Madrid, 6 February 2026. The Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) presented the “Knowledge Transfer and Social Impact” project to the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME), an initiative designed to facilitate access—particularly for SMEs—to knowledge, innovation and talent generated within the Spanish university system.
The project is based on a clear premise: universities generate solutions that can deliver real value to business activity, enhance competitiveness and help companies adapt to challenges such as digitalisation, sustainability, and the improvement of processes and products. “Knowledge Transfer and Social Impact” seeks to structure and make this potential visible so that companies can identify concrete opportunities for collaboration.
During the meeting, held at CEPYME’s headquarters, CRUE expressed its commitment to strengthening a more agile and practical relationship with the business community, focusing on projects with clear application potential and on cooperation pathways that enable SMEs to access research results, technological innovation and research talent.
CRUE was represented by its President and Rector of Universitat Jaume I, Eva Alcón, and by Julián Garde, President of Crue–R&D&I and Rector of the University of Castilla–La Mancha. Representing CEPYME were its President, Ángela de Miguel, together with Teresa Díaz de Terán, Director of the Labour and Social Affairs Department, and Miguel Canales, Head of Training and Occupational Risk Prevention.
Eva Alcón underlined that “knowledge transfer is today a key element in connecting universities and business”, while also highlighting “the role of universities as strategic partners for innovation, growth and responding to market demands, particularly in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises”.
For his part, Julián Garde explained that “the project has been designed as a practical and accessible tool for companies, enabling them to identify university projects with transfer potential, map scientific and technological capabilities, and explore results-oriented collaborations”.
Ángela de Miguel welcomed the “Knowledge Transfer and Social Impact” project, stressing the importance of cooperation between universities and SMEs for Spain, noting that they are “called upon to maintain a fruitful collaboration both between themselves and for society as a whole”. She also highlighted the need to “establish frameworks for cooperation and exchange that facilitate companies’ access to new methodologies and technological developments generated by university researchers”.
More Than 200 Innovative Solutions for SMEs and Microenterprises
“Knowledge Transfer and Social Impact” currently brings together more than 200 projects from the Spanish university system, many of them featuring protected results and offering innovative solutions with clear potential for application in the business sector, across large companies, SMEs and microenterprises alike.
The project is supported by a digital platform hosted on the CRUE website, conceived as a meeting point between universities and companies, where SMEs can identify solutions, explore collaboration opportunities and clearly understand the impact of university knowledge on the economy and society.
