The Colombian academic institution has recognized the State delegate in the Free Zone for his contribution to applied marine science and to the construction of the institutionality of the Blue Economy between Europe and the Caribbean
The distinction highlights the creation and consolidation under his direction of Incubazul and Blue Core, the mobilization of European resources in favor of blue initiatives and the projection towards Latin America and the Caribbean of the model developed from Cádiz
The University of Magdalena has also awarded the Honoris Causa Doctorate in Marine Sciences to the rector of the University of Cádiz, Casimiro Mantell, who participates with González in InnovAzul Caribe 2026
Cádiz, September 18, 2026.
The University of Magdalena has distinguished the special delegate of the State in the Cádiz Free Zone, Fran González, as an Honoris Causa Doctor in Marine Sciences during his participation this week in InnovAzul Caribe 2026, which is held in Santa Marta (Colombia). The Colombian academic institution grants the title to González “for his eminent services to applied marine science and to the construction of the institutional framework of the blue economy between Europe and the Caribbean”, according to the academic agreement that bases the granting of this distinction.
The resolution indicates that González has held the Special Delegation of the State in the Cádiz Free Zone Consortium since July 2020 and highlights that, under his direction, the Consortium “created and consolidated Incubazul and Blue Core”, defined as incubation and financing instruments for marine technology-based companies that have mobilized more than 15 million euros of European public resources and supported a hundred companies.
The concession agreement also highlights the link between the Free Zone and the University of Cádiz and recalls both the presence of the delegate as a member of its Social Council and the agreement signed between both institutions for the development of Blue Zone Forum-InnovAzul. The University of Magdalena also includes among the merits that underpin the distinction the orientation of the international projection of the Consortium towards Latin America and the Caribbean.
Fran González has shown his “enormous joy and gratitude” for a distinction that, as he has assured, is “a recognition of collective work and a way of understanding the Blue Economy not as a theoretical concept, but as a true tool for economic and social transformation”.
“The Blue Economy makes sense when knowledge and innovation translate into employment, companies and new opportunities for people and territories. From the Free Zone we want to exercise precisely that role as a catalyst, connecting the talent of universities, entrepreneurship, business initiative and public resources to ensure that all the potential we have around the sea generates economic activity, wealth and real opportunities.”González pointed out.
The University of Magdalena has also awarded the title of Honorary Doctor in Marine Sciences to the rector of the University of Cádiz, Casimiro Mantell, who these days shares with González the participation of the Cadiz delegation in InnovAzul Caribe 2026. Both distinctions highlight the projection achieved from Cádiz regarding knowledge, innovation and the Blue Economy and the collaboration between the University and the Free Zone to transfer this model beyond its territorial scope.
InnovAzul Caribe, prelude to the Cádiz event
The granting of the Honoris Causa Doctorate occurs coinciding with the participation of the Cádiz Free Trade Zone in InnovAzul Caribe 2026, an international meeting that takes place in Santa Marta and that allows for closer relations between the Blue Economy ecosystems of Cádiz and the Caribbean.
InnovAzul Caribe also constitutes the prelude to the Blue Zone Forum-InnovAzul 2026, which will be held in Cádiz at the end of October and will once again turn the city into an international meeting point for companies, entrepreneurs, researchers, universities, administrations and institutions linked to the Blue Economy.
The Cádiz event, whose first details will be presented this Monday, September 21 in a joint press conference by Fran González and Casimiro Mantell, will be the second edition organized jointly by the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz and the University of Cádiz, consolidating the collaboration between both institutions to promote from Cádiz a model based on the transfer of knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship and the generation of new economic opportunities linked to the sea.
Participation in InnovAzul Caribe thus reinforces the internationalization strategy of the Cádiz Free Zone and the projection towards Latin America and the Caribbean of the experiences developed around the Blue Economy, one of the axes of the transformation experienced by the Consortium in recent years.