UMETECH aims to strengthen the role of Latin American Universities as instruments of social and economic development in the cultural heritage sector through the design and implementation of 4 competence centers on cultural heritage specialised in: smart computing, 3d, big data and human-machine interaction. The competence centres will work in an inegrated network called UMETECH. The network will be developed on the model of NEMECH (New Media for Cultural Heritage competence center) implemented by the University of Florence and will exploit the experiences and researchs results carried out by the University of Bucharest (Big data) and Telecom Lille (3d) and the University of Florence (Smart computing and human-machine interaction). The competence center is conceived asa bridge between HEIs and the territory, in particular with the productive system. It connects research activities with the market and works on the following issues:- Development of products, services and projects in the ICT field applied to cultural heritage enhancement for the local and infra-regional markets and public authorities in charge of cultural heritage policies and cultural sites management- Support and development of business start-ups in the cultural heritage / tourism sector- Promotion of know-how integration on cultural heritage enhancement researches among all HEIs operating in the same geographical area. Each competence center will focus on a specific subject as follows: - Cordoba (Argentina): Mobile, wearable and cloud - Misiones (Argentina): 3D technology- Itapua (Paraguay): SensorsThe major impact of the project is the strengthening of HEIs engagement with the civil society and industry. In particular, the competence centre will promote self-entrepreneurship in the cultural/tourism sector exploitoing the skills/competences/knowledge developed within each competence centre and in the UMETECH network.

The OVERALL AIM of the INNOVA project is to improve the research management of Higher Education Institutions in Bolivia and Paraguay, with a specific focus on Climate Change.This goal will be achieved by implementing the following SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:- Firstly, development and consolidation of Research & Innovation policies in Bolivia and Paraguay, with a specific focus in Climate Change, in order to meet international standards. - Secondly, setting-up of an innovative Forward-Looking Platform to orientate coordinated and sustainable policymaking in the field of research management in Bolivia and Paraguay, drawing upon foresight methods.INNOVA will contribute to tackle the manifest HEIs underperformance on Research and Innovation in Bolivia and Paraguay. The current situation calls urgently for effective formulation of legal and policy frameworks to articulate R&D actions at HE systemic level, which INNOVA will foster through fruitful interplay between HEIs, private sector and policymakers to move forward on S,T&I. In order to generate systematic impact, INNOVA will leverage the involvement in the Consortium of the Ministries responsible for HE from both countries together with a balances combination of public and private HEIs in the region, accompanied by two experienced EU partners.