On September 10th, the President of the Government of Spain visited the Sino-Spanish Campus at Tongji to meet the entrepreneurs at Xiji Incubator. This startup program provides students with entrepreneurial aspirations the opportunity to develop their business ideas in one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most important technological innovation hubs. Shanghai offers an ideal environment for validating business models and creating connections with investors, potential partners, and suppliers.
The 12-year experience at the Sino-Spanish Campus allows the us to offer specialized training in areas such as Chinese business culture, leadership, legal aspects, intellectual property, the Chinese market and its regulations, and global business expansion.
The President’s visit is part of the SSC ongoing collaboration with Spain’s diplomatic mission in China. This collaboration aims to position Spain as a leader in technological innovation. During the visit, Xavier Ferré, Co-Director of the SSC presented the 12-year history of the Sino-Spanish Campus at Tongji University. This platform brings together leading universities from the Spanish-speaking world to foster academic, research, and innovation cooperation with China.
He also highlighted the role of the Xiji Business Startup Incubator, which was launched by Claudio Feijoo, UPM’s Delegate of the Rector for Entrepreneurship. Xiji Incubator is part of the Sino-Spanish Campus and was created to help UPM students take advantage of Shanghai’s dynamic and fast-growing innovation ecosystem. Due to the program’s success, it is set to expand this year to include new partners from the Sino-Spanish Campus.
During the visit, Pablo Rabadán, Director of the Xiji Incubator, introduced the program and emphasized the transformative experience it offers to young entrepreneurs.
The President had the opportunity to learn about the projects of seven entrepreneurs, covering diverse fields such as irrigation optimization, intelligent support for aging, sustainable modular furniture design, recycling of wastewater purification membranes, the application of drones in logistics, autonomous vehicle testing optimization, and promoting fair pricing for agricultural producers. Entrepreneurs from Tongji University will also join the program, contributing their knowledge of the Chinese market and serving as bridges for innovation collaboration between Spain and China.
The President expressed great interest in all the projects, particularly emphasizing the global challenge of water scarcity, noting, “This is a global challenge today, and if you manage to refine your projects, we may become potential clients of your startups in the future.”
Accompanying the The President were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Ambassador to China, the Chinese Ambassador to Spain, two State Secretaries, and the Consul General of Spain in Shanghai, among other members of the delegation. The President and Chairman of Tongji University, along with UPM’s Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Luis Ricote, warmly welcomed the distinguished guests.
This visit underscores the SSC commitment to strengthening scientific and technological collaboration between Spain and China.
