"Industrial doctorates combine and hybridize the knowledge of the most current research available on the market, at the hands of a company that wants the practical part of this knowledge"
Ton Guardiet is passionate about business, with extensive professional experience in positions of maximum responsibility and a born entrepreneur, so much so that a new company Acceleralia has emerged as a result of his doctoral training within the framework of the Industrial Doctorates Plan. In 2020 he seduced the company PICVISA to develop a collaborative research with the International University of Catalonia (UIC) that allowed him to train as a doctor. The aim of the research for the project started was to identify the factors and strategies that most affect the success of acceleration and entrepreneurship programs, conceptualizing everything in a methodology, which has finally led to the birth of Acceleralia , a digital platform for corporate acceleration.
What was the object of the research in the DI project?
The industrial PhD I am pursuing is related to my passion for business, acceleration and growth, as well as the methodology to achieve goals on time. The purpose of the research is to create Acceleralia, a digital platform for corporate acceleration, as a project of the company PICVISA.
My purpose is simply to share what I've learned from many companies and media about how they accelerate their growth. This includes creating an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, leading innovative ideas, and maximizing return on investments. All this is mixed with technical knowledge and objective criteria, and the attitude to face business trends and market evolution.
What do you think is the main benefit of doing a DI in the company?
Mainly, bringing university knowledge and research to the market. They are two separate worlds, and it is in an Industrial Doctorate where they can be found: the university provides support in research and the company is aligned by providing market reality, and obviously aligned with the subject of the research.
What did your doctoral studies bring you? Are they a valuable asset to become competitive in today's knowledge-based economy?
Yes, it is an important asset to become competitive in today's economy. It combines and hybridizes the most current research knowledge available on the market, at the hands of a company that wants the practical part of this knowledge. I can go deeper into what I'm passionate about, with the practical implementation of what I was discovering during research.
In my specific case, coolhunting (what is about to arrive), business hunting (capturing business opportunities in other markets that have not yet arrived), new technologies or market speed, are concepts that open new windows of market, new positions in the labor market, new blue oceans and new opportunities in many industries.
An added value of the industrial doctorate is the training in transversal skills in non-academic areas. Can this training promote and promote entrepreneurship?
Yes, that's right. In this training there were five training modules: leadership, coordination and management of R+D+I projects, international business, valorization and transfer of research results, protection of research results (industrial and intellectual property) and entrepreneurship and sources of finance.
These transversal topics are necessary to complement market-oriented research training, with the aim of generating knowledge about the road map to follow to bring technologies or methodologies derived from innovation to the market.
It is a training with an eminently practical approach, which aims at the active involvement and interaction of the participants. In the sessions, the theoretical content is explained through practical cases.
I think that for doctoral students who have specialized in other disciplines, it is an essential layer of knowledge, because otherwise the knowledge is only kept in a drawer or in a closed community far from the market and this course wants to improve precisely that.
How did you start this project? How do you manage to "sell the project" to the company?
The project is sold to the company, because Picvisa has a great innovative spirit and an open, determined, powerful management with a desire to do great things, and in this framework, the theme fit.
In fact, the research topic is fascinating and is very aligned with my professional experience: 5 CEOs of companies, with 6 previous investments and mentored more than 500 startup projects. All in all, added to my academic training, a postgraduate degree in management and company management and another in Finance and Investments in the USA, an Executive MBA at ESADE, and finally with this industrial doctorate on digital platforms for acceleration, it became a perfect mix to be able to learn more and practice the new learnings.
Ultimately, I wanted to add a new layer of consistency and knowledge to an industry I'm passionate about.
What are the main challenges that a PhD student has to face to undertake? What advice would you give him?
A PhD student and an entrepreneur do not always have the same ingredients and this is the main challenge, to know if you have the wood of an entrepreneur or if you are willing to try it.
The positive aspects of becoming an entrepreneur are diverse: you are your own boss, starting and setting up a business means constant learning, meeting new contacts (customers, suppliers and partners), it also allows you to enjoy much more flexibility in terms of schedules labor In addition, the tasks to be performed can be very varied, and every day is different. If you do well, it can mean a good return, and if you carry out an original business, which stands out from the competition, it can mean significant financial benefits.
