Aragon rides the tech wave: The Wave kicks off at the Congress Palace

Aragon is a land of opportunity , and besides beaches, it has everything, or almost everything. This is the dogma upheld by the Government of Aragon, led by President Jorge Azcón and his deputy,  Mar Vaquero. Both are spearheading a project working to transform the region into what has been dubbed the ” Virginia of Europe. “

The DGA’s commitment is total, as evidenced by the multi-billion-dollar investments announced in recent months by major companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Stellantis in the region, as well as events such as The Wave, which kicks off this Wednesday and has already been described by the Vice President as the ” most important technological event in the history of the region ” this week. This is therefore the perfect opportunity for Aragon to consolidate its position as the main technological hub in southern Europe and lead the digital transformation.

For now, the train is already rolling, and Vaquero, also Minister of Economy and the Presidency at the DGA (General Directorate of Economy and the Presidency), is the first to jump on the technological wave that Aragon has reached, thanks to everything it offers: a good geographic location, energy resources, logistics, and even talent. This is how Natalia Escobedo, Director of the Public Sector at Microsoft in Spain, responded to this question in this interview. 

In short, The Wave turns Zaragoza into the epicenter of innovation for three days, and it does so in style, tripling the business presence at the venue and also the number of registrants, which reaches 10,000. 

THE OBJECTIVES

The purpose of these next three days is to analyze the advancement of Artificial Intelligence and see how this technological revolution is driving the transformation of businesses and a new society. At the same time, and beyond the direct impact on companies, The Wave also seeks to inspire new generations and create new vocations. “Our students will be able to direct their academic or professional training toward a sector with enormous potential,” the vice president stated this week in statements to the media.

Along these lines, the prelude to the technology event on Tuesday allowed around 100 participants, divided into around 20 multidisciplinary teams, to develop innovative projects for sectors such as mobility, aeronautics, and territorial development. This took place through a Hackathon in Etopia sponsored by Microsoft.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), as a founding partner of the event in collaboration with the Government of Aragon, also has a lot to say. In fact, during the congress setup this Monday, its general manager for Spain, Suzana Curic, stated that ” Aragon is positioning itself” as a technological benchmark, and this event demonstrates this. “There is a lot of interest in Aragon, and we believe this will continue to grow.”