Javier Corrales, Head of Operations at Grupo KIATT, talks to us about the Young Talent program, the strategic lines of the corporate social responsibility policy of the Oxford-born venture builder, and his organization’s future plans in this area.
What is the mission of Grupo KIATT?
Grupo KIATT falls under the term venture builder, which essentially means a company builder. The purpose of our entire business model is to address the major challenges of the future through solutions provided by science and technology. In other words, we transform science and technology into global solutions to what we identify as the major challenges of the future.
Grupo KIATT has signed an agreement with Universidad Carlos III. What does this agreement entail?
Our goal is to integrate young talents with no prior work experience into the corporate and innovation world. We want to create a kind of innovation ecosystem where we bring in talented young individuals who are motivated by this business model. We aim to give them the opportunity to train in a company like ours, which focuses on technology transfer and company building.
In this agreement, we signed a deal where young individuals do not simply perform administrative work or assist with workloads, but instead, the program is much broader. Specifically, we provide training and sign a collaboration agreement involving tutors. Each participant has a university-appointed tutor and a company-appointed tutor who ensure that the individual is mentored continuously and receives quality training.
The ultimate goal is to create this Spanish innovation ecosystem, progressively incorporating young people into this world. Beyond that, in the challenging current context, we aim to contribute to job creation and economic growth, even if it’s just a small step. These are our main goals with this program.
How do you select candidates, and what is the duration of these paid training internships?
First, we defined an ideal profile for this position within the various departments of our company. Initially, we reached out to several universities and signed this agreement with Universidad Carlos III because the young talent we selected was from this institution. However, we are open to candidates from other universities. We also engaged with ICADE, Universidad Miguel Hernández in Alicante, and others. After conducting several interviews, we selected a candidate we considered to be the right fit.
This is the first program we are launching, but we intend for it to become a regular initiative that continues year after year. In this case, the program with Universidad Carlos III has a duration of 900 hours. For full-time work, that amounts to approximately six months. In the specific case we are managing now, it has been extended into two phases. Initially, 200 hours were planned, and an additional 900 hours were added, extending the position until the end of February. It began in July, so the total duration will be around eight to nine months.
Additionally, we wanted this collaboration framework to align with the guidelines from the Official Journal of the European Union regarding quality frameworks for internships. These include requirements such as rest periods (participants receive paid vacations like the rest of the staff) and remuneration. We pay interns with company funds, ensuring they are not merely performing tasks but are also fairly compensated.
Once the training is complete, is there a possibility for these young individuals to join the company permanently?
Yes. Based on our company’s needs and available opportunities, we evaluate whether the individual can join us permanently. Additionally, we will continue with the Young Talent program. This is not a one-time replacement initiative; we want this program to be ongoing, regardless of individual outcomes.
How does this initiative fit into Grupo KIATT’s corporate social responsibility policy? What are the strategic lines?
The truth is that Grupo KIATT’s corporate social responsibility policy is embedded in the company’s DNA and objectives. Our goal is to tackle significant global and social challenges. We use metrics from the European Union Index and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which we apply to each of the projects we undertake. Before creating a company, we measure the anticipated social impact, and we evaluate it again after implementation.
In addition to the aforementioned metrics, we also consider economic indicators developed by the University of Oxford, as Grupo KIATT was founded in Oxford. It is a British group headquartered in Spain, and one of the partners, Manuel Fuertes, the CEO, is Spanish. Furthermore, we apply metrics and indicators from the government of Singapore, where we have established many companies and gained significant experience.
We measure social impact before and after creating a company, ensuring that everything we do has meaningful social value. As previously mentioned, the Young Talent program aligns with this logic, aiming to build an innovation system with a substantial social impact. This is the primary added value we bring with our business model.
What are your organization’s future plans in this area?
COVID-19 changed everything. Until now, we had two major thematic lines. We conduct annual macro-trend analyses and focus on two areas:
- Population Aging: Through our Future Living division, we aim to improve the quality of life for an increasingly aging society through advancements in science and technology. This ecosystem led to the creation of Necenti Laboratories, a company that uses epigenetic bio-algorithms to detect the likelihood of developing specific diseases up to ten years before symptoms appear. For example, Necenti Laboratories started by predicting celiac disease. With a blood sample, they can predict, before symptoms emerge (which can take 10-15 years), whether a person will develop celiac disease, enabling prevention.
These epigenetic indicators also have applications for COVID-19, allowing us to assess an individual’s risk of infection and the potential severity of the disease before contagion occurs.
- Agri-Food Sector: In the future, we will need to produce significantly more food as global demand rises, despite having fewer natural resources. We will need to consume fewer resources, reduce pollution, and address the decreasing availability of fertile land. This is another major future challenge we want to address by applying scientific and technological discoveries to this sector.
