Innova.cuAn initiative to foster innovation and cooperation between Cuban

scientists and foreign enterprises

Augusto González President, Cuban Physical Society

Instituto de Cibernética, Matemática y Física (ICIMAF)Calle E 309, Vedado

Tel.: 537 8312806, 535 3610396email: agonzale@gmail.com

The Cuban Physical Society

1990: 600 members 2012: 300 members

No support from the stateNo officesNo permanent staff (secretaries, etc)Very limited budget !!!

In spite of this, we organize:- 10 conferences a year- Publish our journal (since 1982)- National Prize in Physics, Prizes in Olympiads, in scientific events,...- ...

Organized by areas of expertise:

Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics

Material Sciences

Theoretical Physics

Biophysics and Medical Physics

Earth and space physics

Physics Education

...

Sometimes, problems are at a basic level:

Salary of researchersand university professors

400

700

Cost of life(20 times increase, or higher)

1990 2012

A problem that the state can not solve in a short term !!!

40,000 people → 100 millions of USD

Working conditions

1990 2012

More precise statements in:

“Science in Cuba, a status report”Cuban Academy of SciencesCarlos Rodriguez et al

Objectives of Innova.cu:

- Look for additional sources of income for scientists and professors (consulting and scient.-tech. services to enterprises, courses, electronic sell of books, etc).

- Look for fresh resources to improve working conditions, support the activity of scientific societies, etc

Innocentive = Innovation+Incentive

www.innocentive.com

2007 - 2011: 1300 published problems, 1000 solved problems, income 37 millions USD (37,000 USD/problem), 9 millions USD paid to solvers, 250,000 professionals registered as solvers

Who rise the problems?

- NASA- US Navy- Enterprises- Clínics…..

Challenge 9933377, November 2013

Correlate measurable variables and breakage function forshear-induced breakage in crystal/solvent slurries

Award: 15,000 USD (1/3 of total payment)

… seeks a theoretical framework or method that describes the breakage behavior …

This challenge requires only written proposal …

137 solvers

Potential of solvers:

1 million of universitygraduates in Cuba

200,000 inTechnicalSpecialties

30,000 with skills and capacitiesof solving problems

Potential of incomes in 5 years:

10 % of Innocentive's

Around 300 physicists, 500 chemists. 200 mathematicians5000 programmers …

3 - 4 millions USD

Actors of Innova.cu

ClientSet the problem, training or innovation needPay for the solution in a short term (2-3 months)

AssessorEvaluate the problem and the solutionSuggest possible solvers

Solvers Propose solutions to the problem

Institutions laboratories, facilities

We have a registry of assessors and solvers according to areas of expertise

The cooperative Innova.cu

20,000 potential solvers

Problem Assessor A team of5 solvers

Profits

Solvers

Cuban scientific societies (funding of projects)

Assessors

Innova.cu functioning expenses

An example:In the solution ofa problem takepart only6 persons (5 Solvers + 1 assessor)

What do we need?

- Autorization for a cooperative, which would make a wide use of the concept of open innovation and the ICTs, in order to facilitate the participation of Cuban scientists and engineers in the solution of innovation and corporate training problems of enterprises.

- Access to the Web with reasonable bandwidth and costs. The Webpage will be our main framework and way of promotion.

History

- Feb. 2012. Talk at the University of Informatics Sciences (UCI) arguing the need of creating cooperatives of programmers. (Notice that the Law on Cooperatives is from Dec. 2012).

- March 2012. First project. Presented to the Academy of Sciences and to the Ministry of Informatics and Communications.

- Oct. 2012. 2nd project. Presented to the Ministry of Foreign Commerce.

- May 2013. 3rd project. Presented to the Government of Havana, whoapproved it in July. Waiting in the Ministry of Higher Education from final approval ...

Why such a slow way to approval?

Directional inertia?

Main problems that Innova.cu may help solving:

- Low salaries of scientists and engineers (causing emigration to foreign countries and to other areas of economy). The state can notsolve this situation in a short term (5 years). Senior retired and young people in a specially vulnerable situation.

- Precarious working conditions and insufficient funding for research (also a cause for emigration). The state can neither solve this situation in a short term.

- Absence of funding for scientific societies.

Peculiarities of Innova.cu (from the Statutes):

- Associates should be active members of Cuban scientific societies

- Profits could be used to improve working conditions or donated toscientific societies

- Possibility of projects of non-profit character (educational or other kind)

Social vocation!

More initiatives or actions:

- In scientific institutions and universities. Part (1/3?) of the payment for sci-tech services to entreprises → increase of salaries of direct participants

- Open Innovation platforms, like Innova.cu, in other areas (engineerings, …)40,000 scientists and university professors → 1,000,000 university graduates