Our experiences at INGENIO

By Marie Gruber (2018)

Within my PhD at the University of Brussel (VUB), I had the opportunity to spend three months at INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) as a PhD visiting researcher. I was warmly welcomed by everyone and experienced an inviting working environment with people from both different nationalities and rich and diverse knowledge, experiences and backgrounds. This combination offered me the possibility to receive a lot of valuable feedback that led to a good scientific progress in my work. Despite the fruitful individual, scientific talks with other researchers, I used the “INGENIO seminar”, in order to present my research, which was followed by a rich discussion with various helpful comments, recommendation and feedback. But INGENIO is not only a unique institute with regard to science, people are very inclusive and friendly and, take care of the integration of external visitors. Additionally, regular activities outside the working environment strengthen the social ties among the people and make it easy for externals to feel at home and to enjoy the Spanish culture.

By Abel A. del Río (2018)

The experience at INGENIO was challenging, motivating and inspiring. Challenging, because the Analitic Network Process Model, that was the reason of my research stay, was supposed to be ready in three months, and that was only posible thanks to the support of PhD Rocío Poveda Bautista. I really appreciate her pacience and commitment, thanks a lot for her support. This model, focused on the approval factor for research projects, is crucial for the development of my doctoral thesis entitled: "Capacity building based on the strategic management of research projects". Motivating, because all of the wonderful people I met. At INGENIO all of the people are willing to collaborate and share their knowledge selflessly. Thanks to PhD Mónica García Melón, Phd Paula Otero Hermida, PhD Student Nadia Ahmadouche and Phd Student Monique Leivas Vargas, just to mention some of the great people from INGENIO. Inspiring, because the way everybody works makes me feel it is posible to get the best results enjoying what you are doing. INGENIO is a great place in which everybody, from Professors and PhD Students to technical and administrative support, is ready to help and give proper feedback. And finally, I would like to say that the city of Valencia with its welcoming citizens and beautiful sifghtsides was the best choice for my research stay. Thanks a lot, INGENIO.

By Pablo Sanahuja (2018)

Durante los meses de Junio y Julio he tenido el placer de compartir el lugar de trabajo con los investigadores del Instituto Ingenio y su personal de apoyo. Fue mucho lo que aprendí de ellos, sobre todo en lo que a interdisciplinariedad se refiere, y ciertamente la estancia de dos meses me resultó breve. También disfruté de los seminarios de especialización que periódicamente organizan, muestra de la vitalidad de la institución, pudiendo participar en ellos y brindándome la oportunidad de conocer a investigadores extranjeros que de otra manera jamás habría conocido. Aunque la lejanía de mi campo de estudio respecto a los que desarrollan los investigadores de Ingenio pudiera parecer una desventaja, fue una virtud, porque me permitió conocer realidades muy diferentes, encontrar puntos de conexión, aprender nuevas metodologías y ganar ideas innovadoras. Por último, quisiera agradecer al director del instituto, Jordi Molas, la oportunidad que me brindó y a Mª Luz López Terrada su atenta guía y supervisión.

By Gloría M. Naranjo (2018)

La realización de mi estancia de investigación estaba asociada con el desarrollo de un plan de trabajo para el desarrollo y fortalecimiento de mi tesis de grado; durante la cual debía principalmente profundizar en el marco teórico y trabajar en los instrumentos para la recolección de la información a procesar. Sin embargo, al llegar a INGENIO me encontré una realidad que cambió todos mis planes. En lugar de llegar a una infraestructura para trabajar acompañada de un proceso de tutoría, llegué a un contexto de aprendizaje y de intercambio de conocimiento; razón por lo que el objeto de este escrito es destacar el papel de INGENIO como un “Ecosistema de Innovación”. [...] Me arriesgo entonces a describir a INGENIO como un “Ecosistema de Conocimiento”, porque es un lugar de generación, flujo, transferencia e intercambio de conocimiento. Donde además se respira la calidez humana y la humildad de entender que el conocimiento es para ser compartido por que así crece más.

