The UPC opens the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant

Recently, the UPC opened the Hydrogen Laboratory and the green hydrogen pilot plant on the Diagonal-Besòs Campus. These cutting-edge facilities serve as a living lab to advance research and innovation in hydrogen technologies, a key energy vector in the transition towards decarbonisation. The Laboratory is also supporting industry and training activities.

Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub reveals that AI and 5G-6G are the technologies with the highest potential for techno-social disruption

Artificial intelligence, 5G-6G, big data, robotics, cybersecurity, computers and IoT protocols and 3D and 4D printing are the technologies with the most research groups at the UPC, according to the study 'Analysis, map and detection of Deep Tech areas and technologies'. Prepared with its own methodology within the framework of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the study detects the end of 16 technologies in which 50% of the University's research groups are distributed, depending on the social impact or industrial escalation.

The UPC launches Connèxia, a new 360° programme to accelerate technology transfer to industry

On 27 October, the UPC presented the Connèxia UPC programme. Aimed at industry, it provides tailored collaboration to connect the University’s technological capabilities with the specific and strategic needs of the productive sector.

The UPC supports the GreenChips-EDU project as part of Unite!

The UPC and other universities, companies and research institutions join forces in the European project GreenChips-EDU to accelerate the training of skilled workers in microelectronics.

The UPC at the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit

Around thirty companies stemming from the UPC, along with researchers from the University, have presented breakthroughs and transformative trends at the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit, on 28 and 29 November.

The UPC offers its support to community members affected by the Israel-Hamas war

The UPC’s International Emergency Committee is monitoring the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the University and offers support to community members affected.

Light-powered catalyst to make hydrogen

A team from the UPC and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) have designed an efficient and stable photocatalyst capable of producing hydrogen directly using sunlight. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

First-ever simulation of interactions between quasi-particles called Fermi polarons

Quasi-particles are an essential tool to describe the complex processes arising from strong interactions in solids. Using an ultracold quantum gas has allowed to study how Fermi polaron quasiparticles interact with each other.

Communication of the ACUP on the situation in Israel and Palestine

Communication of the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) on the situation in Israel and Palestine.

The UPC is working to create Space Tech Unite!

The Unite! alliance has launched Space Tech Unite!, a network of universities and companies for the teaching of space-related subjects. UPC researchers Adriano Camps, Jordi Gutiérrez and Hyuk Park are involved.

A decade leading industrial doctorate projects in Catalonia

Year after year, the UPC leads the ranking of projects under the Government of Catalonia’s Industrial Doctorates Plan, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over a decade, 257 projects have been carried out at the University, which accounts for 28% of all the projects at Catalan universities.

The UPC is the top Spanish technical university in the new QS World University Rankings: Europe (2024)

In the first edition of the new QS Europe University Rankings, the UPC is ranked 129th among 688 institutions analysed and is the leading technical university in Spain. It obtained its best scores in Sustainability and International Research Network.

2023 Pulitzer winner Bernat Armangué at the opening ceremony of the academic year at the UPC

The opening ceremony of the 2023-2024 academic year at the University took place in the Auditorium of the UPC’s Vèrtex building on the North Diagonal Campus (Barcelona) on Friday 6 October. The event was attended by photojournalist Bernat Armangué, a UPC’s CITM alumni and a 2023 Pulitzer winner.

Awards to a new generation of surgical meshes, a program for designing buildings and the Process Talks spin-off

The jury of the 14th UPC Research Valorisation Award, promoted by the Board of Trustees, has recognised 4DPolysense as the best technology transfer project, the NECADA program as the best invention or work for its application in the market and the Process Talks spin-off as the best technology-based company. The Nimble Diagnostics spin-off has also received a special acknowledgement.

First nanoscale direct observation of how glass transforms into liquid at increasing temperature

A group of researchers featuring professor Jorge Alcalá, from the UPC’s Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB), have developed a methodology that makes it possible for the first time to observe under the microscope, in real time, what happens when glass is heated and changes to a supercooled liquid phase, known as the “glass transition”. Published in Nature Physics, the research is of great importance for the cryopreservation of living tissues and for the manufacture of drugs and new materials.

The UPC is on the way to winning a global competition to protect rainforest biodiversity

A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), developing a cutting-edge technology to protect biodiversity in rainforests, is a finalist in the XPRIZE Rainforest, a ten-million-dollar international competition to transform our understanding of the complexity of rainforests. The final will take place in July 2024.

