The first session, entitled “Make your project stand out”, took place on 21 October on the Sant Cugat Campus. It was led by José Antonio González, a partner at Deloitte, business angel, mentor and UIC graduate, together with Aitor Corpas from Deloitte StartmeUp, Deloitte’s initiative for supporting the startup ecosystem. The two speakers drew on their extensive experience in entrepreneurship to provide practical tools and a broad overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as tips on how to develop projects at different stages.

During the session, the experts stressed the importance of aligning innovation with real market demands. “The question is not whether what I have developed is a good idea, but who it is a good idea for,” argued José Antonio González, highlighting the importance of identifying the problem to be solved and understanding the needs of potential customers before proposing a solution.

The session marked the start of preparations for UIC’s participation in 4YFN 2027 (Four Years From Now), the entrepreneurship event held as part of the Mobile World Congress. The speakers from Deloitte, whose company is an active participant in the event, discussed the opportunities the fair offers to raise the profile of entrepreneurial projects and build new connections. In this regard, they emphasised the importance of tailoring each project’s pitch to different audiences in order to make the most of these opportunities.

The session also explored some of the challenges of entrepreneurship, from validating an idea to developing it into a business venture, and concluded with a networking session for participants.

A second session focused on social entrepreneurship

The next session in the series will take place on 25 November on the Barcelona Campus and will focus on “How to make social and cultural impact initiatives sustainable and bring them to market”. Registration will open soon! Information here.

The Innovation Series will continue throughout the academic year, with new sessions on both the Barcelona and Sant Cugat campuses. Topics will include common entrepreneurial mistakes, entrepreneurship with impact, knowledge transfer in health sciences and the social sciences and humanities, financial planning, protecting research results and funding for knowledge transfer projects.

Through this initiative, the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer reaffirms its commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation at UIC by providing opportunities for training, knowledge exchange and networking with professionals and key players in the business ecosystem. The aim is to help turn the knowledge generated at the University into projects that have a positive impact on society.

The activity is organised by the Knowledge Transfer and Research Valorisation Centre (CTC-VR), part of the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, with support from the Department of Research and Universities.