Top Spanish University in Horizon Europe funding

The UPC heads the list of Spanish universities in terms of funding raised and the number of projects under Horizon Europe. With 161 projects, it has obtained 83 million euros in funding so far.

The coast of Vilanova i la Geltrú has been recognised as the first hope spot in the Iberian Peninsula to promote whale conservation

Vilanova i la Geltrú coastal waters have been recognised as the first marine hope spot in the Peninsula by Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue foundation. In a pioneering project, the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) will study and monitor fin whales and other marine species in this area by using innovative non-invasive technology. The project was launched at the LAB in Vilanova i la Geltrú’s fishing port on 4 October.

Leonardo Grant awarded to researcher Matias Carandell for innovation in marine ecosystem monitoring

Matias Carandell Widmer, a researcher at the UPC’s Department of Electronic Engineering and at the Technological Development Centre for Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI), has been awarded a Leonardo Grant from the BBVA Foundation to improve the acquisition and transmission of oceanographic data. The project focuses on integrating emerging buoys into autonomous marine monitoring platforms to provide real- time data access and allow researchers to more effectively address the deterioration of ocean biodiversity.

The FNB contributes innovative technology to reduce fuel consumption on the Open Arms rescue vessel

Developed by the UPC’s Barcelona School of Nautical Studies with the support of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the project relies on machine learning technologies to reduce fuel consumption while the Open Arms vessel navigates. By minimising the ship’s fuel needs and operational costs, the NGO can redirect some of the savings towards rescue missions.

Unite! students board the U!Train to analyse the European railway network

On 2 September, 30 European students —five from the UPC— are boarding a train from Barcelona to Grenoble, in France. The students will participate in a mapathon, write a manifesto on green mobility in Europe and submit it to EU leaders.

Deep tech, world-changing technologies take centre stage in the new ‘Algorrritmes UPC’

The latest episode of the Algorrritmes UPC podcast delves into deep tech: disruptive solutions to global challenges with immense transformative potential. This episode features Carles Puente, Fractus co-founder and a professor at the ETSETB, and Eneko Ibarlucea, a UPC alumnus.

A unique hybrid device to generate electricity and store thermal energy in an efficient and sustainable manner

An international research team led by the UPC has created a hybrid device that combines, for the first time ever, molecular solar thermal energy storage with silicon-based photovoltaic energy. It achieves a record energy storage efficiency of 2.3% and up to 14.9% total solar energy utilisation.

A study by the UPC’s CPSV suggests that Spain’s climate will become steppe like by 2050

Spain’s climate could shift from a Mediterranean to a steppe-like climate. If the global warming trend experienced in recent years (1973-2022) continues, by 2050 rainfall is predicted to decrease by 14% to 20%, compared to current levels. This is one of the conclusions of a study presented by a team from the Centre for Land Valuation Policy (CPSV) of the UPC at the 2024 EMS Annual Meeting held in Barcelona.

The Besòs Coast Sustainable Territory project receives a grant from the ERDF

Besòs Coast Sustainable Territory, a regional specialisation and competitiveness project in which UPC researchers are participating, will receive a subsidy of €555,500 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that will cover half the cost.

A predictive tool for personalised psychosis treatment

The UPC’s SOCO and GREC research groups are developing a personalised medicine platform to improve the psychological treatment for psychosis. Based on predictive models, the tool will predict therapy effectiveness to tailor treatment. The prototype will undergo a year-long clinical trial with patients from around the world.

The UPC’s NanoSat Lab demonstrates the feasibility of using nanosatellites to observe the Earth and monitor climate change

The FSSCat is ESA’s first mission that relies on CubeSats to support the Copernicus monitoring services for land and marine environment of the European Earth Observation programme. The mission won the Sentinel Small Satellite (S^3) Challenge Award of ESA and was honoured as the Copernicus Masters Overall Winner in 2017.

Starting Grant for researcher David Escofet-Martín

Serra Húnter lecturer David Escofet-Martín, from the UPC’s Department of Heat Engines, has been awarded a Starting Grant from the European Research Council to research flame spread rate. This is the main metric to assess the danger posed by a fire and can help prevent and control non-stationary urban fires and wildfires.

A European project led by the UPC involves citizens in the control of air quality

The UPC is leading the H2020 CAPTOR project, through which a network of low-cost sensors has been installed to measure tropospheric ozone (a contaminant that mainly affects rural areas) in private homes of volunteers from Spain, Italy and Austria. The programme also encourages collaboration between local communities, citizens, NGOs and scientists to stimulate environmental awareness and social and political responsibility in this area.

3Cat-4, the new UPC nanosatellite, successfully launched from Ariane 6

The 3Cat-4 nanosatellite, developed by the UPC’s NanoSat Lab, is one of seven payloads that have travelled on the Ariane 6 maiden flight, which took off on the night of 9 to 10 July from French Guiana. 3Cat-4 (read “cube-cat-four”) is the only Catalan instrument and one of two from Spain on board this ESA mission. Developed by students, the nanosatellite focuses on observing the Earth, studying weather and climatic phenomena from space, and locating and tracking vessels to prevent accidents. Some students have been present at the launch site.