On the other hand, there are also some negative aspects, since starting a business means a lot more dedication, your head connected 24/7/365 or taking greater financial risks. There are other matters, such as personal housing obligations, children, schools, or others, which means that it is not easy. You must also be able to manage uncertainty, in the end the final responsibility, including legally, also for the decisions you make.
It's an exciting world, full of risks but also opportunities. It is not valid for everyone, but if you have the spirit and the context allows it a little, limiting the risk, it is clearly worth it.
At what point do you realize that starting a business is an option?
This industrial PhD project has led to the Acceleralia startup because a set of circumstances have occurred. On the one hand, the topic of the research that consisted of designing a digital platform for corporate acceleration: Acceleralia, the case study of the PICVISA company that participates in the industrial doctorate. On the other hand, the general manager of the company, Joan Manel Casamitjana and his management team, have been giving shape to the first versions of what we were doing and validating them with the market, identifying the elements to change, improve or enhance . Finally, I think my personal and professional profile also has something to do with it. I have a lot of experience in this industry, and I pushed myself to put it into practice with excitement and determination.
What factors do you think have favored the start-up of a company during the project?
First of all, the evolution of results is an influencing factor. The support of the company PICVISA, involved in the beginnings with three pilot projects in the doctorate, realized that if we changed things or improved them, that started to make sense. Subsequently, new people were involved in the process who fed the project with valuable feedback.
From a financial point of view, at the time we already had a minimum viable product (MVP), we had two very decisive facilitating financial factors: ENISA, a participatory loan from the public administration, and also winning a CDTI, exactly the “I+D Transference Cervera” program
Lastly, on the market side, we started exploring the possibility of offering the initial MVP to close contacts. We saw that if we continued to work on it, it could fit well in the market and become a startup with a chance of success.
Do you consider that the creation of a company is a good realization of the industrial doctorate?
I honestly believe that it is clear that the results are good, a fact that has led to having investors, institutional supports, customers, suppliers and subsequently employees. A company has been created, with the same name as the Industrial Doctorate project, where nearly 900,000 euros have been invested between several private investors and public institutions. For now, the metaverse is being worked on with about twenty people from ten different countries.
All these results combined are a good example of what the Industrial Doctorate Plan aims to do: to transfer knowledge from university and research to the market, with a real impact on society.
What are Acceleralia's core values and how do they guide your business decisions?
Acceleralia is a Deep EdTech digital platform for the education sector located in Barcelona. Its objective is to be a disruptive element in the education sector with a new industry category that we have called "accelerated learning management system" (ALMS) where elements of business acceleration are combined with the educational world. The idea is to accelerate personalized education easily and become the standard for ALMS by transforming learning with tangible results.
Teamwork, challenging the status quo, being humble by listening to the market, empathizing and adapting to the needs of customers are the values that drive us. I base my business decisions on respect for the great team we have, empowering internal talent, a lot of effort and with the ambition to soon turn Acceleralia into a scaleup in many countries.
How has your experience been with DIs?
Very interesting, intense and full of adventures. It is worth saying that it has not been without difficulties, my experience so far is that the university and the business world still speak different languages, and this entails an added effort on the part of the PhD student.
All in all, I would recommend this experience to any PhD student. But I would also recommend that you try to align the topic of your industrial PhD with your field of interest that you are passionate about. It's a lot of work, and having powerful intrinsic motivation is a huge enabler.
I only have to thank the university at the International University of Catalonia (UIC), the project tutors (Anna Akhmedova and Ioannis Pierrakis), administrative support people (Oscar, Mònica, Judit). On behalf of the PICVISA company, my thanks to the general manager Joan Manel Casamitjana and his team: Lluis, Susana and Silvia. From the Industrial Doctorates Plan to everything in their team: Jesús, Ainhoa, Xavier and Jordi who have undoubtedly helped to make this dream a reality.
Many thanks and congratulations on the program.
