03/20/2017
Sika has received the "Research Cooperation Prize" from the Technical University of Madrid for its socio-economic impact and relations with the university. The accolade recognizes the company's commitment to innovation and its model relationship with the university, which has been close for more than 20 years.
Sika awarded for its approach to young generations by the Technical University of Madrid
The cooperation between the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and Sika in Spain embraces a wide range of activities, including the Sika Chair of Materials Science, competitions for students, the company's in-house training programs, and work placements. The decisive factor for receiving the award was the broad range of Sika's support - ultimately the many initiatives with students from the various schools within the university and the interaction with these young people.
Ángel González Lucas, General Manager of Sika Spain: "Sika is very proud to have received this prestigious award from the Technical University of Madrid. As a company we appreciate the cooperation with universities and the many possibilities to cooperate with students, benefitting both parties. It is also an opportunity to meet and work with future customers and potential employees."
Approach to Younger Generations
Sika's successful cooperation with academia in Spain began in the 1990’s with its competitions for students, a friendly and flexible way of interacting with undergraduates. Entertaining topics, help in the form of digital blogs, and comic-strip summariesof famous works have continuously raised the company's profile with students from their first year onwards. Since 2011, Sika sponsors a Chair of Materials Science at the UPM's Technical School of Civil Engineering. Its purpose is to familiarize future professionals with the world of chemistry applied to construction.
Sika's relations with young students go even further. Continuous training programs, work placements, and factory visits are all part of the offering.
Some of Sika's University Programs and Cooperations
- ETH Zurich, Switzerland: Sika supports ETH in the “Mesh Mould” project, a robotized construction method for building load bearing concrete elements of any shape without formwork.
- Singapore-ETH Centre, Singapore: As a development partner of ETH Singapore, Sika provides processing know-how and mortar technology for the development of a prototype tiling robot.
- University of Fribourg, Switzerland: The Sika endowed Emerging Markets Research Group addresses the growing significance of emerging markets for the strategies of western companies.
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece: Sika provides support to analyze ancient mortars, and knowledge about materials and techniques for the restoration of historical monuments.