Over the past 10 years, more than 400 students from over 20 nationalities have embarked on a journey of innovation and creativity through the Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) programme, driven by IdeaSquare and the Department of Innovation at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), under the auspices of the European project ATTRACT Academy in recent editions.

The CBI experience has brought together interdisciplinary teams of students from the UPC (Telecommunications, Electronics and Informatics Engineering), Esade (Full-Time MBA) and the IED Barcelona (Product Design and Interaction) to address society's challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with IdeaSquare, CERN’s innovation space, and its scientists and researchers. Students have developed and presented projects for the purpose of learning through the application of innovative technology to solve specific challenges.

Fighting pollution and climate change, responding to overall health needs or those arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, improving the sustainable development of cities in particular and the planet in general are examples of the recent challenges posed as part of the CBI initiative, which has also addressed emergency aid systems, human interaction with the environment and the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI).

Three discussion panels featuring participants and companies
Students and teachers have talked about this learning experience in a series of debates, during the celebration of the 10 years of the program, on April 11 in Barcelona.

The first panel has participated Ramón Bragos, Manuela Procopio and Nanita Ferrone, academic coordinators of the programme from the UPC, Esade and the IED Barcelona respectively, along with Ole Werner from IdeaSquare at CERN.

The second panel, representatives of organisations and companies linked to innovation, technology and creativity: Margarida López, head of Innovation at TMB; Albert Soret, head of Earth System Services at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Manel Peiró, director of the former master’s degree in Hospital Management (Esade); and Ruben Bonet, co-founder, president and CEO of Fractus, the sponsor of the ceremony and the first deep tech spin-off emerging from the UPC, which is dedicated to creating disruptive antenna technologies based on fractal antennas.

The third panel featured graduates from the three participating academic institutions, who spoke about their experiences as students. In the case of the UPC, from the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB) and the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB).

• Roser Batlle. Graduate of the bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Technologies and Services Engineering (ETSETB-UPC).
• Diego Pacheco. Graduate of the bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile) and MBA from Esade. He is now European Sales director at the food technology start-up Novameat.
• Ola Rajska. Graduate of the bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from the University of South Wales and the master’s degree in Design Management at the IED Barcelona. She is creative director at Iventions Event Architects.
• Marçal Garcia. Graduate of the bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Technologies and Services Engineering, majoring in Audiovisual Systems (ETSETB-UPC), and the master’s degree in Data Science (FIB-UPC). He participated in the AI-specific CBI (CBI4AI, 2023 edition). He is an assistant professor of training programmes at Fusion Point, a meeting point for academic institutions to promote applied research and problem solving, as is the case with CBI.

Video summary of a decade of the program
Some of the moments experienced are shown in the video summary of the 10 years of the program, in which you can see the INDE and MAT projects. The first is a flexible skirt with airbags to prevent injuries from falls, especially among elderly women, and the latter is a food sensor to identify fruit type and condition and to determine its optimal stage for distribution and consumption.

Other teams will exhibit experimental prototypes at the end of the event.

• A device for diagnosing mesothelioma—lung cancer induced by inhalation of asbestos fibres—by the Manabe team (CBI, 2022 edition). Conceived for shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh, the solution combines diagnosis based on hyperspectral analysis of pleural fluid, using ATTRACT’s disruptive technology, with an awareness programme among workers. The result is a portable station that analyses samples using AI to obtain a conclusive result.
• A portable system for monitoring cancer evolution, by the Curie team (CBI, 2022 edition). LUMO is a solution to make cancer treatment monitoring more accessible in rural areas. Using a small, low-cost gamma camera along with a transport service for radiotracers, the team proposes an imaging system to monitor tumour progression using a manually-driven probe, similar to an ultrasound imaging system, and to conduct cancer monitoring tests without having to travel to a hospital.
• Tumor DeTech to improve cancer research, by the Yallah team (CBI4AI, 2023 edition). This system offers laboratories worldwide the ability to track tumour growth in a standardised way. It facilitates data exchange to build a code algorithm for predicting tumour growth, using POSICS-2 and Random Power systems, and processing information among research teams. This tool can replace the need for animal testing in cancer research.
• A comprehensive solution to the mould problem, by the Midas team (CBI 2023). GuardianAir is a proposal to address the widespread problem of mould in UK homes. It brings together two cutting-edge solutions: first, a sensor that detects environmental conditions favourable to mould growth, and second, a handheld device that detects it inside walls and classifies it, providing real-time data to support action and ensure healthier work and home environments.