Only technology can explain the diversity and apparent disparity of the university degrees offered by Adema. This university school, based in Palma's Son Rossinyol industrial estate, began its trajectory almost 30 years ago, offering training in the field of social and health care. However, in the 2022 - 2023 academic year it has expanded its offerings to include a degree in Fine Arts.

The so-called haptic 3D simulators are what bring science and art together at Adema. These are motorised devices that reproduce tactile sensations on a screen. A tool that allows dental students to live an immersive experience as if they were having a consultation in a clinic. These features can also be applied in the field of artistic creation, and this will be the case from this academic year with the degree in Fine Arts.

At ADEMA, more than 3,000 professionals have studied different official vocational training degrees and bachelor's degrees. Thanks to its cutting-edge technology and haptic virtual reality simulators, in 2020 ADEMA was able to continue offering practical training to its students despite the situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming a benchmark university. At the same time, they continued researching and working to contribute to society and patented a device that hermetically sealed the masks. With the idea of exporting it, they went to the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca where they participated in the Xpande programme, were awarded SME of the Year Illes Balears 2020 and entered the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).

ADEMA's participation in the EEN has been structured through Diego González, CEO; Mauricio Saenz, Sale Manager International; and Antoni Canyelles, Head of International. We talked to them about their experience in the largest network of SMEs in Europe:

When and why did you start working with EEN?

Diego González: "Our first push was a one-off business model: in 2020 we generated a patent on a mask closure that could help stop the transmission of Covid in the healthcare sector. We wanted to export it and we didn't know how. So we decided to go to the Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca. That was our first push. Although, in reality, our sector is education, that is why in the last two years we have been working on internationalising in the knowledge industry. And in this area, we have learned a lot from events.

You have participated in numerous trade fairs over the years, which events stand out?

Mauricio Saenz: "The first fair was the Qatar Matchmaking where there was no specific interview but we started to look at companies abroad: what they do, how they show their products, their profiles.... Although there were contacts with companies from other countries".

D. González: "As a result of Qatar Matchmaking, a company that works for the Qatari government contacted us to buy a large batch of mask closures for the Qatar 2022 Football World Cup. However, the evolution of the pandemic will not make it necessary, but if the situation worsens again, they have already contacted us and we are prepared".

M. Saenz: "At the second fair, four months later, the Meed2Meet, we had meetings and even sent samples to an interested party in India, it was an experience from which we learned a lot".

D. González: "Beyond the patent, we have worked on international relations in the strictly academic field. We have been in contact with the main faculties in India and we have signed collaboration agreements so that our degree in dentistry is valid in the country. This is a major breakthrough that will allow us to welcome many Indian students to our centre.

And your profile has had many experiences of interest. ....

A. Canyelles: "Yes, the expressions of interest remind me of the Cluetrain manifesto, a reference text in the degree, which explained that markets are conversations. And this functionality of the EEN allows us to communicate with companies anywhere with common interests and allows us to learn a lot.

And now, what are the next steps?

A. Canyelles: "We are going to update our profile and, for the moment, we are already registered in two virtual fairs in the field of social and health care in October".

In short, what do you highlight from your experience with the EEN?

D. González: "Adema needed support in a field in which it was not an expert, which was internationalisation. We asked Cambra Mallorca for help to export our patent. It was a boost that helped us to replicate it in other products, in other market lines. From these years we highlight the learning we have gained, which has helped us to be more mature when it comes to travelling abroad with our product and marketing it. And, at the same time, it gives us the capacity to create more products because we are already thinking about market niches".

Chamber of Commerce of Mallorca