FROM A CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE FRAMEWORK TO A DECISION SUPPORTING SYSTEM: ALIGNING SCIENTIFIC AND STARTUP DEVELOPMENT

University-industry cooperation has been recognized as a strategic factor to innovation systems. More recently, universities have been pressured not only to cooperate but also to promote and create startups, combining education and research to promote innovation. In this article, we describe a recent case of the alignment between a PhD research challenge and an innovation and business opportunity. The research challenge was to apply the KBUD (knowledge based urban development) framework as the basis to a decision support system, to be used by city managers. The results were fostered into a startup financed by a public innovation call, supported by Ruta-N (Medellin, Colombia). The case of KBUD-DSS system and Heuristics startup illustrates an example of how a PhD project can combine research and business development, attending simultaneously both pathways.