The UPC opens the 2025–2026 academic year by invoking the power of imagination
Engineer Carla Gómez, co-founder of Theker Robotics and UPC graduate, upon delivering the inaugural lecture
On 25 September, the UPC inaugurated the new academic year on the Terrassa Campus. The event recreated the universe of Hogwarts, the school of magic from the Harry Potter saga, in the ESEIAAT lecture hall. The inaugural lecture was given by UPC graduate Carla Gómez, co-founder of Theker Robotics. The event featured political and academic representatives, faculty and students. Performances were given by pianist and mathematician Laura Farré, the choirs of Terrassa and the FME, and the UPC Orchestra.
Sep 28, 2025
The opening ceremony took place in the lecture hall of the Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT), where the Hogwarts universe was recreated.
Chaired by UPC professor and communicator Miquel Sureda, the event included the opening lecture by Carla Gómez, co-founder of Theker Robotics and a graduate from the Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE). Also taking part were The Pink Force Foundation and Laura Farré Rozada, pianist, mathematician, researcher and graduate from the School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME).
Broadcast live on YouTube, the event included speeches by the minister for Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, Núria Montserrat; the mayor of Terrassa, Jordi Ballart; the UPC rector, Francesc Torres; the chair of the Board of Trustees, Montserrat Guàrdia; and the general secretary, Neus Cónsul, who presented the 2024–2025 Annual Report. The UPC Terrassa Choir and the FME’s Ol·lari Choir also performed, accompanied by the UPC Orchestra.
The minister for Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, Núria Montserrat, stressed the value of effort, the ability to recognise talent, the spirit of teamwork and the capacity to bring out the best in people, which she said define the university. “The Catalan university system is advancing steadily. We trust in universities as drivers of progress and as social elevators,” she said. “The UPC is a driving force that exemplifies how talent can be transformed into social progress.”
The mayor of Terrassa, Jordi Ballart, emphasised that “the city and the UPC have always gone hand in hand. Terrassa is very proud to host the UPC. The city has grown, transformed and progressed alongside the University, which provides talent, prestige and innovation to society.”
In his speech, rector Francesc Torres called for renewed confidence in the power of imagination, as the first step to innovation and the most powerful tool available to us. “Imagination is the seed of all progress. It is the invisible force that has allowed humanity to create tools, discover scientific laws, raise buildings, explore space and continually rethink our world. It is not an escape from reality. It is the ability to see beyond, to open windows where there seemed to be only walls.” He added: “At the UPC we want every student to graduate convinced that knowledge is powerful, but that it only becomes transformative when it is accompanied by imagination, to expand it, and by the courage to apply it.” He continued: “Imagination and creativity, combined with solid training and the right conditions, are unstoppable when grounded in reality to deliver disruptive technological services.”
Torres also stated: “We want a university where diversity drives creativity, where equal opportunities are real and where sustainability guides every decision.”
The chair of the Board of Trustees, Montserrat Guàrdia, introduced engineer Carla Gómez, co-founder of Theker Robotics and a graduate from the UPC’s EEBE, who received the award for the best start-up at BNEW Digital Industry. This smart industrial robotics company recently closed a seed funding round worth $21 million, around €18 million. In her speech, Guàrdia called for “the need to imagine, to take initiative and to invest in human capital to enable innovation. This academic year must be one of initiating, imagining, investing and being.”
