The objective of this initiative is the promotion of teaching and research activities linked to IoT and energy management. With this new chair, the US already offers 37 business chairs.

The IoT Chair will be a collaboration space dedicated to the joint implementation of activities related to training, dissemination and innovation in collaboration with professionals from the Higher Technical School of Engineering , especially with those from the Department of Electronic Engineering.

At the signing ceremony of the agreement were, among other personalities, the rector of the University of Seville, Miguel Ángel Castro, the general director of WoodSwallow, Manuel Álvarez, and professor Antonio Jesús Torralba, member of the Department of Electronic Engineering of the US Higher Technical School of Engineering and director of the chair. 

The rector recalled that “the Internet of Things does not only provide personal help since the world of industry, commerce, and finance is being transformed, digitized and equipped with intelligence to face new challenges and “The Internet of Things is the enabling engine of these technologies that are transforming the world, and whose most significant exponent is Artificial Intelligence” 

For Castro, the University of Seville "sees recognized in this Chair the high technological and research level of its university groups , and especially of its Higher Technical School of Engineering." In this context, he has expressed his satisfaction with the prominence of the ETSI and has praised the figure of the director of WoodSwallow, a US graduate, who “is a clear example of a businessman who returns to society, multiplied, what it has given him. provided, and is also an example for other young graduates showing a path of success, promoting the excellence of the university and its training capacity.” “This Chair is an opportunity for students and research groups to have direct access to a technology with great enabling potential. For our society it is an opportunity to attract talent and access markets of high technological value.”

During the signing ceremony, the director of the chair, Professor Antonio Torralba, highlighted that, “both the University of Seville and WoodSwallow believe that Andalusia must bet heavily on these industries to be competitive. We must invest in the training of students in these areas, creating a meeting point between research, teaching and the market.”

In turn, Torralba has stressed that, “within the world of IoT, smart measurement of electricity, gas and water, are areas that will demand a large number of specialized professionals in the coming years. In Andalusia there are already technology companies that are demanding this talent, such as WoodSwallow.”  

For his part, Manuel Álvarez, Telecommunications engineer from the University of Seville and founder of WoodSwallow, has pointed out that “the value of the IoT not only lies in the connection of devices, but in the new services and business models that it facilitates (agriculture precision, manufacturing 4.0 or intelligent mobility are some examples). Specifically, one of the industries that will most benefit from the IoT will be the energy sector, where measurement and communications are fundamental tools to promote energy efficiency and, thereby, combat climate change.”

Likewise, Álvarez explained that the company has a team of around 50 hardware, software and business engineers in Seville with extensive experience in the field of intelligent energy measurement (most of them graduates from the University of Seville). 

The current energy context is increasingly complex and uncertain, caused by various internal and external factors such as the energy transition, climate change, digitalization or the escalation of gas and electricity prices (partly caused by the crisis of COVID-19 and Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine). The convergence over time of these factors stresses the sector's transition towards a more sustainable and efficient model.  

About WoodSwallow 

WoodSwallow is a technology company with a global vision that was created to improve people's lives through the design of embedded systems and IoT (Internet of Things) products. The company has extensive experience in intelligent energy management and electric mobility, and a team made up of more than 40 professionals that stands out for its technical mastery, capacity for innovation and flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of its clients and today's society. . WoodSwallow has headquarters in Seville (Spain) and London (United Kingdom).