Researcher Sergi Abadal receives a Proof of Concept grant to study wireless communication in integrated computing environments

Professor and researcher Sergi Abadal Cavallé, from the UPC’s Department of Computer Architecture, has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept grant to emulate wireless communication among chiplets inside a computing system.

The Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub and the FNB with Open Arms

The UPC has developed a payload for a United Arab Emirates satellite

The NanoSat Lab at the UPC has developed one of the payloads for a United Arab Emirates satellite that is being developed by the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), at the UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain, to explore new GNSS reflectometry and RF monitoring techniques for the measurement of soil moisture and ionospheric scintillation.

Two UPC nanosatellites in orbit to study polar regions and provide Earth observation images by using artificial intelligence

Two small satellites created at the UPC’s Nanosat Lab have travelled to space from Kourou, French Guiana, on 2 September (at 3.51 a.m. on 3 September Spanish time) to carry out the FSSCat mission, which received the ESA Sentinel Small Satellite (S^3) Challenge award in 2017. The main objective of the mission is to monitor polar ice and soil moisture while testing intersatellite communication systems in order to create a future network of federated satellites. The ɸ-sat-1 technology demonstrator is also on board, it is ESA’s first artificial intelligence in space and it will filter out images of the Earth that are not suitable for use because of cloud cover.

The UPC entrepreneurial ecosystem shines again at 4YFN

From 26 to 29 February, the UPC’s entrepreneurial talent once again showcased itself at Four Years From Now (4YFN). Over 40 technology-based companies driven by UPC students, graduates and researchers participated, with 16 of them presenting their entrepreneurial projects at the University’s stand. The other spin-offs and start-ups associated with the University were present at other stands or engaged in scheduled activities.

A device with mobile games and remote medical monitoring for at-home pelvic floor rehabilitation

As part of the European WOMEN-UP project, the UPC and the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (Spain), along with the Academic Medical Center (the Netherlands) and Kuopio University Hospital (Finland), will soon carry out the clinical trial of a system designed to improve pelvic floor muscle training, a recommended treatment to prevent or treat urinary incontinence. This technological solution incorporates serious games for mobile phones that are driven by muscle movement and remote medical monitoring through a web platform.

The UPC participates in a European trial of a treatment to reduce mortality of cardiogenic shock

The EURO SHOCK trial includes the main cardiovascular hospitals in nine European countries. The UPC is participating in the project with CardioSense, a device that provides an early cardiovascular diagnosis in less than 60 seconds. Over 400 patients will participate in the trial, which will begin on 1 February and continue for 34 months.

The UPC continues promoting technology-based companies by backing six new spin-offs

In the last few months, the UPC has launched and partnered with six new spin-offs, namely: Elem Biotech, Mitiga Solutions, NearbyComputing (these three with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación as a shareholder), e-Health Technical Solutions, Icaria Medical and ARD.

The UPC once again at the Mobile World Congress

Several biotechnology and 5G projects backed by the UPC, as well as a number of spin-offs from the University, were presented at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) event, which took place in Barcelona between 25 and 28 February.

The UPC co-drafts a pilot plan to improve tuberculosis control in Nigeria based on mathematical models

Researchers from the Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB) on the Baix Llobregat Campus in Castelldefels are co-drafting a pilot plan to improve the diagnosis and control of tuberculosis in the city of Gombe, north-east Nigeria. The project, lasting ten months, received funding in the latest call for grants from the UPC’s Centre for Development Cooperation (CCD).

The Vallès School of Architecture presents a construction prototype made from corn and sunflower stalks

The Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED), linked to the UPC’s Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV), participates in the cross-border project SAVASCO, which aims to develop new bio-based materials to minimise the environmental impact of construction. In this context, the ETSAV has developed a sustainable building prototype made from corn and sunflower stalks, which was presented on 6 May.

Three Unite! laboratories work to reduce the presence of microplastics in aquatic environments

The project 'Microfluidics meets water treatment methodologies to tackle microplastics' has received funding from the Unite! Seed Fund. It is led by Jasmina Casals. a researcher at the UPC’s MicroTech Lab.

3D cinema for treating lazy eye in children

A pioneering study conducted by the UPC’s Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry, the Centre for Sensors, Instruments and Systems Development, and the MútuaTerrassa University Hospital provides new data on the effect of 3D movies on visual function in amblyopia or lazy eye. The conclusions have been published in the leading scientific journal Plos One.

Engineering students from the UPC create a 3D-printed functional robotic arm

The Arm2u biomedical engineering team, from the UPC’s Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB), has designed and manufactured using 3D printing technology a customisable transradial prosthesis that responds to the user’s nerve impulses.

Two UPC NanoSat Lab missions, ready to be launched into space

Students from the UPC’s NanoSat Lab travelled to Berlin and successfully completed the final integration of the 3Cat-4 nanosatellite into the Exolaunch deployer that will bring it to space on the European launcher Ariane 6 maiden flight, scheduled for next July 9. A few weeks earlier, another team at the same laboratory completed the RITA/³Cat-6 payload, which will launch aboard the AlAinSat-1 satellite of the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) at the United Arab Emirates University.

The UPC, the best Spanish university in research and innovation according to the U-Ranking

In the latest edition of the U-Ranking the UPC appears as the top-ranked Spanish university in research and innovation. It has also taken second place among Spanish universities in teaching and in the overall classification.