By Ana C. Aguilera (2017)

I arrived at INGENIO for the first time for a Ph.D stay from September 2013 to January 2014 under the supervision of Jordi Molas-Gallart for my thesis entitled “Naval Defense Industry and Technological Innovation: a study of the system of military naval innovation in Brazil”. In this institute I was able to coexist with experienced and always willing to collaborate researchers, attend seminars and thesis defenses of the most varied topics related to innovation. I emphasize that all of INGENIO's staff, from management to technical and administrative support, always offered me all the necessary infrastructure and support, so that my concern was totally focused on studies. The experience was so valid that I returned to the conclusion of my doctoral thesis in 2015, and recently, in the period from March to August 2016 for a postdoctoral stay, again under the supervision of Jordi Molas-Gallart, whose result was the elaboration of a discussion paper entitled "Naval defense industry and technological innovation: a study of the Spanish lessons in terms of industrial defense policy - contributions to Brazil". Besides the wonderful professional experience, I was also able to enjoy the city of Valencia, which is beautiful, with a pleasant climate and excellent infrastructure. Thank you very much INGENIO for the opportunity!

By Julia Planko (2016)

Two years ago I came to Valencia for the first time for the EU-SPRI PhD days. It was an amazing conference and I immediately liked the atmosphere at INGENIO and the city of Valencia. When I heard about the opportunity to work at INGENIO for three months as a guest researcher via the EU-SPRI Circulation Award, I knew that I had to apply. Last autumn I spend a wonderful time at INGENIO. I enjoyed being part of this friendly and highly skilled research group. My PhD research advanced a lot, thanks to excellent supervision by my host supervisor Dr. Davide Consoli and feedback I received when I presented my topic to the group. Moreover, I really enjoyed the informal chats with the many nice people at INGENIO. And of course the beautiful city of Valenica! I was very sad when I had to leave and consoled myself with the idea that I would come back. Fortunately I had the chance to come back to INGENIO again this spring. I participated again in the EU-SPRI PhD days, which were again brilliantly organized, fun, and a great learning experience. I stayed for five weeks at INGENIO, to continue working on my research in this supportive environment. Again, I had a very good time at INGENIO, professionally and personally. Thank you all, INGENIO team!

By Oscar Llopis (2016)

I have great memories from my PhD period at INGENIO. I arrived at INGENIO in 2010 with a JAE-Predoc grant but little experience in academia. From the beginning, I got involved in the dynamics of the institute, having the chance to attend a number of conferences and workhops, which were extremely important to get into the scientific community and moving forward my dissertation. For instance, during my 2nd year I presented my PhD proposal at the DRUID academy conference in Denmark. A distinguishing feature of INGENIO lays in its multidisciplinarity of approaches and methods. INGENIO's academic, technical and administrative staff made a great difference in guiding my throughout the arduous but exciting process of writing and defending a PhD. INGENIO is also characterized by its international scope and its support to international exchanges. For instance, INGENIO helped me in being a visiting researcher at the Copenhagen Business School and at the University of Pisa, which helped me to develop my academic skills and collaborate with renowned scholars. Since 2014, I am a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bordeaux, where I still maintain a close collaboration with INGENIO.

By Julia Olmos (2015)

When I arrived at INGENIO, I was just a recently graduated in Economics that, after a very short experience in the private industry, started a PhD about Science-Society Interactions in the Social Sciences & Humanities (SSH). Doing a PhD is not an easy journey: you pass through many "existential crisis" linked to a learning curve that never rises, papers and conferences that are rejected and arise your insecurities about whether you are doing well or not (I guess everyone knows what I am talking about). Within all these unstable and chaotic events and feelings that accompanied a PhD, having a friendly, familiar and competitive place to work (plenty of brilliant personal and professional colleagues willing to help, support and back you) makes the difference. This place for me has been INGENIO. From the first day at INGENIO I have been strongly encouraged to pursue my objectives. I collaborated with brilliant researchers affiliated to INGENIO and received feedback from them that helped to improve my research. I attended numerous seminars organised by the Institute where recognised international researchers shared their last researches. The Institute provided resources to develop my career (funding to attend international conferences), contacts to conduct research stays abroad (Laval University & University of Twente), training to develop the necessary competencies that will be required in academia. All in all, my training in INGENIO has definitively result on the acquisition of a number of skills and knowledge that have make me competitive to get my current position as assistant professor at the University of Valencia. Of course, I still maintain my collaborations with INGENIO's colleagues from whom I am still learning every day.

By Guadalupe (2015)

I had an intellectually stimulating time at INGENIO. The researchers and PhD students are cordial and willing to share knowledge. They are pretty active and committed  with academic work. It was a great experience!