The UPC is among the world’s top 50 in the SDG Climate Action, according to the THE Impact Rankings

In the latest edition of the THE Impact Rankings—which assess the impact of universities in achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the UPC is ranked the world’s 38th in Climate Action (SDG 13), climbing 33 positions from the previous edition.

The UPC is the leader in teaching, research and innovation and graduate employment according to the 2023 U-Ranking

In the latest edition of the U-Ranking the UPC appears as the top-ranked Spanish university in the overall classification. The University is also ranked 1st in teaching and 2nd in research and innovation. Additionally, it boasts one of the highest graduate employment rates among Spanish universities.

Semiconductors, at the heart of technology

The semiconductor ecosystem in Catalonia, a sector that is in a phase of development, comprises around a hundred companies and research entities and some 4,400 professionals. Companies such as Cisco, Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) and Intel have chosen Barcelona as the location for their microchip design centres, and another twenty or so foreign investment projects are expected to follow in the next few years.

First UPC’s Doctoral Summer Day in Barcelona on 11 July

Research valorisation, entrepreneurship support and doctoral student participation in the UPC community will be discussed in workshops and presentations at the first Doctoral Summer Day, which will be held in the Vèrtex building on the North Diagonal Campus in Barcelona from 9.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is aimed at doctoral students and will be attended by professors and coordinators of several programmes and initiatives at the University.

The UPC is one of the universities with the highest graduate employment rate in Spain according to the U-Ranking

Developed by the BBVA Foundation and the Valencian Institute of Economic Research, the U-Ranking project published an analysis of graduate employment in the Spanish university system by degree subject area and by university on 16 May. The UPC is ranked 2nd-4th among 67 universities analysed.

A total of 117 UPC researchers in the CSIC ranking of the most outstanding female scientists

117 UPC researchers are listed in the second edition of the CSIC ranking of Spanish and foreign female scientists who conduct research in Spain. The ranking classifies female scientists with an h-index equal to or greater than 18.

Mark Coeckelberg: “We should not be afraid of AI, but we should be afraid of authoritarianism and totalitarianism.”

Mark Coeckelbergh is a full professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna and an ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. He delivered a lecture at the UPC on 24 May, invited by the Industrial Robotics and Informatics Institute (IRI) and the Ethics Committee. Coeckelbergh is the author of numerous books, including 'AI ethics', 'Robot ethics', 'Introduction to philosophy of technology' and 'The political philosophy of AI'.

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New generation of antibacterial materials for medical implants developed

The UPC’s Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group (BBT) leads the international project Bio-TUNE, which aims to develop multifunctional materials with high antibacterial potential and efficient tissue integration. The consortium is made up of ten research teams from Europe, America and Asia, and is funded through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

The new mission and vision of the UPC approved

The UPC’s Governing Council approved the new mission and vision of the UPC after a period of collective reflection and internal work. It is the first stage of the Galàxia Aprenentatge project, which aims to transform the learning experience at the University.

A study demonstrates that heat can freeze fluids in the quantum world

An international research team has discovered that increasing the temperature of an ultracold fluid can trigger its phase transition to a solid state. The study was recently published in Nature Communication, with UPC researcher Juan Sánchez Baena as first author.

The ACTRIS ERIC platform, of which the UPC is a member, becomes a European infrastructure for atmospheric research

The European Commission has decided to establish ACTRIS, a research infrastructure that studies the short-lived atmospheric components, as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium. Published on 3 April, the decision places the participating institutions—including the UPC and the BSC-CNS—at the forefront of global atmospheric exploration.

The number of summer days in Spain has increased from 90 to 145 in the last 50 years, according to a study by the UPC

The average temperature in the main Spanish cities has risen by 3.54 °C between 1971 and 2022. The country is among those with the most pronounced climatic anomalies in the world. Over the last 50 years, summer days have increased from 90 to 145, which accounts for a two-month increase in hot days. Tropical nights have jumped by 18, from an average of 45 to 63. These are the conclusions of a study by the Centre for Land Valuation Policy (CPSV) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC).

Master’s degrees, doctoral programmes and continuing education master’s degrees

2023 UPC Virtual Postgraduate Fair, from 17 to 28 April