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

The UPC among the world’s top 25 in Architecture and the world’s top 35 in Civil and Structural Engineering according to the QS WUR by Subject

In the new edition of the QS Word University Rankings by Subject, the UPC is ranked the world’s 22nd in Architecture and Built Environment, and 35th in Civil and Structural Engineering. It is also Spain’s leader in both subjects. The ranking, which analyses indicators related to research and reputation, also features the University as the Spanish leader in the following subjects: Telecommunication, Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Computer Science and Information Systems; Statistics and Operational Research; Art and Design; and Materials Sciences.

Neutron star that behaves like a black hole discovered

An international scientific team including researcher Yuri Cavecchi, from the UPC’s Department of Physics, and led by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands has found a neutron star that captures matter from a companion star in a violent and unstable process. This process, previously observed only in very bright black holes, opens the door to new insights into the behaviour of stars. The study is published in the journal Nature.

Researcher Justin Zoppe wins an ERC Consolidator Grant to develop new chiral metamaterials

The European Research Council has awarded a Consolidator Grant to UPC researcher Justin Zoppe from the Materials Science and Engineering Department to develop new metamaterials for detecting molecular chirality. The researcher will receive funding of two million euros to conduct the study over five years.

The UPC participates in a marine regeneration project with industrial waste

The Technological Development Centre for Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI)—affiliated with the UPC’s EPSEVG —participates in the SEASLAG project, which will provide solutions to fight marine biodiversity loss by developing a new sustainable material for the construction of marine regeneration structures. This material will incorporate by-products from the steel and agri-food industries, thus contributing to circular economy.

The UPC is Spain’s top university in raising funds for European research and innovation projects

The UPC is Spain’s top university in raising Horizon Europe funds for research and innovation projects in 2021-2022, having raised 42 million euros for 66 projects already signed. It is also Spain’s third organisation, behind the Spanish National Research Council and Tecnalia.

Innovative solutions for muscle injuries, autonomous driving and beach safety at MWC 2023

The UPC, through the Innovation and Technology Centre (CIT UPC), presents its technological capabilities and cutting-edge projects at MWC Barcelona 2023, which takes place from 27 February to 2 March. Its technology will be shown at the University’s stand in the Catalonia pavilion of the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue. At the same time, the UPC will be participating in 4YFN, the innovation ecosystem’s international meeting, which features over thirty technology-based spin-offs and start-ups led by UPC students, alumni and research staff.

Barcelona will implement a UPC-designed sustainable construction system

The UPC’s Architectural Rehabilitation and Restoration (REARQ) research group and the Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) have developed a construction prototype to extend buildings sustainably that will be tested for a year before being implemented on a large scale in apartment blocks in Barcelona. The 'Regenerar Barcelona' proposal has been selected by the Barcelona City Council.

The UPC participates in 65 of the Horizon Europe projects funded so far, leading 12 of them

The UPC has successfully participated in several calls issued during the first ten months of the Horizon Europe programme. The University takes part in 65 projects—leading 12 of them—which account for almost 47 million euros in funding. Its presence is particularly important in the Digital, Industry and Space cluster and in the Climate, Energy and Mobility cluster. In Excellent Science, it has achieved four awards from the European Research Council (ERC) and nine Marie Curie projects.