By Gaby (2015)

Staying at INGENIO was a marvelous experience. Everywhere there is a space and people to talk about innovation, which is fruitfully to open new ways of thinking, new angles to your own research. It is amazing to know people that is well recognized in this knowledge field and that is ready to give some advice, but, most importantly, a nice smile. Since your arrival everyone want to welcome you and know what you are working on in order to put you on contact with people that share the same research interests. The city is lovely, and has several things to do. The ocean view is precious. It’s the kind of experience you do not want to live only once. ;)

By Michelle (2015)

The period in INGENIO was very important for my PhD. I had a personal and professional experience very rewarding, especially when the group of doctoral students began meeting regularly to exchange knowledge and discuss the difficulties during the doctoral process. I learned many new things that helped me so much during my doctoral research and keep very useful in my profession as researcher. I had literature suggestions, exchanged ideas on specific aspects of my research and was able to present the partial results of the thesis to receive suggestions from everyone, which helped me a lot. Also, in a personal sense, this network made the days in INGENIO become very enjoyable and entertaining. Those 6 months were unforgettable. Thank you!

By Ana García Granero (2015)

INGENIO felt like and still feels like home to me. I landed at the institute as a naïve student, trained as an economist, with a master’s degree in strategy and business administration and with a relatively short experience in the private sector. Naivety is common when one starts a PhD since the reality never matches the initial expectations, and progressing through the thesis towards understanding what science is about (eureka!) is hard. INGENIO´s research staff were really helpful in guiding me through this journey. I managed to shout out loud “eureka!” after completing a thesis based on the analysis of organizations, corporate innovation and the role of openness and external agents in this process. INGENIO provided me with multiple opportunities to build a research portfolio in line with contemporary academic market needs. For example, I had the chance to participate in a public research project, which sought to answer questions related to the role of openness, R&D, strategy and management practices and innovation in Spanish manufacturing companies. INGENIO also encourages junior researchers to travel abroad in order to learn from different work environments and broaden professional networks. This freedom to pursue research visits allowed me to visit Rotterdam School of Management and Copenhagen Business School, where I engaged in fruitful collaborations with world’s leading scholars, which significantly helped me in becoming competitive in the international arena. Not by chance I had the opportunity of a post-doctoral position at Grenoble Business School, where I am currently developing my scholarly interests on open innovation, university-industry collaborations, management practices and composition of Top Management Teams.

By Cristian Matti (2015)

I arrived at INGENIO from the UK with no scholarship and a preliminary PhD proposal on a topic, environmental innovation, that was relatively novel to the institute at the time. Before the end of the first year as a Ph.D. student I had the opportunity of becoming involved in a research project funded by the Framework Program of the European Commission. My participation in the project made a big difference for my professional life: therein I gained experience in collecting and analyzing data, designing more research proposals. In this process I also learned from failure, joined several international projects and completed my PhD. A week after my Viva, I got my current job in Brussels for the main EU initiative on Climate Change. This professional trajectory reflects a lot also the evolution of INGENIO and of its research staff, from whom I learned that contradictions are just another way to see opportunities. The mix of different people regarding knowledge, background and capacities combined with dynamics of a relatively young organization provides a favourable as well as challenging context for those who are prepared to experiment with ideas and explore different paths towards developing new skills.

By Julia (2015)

Working as PhD guest researcher at INGENIO was one of the best parts of my PhD trajectory so far. Upon my arrival at INGENIO I was warmly welcomed. A workspace had been prepared and I was helped with all the administrative things that needed to be arranged. The research group is very friendly and welcoming. During long lunches in the cozy kitchen or outside on the sunny campus I quickly got to know my colleagues, which soon made me feel ‘at home’. And it also made it very easy to discuss work with my peers and with experienced researchers. This helped me a lot to develop my ideas and the paper I had been working on during my stay. Moreover, I enjoyed myself a lot in Valencia. The campus with lots of palm trees is located only 10 minutes from Valencia’s beach. Valencia has a beautiful city center with lots of restaurants and bars. The Rio Turia is a beautiful park to go cycling, running or just relax on the grass next to blossoming trees. Valencia’s inhabitants are very friendly. If you like sunshine, sea and beauty, and want to grow professionally, I highly recommend a research stay at INGENIO!