Digital transformation: the key to Catalonia’s economic and social revival

On April 9th, the students of the Digital Transformation Discovery Semester at TBS in Barcelona presented the final results of the Consultancy Project, led by Rubén Cánovas of Everis. The project, Catalonia’s Economic Reactivation and Social Protection Plan, aimed to find solutions to the economic and social challenges posed by the pandemic.

Education, health, culture, environment… COVID-19 has had a great impact on essential sectors for the future of Catalonia. Digital transformation can be key to respond to the crisis, which is why TBS students in Barcelona made professional proposals as teams of consultants to reactivate these sectors. Each group presented a project analyzing their context, the challenges they wanted to solve, the technical and functional solutions, a plan to implement it, the budget they would need, as well as a risk plan.

This event allows TBS students to gain experience as consultants through the elaboration of a professional plan, as well as to develop their communication skills. Besides, it also brings them into contact with experts in the sector, who suggest improvements to their proposals and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of their presentations.

Education and research

One of the sectors that have had to change the most because of COVID-19 has been the education sector. While online education has had its advantages, not everyone has been able to adapt in time. The MAIT team presented the project “The key to personalizing teaching”, in which they pointed out that, according to their survey, less than 40% of teachers were prepared to adapt their classes to digital technologies. Furthermore, 90% said that the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for greater use of new technologies. The group proposed a series of measures to offer more personalized education, improve imperfect infrastructures and maintain Catalonia as a leader in digital education.

Similarly, another group presented the project “Transformation approach for the education system”, in which they also tried to solve the shortcomings of the education system and the need for a digital transformation. Among their proposals: interactive learning, personalized monitoring of students, the development of creative skills, and the use of robots in the classroom.

Also concerning the education sector, the Osko Consulting group presented the project “Research and promotion of innovation”, focused on promoting research. The team proposed the creation of a knowledge-sharing platform through Blockchain, intending to make the research system more attractive and incentivizing investment in R+D.

Culture

Another sector that has been particularly affected by the pandemic and restrictions has been the cultural sector. Boosting culture and transforming it digitally was the goal of two of our consulting teams: Banda Consulting and Culture Consulting. Banda Consulting presented the project “Catalonia and culture”, intending to revive Catalonia’s cultural life to the maximum, focusing on museums. They proposed the use of an app to guide visitors according to their preferences, as well as the use of a chatbot and forums to open a space for debate among museum-goers.

The second group presented “Catalonia and culture: a respectful reactivation”, the creation of a platform to promote the cultural life of the region. The platform would bring together those interested in enjoying Catalan culture, as well as professionals in the sector.

Ecology

As for the environmental proposals, four teams made suggestions related to ecology. Under the title “Make your wastes great again”, Sagrada Consulting proposed a waste reuse project, through smart containers. Along the same lines, the “Smart Tree 2.0” project aimed to boost the ecological side of Barcelona and Catalonia, promoting green energy, improving Wi-Fi points and 5G areas.

Another initiative was that of Greenlab, “How to develop digital tools to reduce air pollution in Catalonia”, to improve air quality in the region, create a healthier environment and comply with WHO recommendations and the Sustainable Development Goals. The digital tools they proposed to achieve this were the “Pure Air Zone App”, u-monitor, and air purifiers. The last project was KiLite, a proposal to implement electric delivery bicycles to reduce air pollution in Barcelona and Catalonia.

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