block continued with the presentation of Dr. María Beltrán, who shared the advances of the Neuro_Colab group in the study of neuroarchitecture and its application in interior design. Finally, the researcher Javier Gorostiza presented the recently created ROBITA Lab group, a strategic commitment of UDIT to the development of interactive technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics applied to design, which aroused special interest among the attendees.
During the presentations, it became clear not only the thematic diversity of the research, but also the quality and scope of the results obtained. More than 30 recent publications in top-level indexed scientific journals, book chapters and collective works are proof of UDIT's consolidation as an institution that produces rigorous, high-impact knowledge.
The achievements that go beyond academia and connect directly with the challenges of the environment were also highlighted: research with biomaterials and mycelia with their own identity; biomass cells capable of generating chemical compounds for local industry; developments in digital art that reduce the information load of the works to facilitate their global dissemination; or the AMIGA textile device, designed to detect anxiety crises and activate calming multisensory responses.
Several projects demonstrated the strong component of social innovation represented by the university's lines of research, such as the two editions of the Casa del Futuro project, focused on the automation of urban collective housing, or the research into strategic communication that integrates feminist and technological perspectives.
Scientific dissemination also occupied a prominent place, with mentions of awards such as the one obtained in the framework of the 11-F Women's and Girls' Day in Science, and with the consolidation of the Gender, Design and Innovation Research Journal, already indexed in more than nine specialised portals.
One of the most celebrated announcements was the approval by the Community of Madrid of the new PhD programme in Digital Transformation for Learning: Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, developed in collaboration with the European University of the Atlantic. This new programme opens a strategic avenue to strengthen doctoral research in social sciences with a critical and technological outlook.
The recent award of the national FECYT project (LISA) was also reported, as well as the attraction of more than 180,000 euros in external funding, and the creation of a material library as a new reference service for companies linked to innovation in materials.
The conference concluded with a reflection by the vice-rector José Luis Olazagoitia, who took stock of the achievements of the year and outlined the main challenges for the next academic year. In his words, UDIT's immediate objective is to "consolidate strategic alliances with the productive sector and public institutions, thus strengthening the connection between the laboratories and the real environment". He also stressed that "university research must be a driving force for transformation and a bridge between knowledge and society".
With this meeting, UDIT once again demonstrates that its commitment to research is not complementary, but structural. A space where design, technology and creativity are integrated at the service of change, with scientific rigour, international vocation and vision of the future.
