Logbook: Conversational Business Chair May-June, 21
Index
As a continuation of the series of articles in which I intend to talk about my experience and learning in the conversational world, I would like to tell you what has been developing in recent months. It has been a really exciting period since the launching and start-up of the project has finally arrived.
A bit of history:
After a long year of preparation, on May 21, 2021, the creation of the Sanuker Chair of conversational software, bots and applications at the School of Engineering of the University of Valencia (ESTE-UV) (Spain) is signed between the company Sanuker Inc. Limited. and the University of Valencia itself.
For simplicity, we will call it the Conversational Business Chair.
ESTE-UV
The School of Engineering of the University of Valencia (ESTE-UV) is a reference center of the University of Valencia where computer engineering, electronics, chemistry and telecommunications are taught and stands out for its research in robotics.
The Universitat de València is a public institution of international prestige in the academic and research fields, founded in 1499. The institution itself appoints Dr. Jesús Soret Medel, PDI Titular d’Universitat, as director of the Chair.
Sanuker
Sanuker Inc. Limited is an international company dedicated to the digitalization of organizations through the design and creation of conversational chatbots. It is based in Hong Kong and has offices in Mexico and Valencia.
Sanuker I.L. has appointed Mr. José Pérez, CEO of Sanuker for LATAM, as the person responsible for the management of the Chair.
The tandem
Thus, the duo of Jesús Soret and José Pérez assume responsibility for the launch, vision and management of the Chair. The launch date is set for September 29, 2021. The reason is twofold:
- On the one hand, there is the proximity of summer vacations.
- On the other hand, Jesús and José would like to show results at the presentation of the Chair in order to better explain why this is going to be a different Chair.
For its vision and management, it is intended to be a chair different from those that currently exist.
How will it be different?
Those in charge tell me that the vision is that all the activities that are programmed can be scalable and reach huge numbers of people around the world on a regular basis.
To achieve this, multilingualism must be introduced systematically.
At the management level, Sanuker is committed to make an extra effort to make available to the Chair the necessary and appropriate technologies to achieve the objectives set.
In this way, it is committed to an efficient and professional management of all the processes designed in this regard.
It is expected to involve different companies, organizations and individuals. This will be done under the acronym “Volunteers” so that they can contribute resources and complementary efforts so that the Chair can fulfill its objectives.
Initially, the chair counts with the following organizations: Sagitaz, Agile Marketing Studio, Woztell, ECIJA Law Firm.
From a management system to a presentation
During the first 40 days (May 21 to June 30), the bases on which the management system of the Chair will be organized have been established until its presentation:
Structuring an integral development concept for technological logistics
To ensure the automation of processes and the centralization of data. Without this initial conception, it would be challenging to achieve the desired vision. The Sagitaz technology team and the tandem Jesús-José are working hard to find the right format for a first PMV. It is expected to be available before the end of July 21.
To have a modern website
Agile, multilingual, intuitive and useful for the different stakeholders of the Chair; students, professionals, organizations and people not classified in the previous categories.
The following are considered essential elements:
- To have a Blog.
- An Events Panel.
- An option to become a volunteer of the Chair.
- The website must be multilingual and the PMV must consist of 4 languages: Spanish, English, Traditional
- Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
- Activate its presence in the following Social Networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
For this set of activities, the expertise of another volunteer partner, Agile Marketing Studio, will contribute its know-how. Having a good website is considered essential to be able to transmit the potential for involvement and transformation that the chair has.
Landing in an operational way the ideas that Jesús-José had been working on for years has been a laborious task.
Level 1 chatbot on the web
It should be included in the MVP of the website and with the ability to interact in at least 2 languages. For this purpose, the Woztell-Sanuker team will provide its platform, experience and templates.
Set of workshops that bring value
To all chatbots users in order to popularize their use and will involve all those professionals who can add value. In any case, the target for the first workshop is set for the end of July.
Simple collaboration protocol
between the Chair and different organizations and people who contribute value so that all these elements can be integrated. And that, in turn, can become something similar to “friends of the Chair”. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU-MOU) is being considered and another partner of the Chair, the Law Firm ECIJA, has decided to take charge of shaping it.
From the interaction with this partner arises the possibility that the chair will provide 2 internships in companies.
– With all the above elements activated:
- The Partnership Department could be created to provide the necessary conditions to welcome all the volunteers and the entities and organizations that are partners of the Chair project.
- The chair can be activated on the Universitat de València’s Chairs site.
With all this said, it is considered that a Chair MVP can be generated, the objective of which is to be operational by the end of July 21.
Next goals
In this context, the goals that the Chair has set for the remainder of 2021 are as follows:
- Train 1000 people to be able to set up chatbots in 30′.
- To carry out 25 events, at least 3 of which will be face-to-face.
- Achieve about 100 MoUs with as many institutions.
- 10 Internships in Companies
- Initiate at least 5 Master’s Thesis.
- Initiate, at least 3 Final Degree Projects.
- Sign 100 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)
Personal assessment
In this process of articulation of ideas to be landed, I have been surprised by the dedication, involvement and attitude of the undisputed leader and promoter of the project, José Pérez.
He exercises an intense, relentless leadership so that the project takes the form that he has previously visualized. This leadership has the double advantage that the visionary knows where he is going and how he wants to go.
It has the disadvantage that someone directs the team and others execute. But, given what has happened over the past 40 days, the intense leadership option is undoubtedly the most productive.
Lessons learnt
The main lesson learned, without a doubt, is called Vision, Vision and Vision.
And it is a clear message that the intense leader has conveyed and one that I fully share. Without a clear vision of where you want to go and how you want to go, journeys become extremely complicated.
The second has been motivation. And it has not been easy at all.
Motivating a multi-organizational, multi-cultural team in a construct that is in the mind of the intense leader, I assure you, is not easy. And Mr. José Pérez has succeeded.
How?
By believing so much in his project and making the team feel that it really is our project. And really, each one of us who have participated, have started to feel part of the project and to project ourselves in it. It’s as simple as that.
In short, 40 intense days, full of impacts of knowledge, vision, perspective and prospective that anticipate a busy month of July.