The UOC will attend the MWC's 4YFN with eight start-ups and spin-offs

As in previous years, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya will be present at the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) exhibition: the Mobile World Congress's trade fair for tech start-ups. The university will participate via Hubbik, its entrepreneurial support and knowledge transfer platform.

"4YFN is a key date on the start-up calendar. As a university, our mission is to transfer the knowledge that we generate to the wider society and ensure that the results of our research and innovation have a positive social impact," said Mireia Riera, director of the UOC's Research and Innovation department, to which Hubbik is attached.

The UOC will occupy stand F2F in pavilion 2 of the Fira de Barcelona, with eight start-ups and spin-offs being represented by members of the university community.

Technology for conflict resolution at school or work

The BCN RESOL start-up offers two technological solutions for resolving conflicts that arise between people. The company has created b-resol, an application that serves to detect and manage cases of bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment and other conflicts and violence in educational and sports settings. The company has also created co-resol: an innovative ethical whistleblowing channel designed for companies and public administrations.

"We want to participate in 4YFN because it represents an unrivalled showcase for the latest developments in the start-up ecosystem, and we want to initiate contact with potential customers and lay the groundwork for future collaborations," explained Josep Fígols, CEO and co-founder of the company. The UOC invested in BCN RESOL via Invergy, the university’s investment vehicle.

A learning platform based on challenges

BeChallenge is an experience-based learning platform that helps teachers to design, guide and evaluate learning scenarios based on real challenges connected to social and business situations. Its creator, Xavi Pascual, who graduated with a Master’s Degree in Education and ICT (E-Learning) from the UOC, pointed out what an opportunity it is to be at 4YFN, with it representing a space "where you can discover how innovation moves from the ground up, and see who benefits from it."

A 3D motion capture suit

Chordata Motion develops and markets products based on open-source motion capture technology, which allows for the analysis and recording of human and non-human motion and its transfer to a 3D model. This was one of the winning projects in the 2019 edition of SpinUOC, the UOC's annual entrepreneurship programme. Flavia Laurencich, one of the heads of Chordata Motion, pointed out that their participation at the University’s stand at 4YFN represents a great opportunity, noting that "this is a key event for the technological innovation ecosystem: not only in Barcelona, but also abroad."

Open doors and monitor your home intercom system from your phone

Opening the door to your flat, garage or building without using your keys is now possible thanks to DOOD, a smart entryphone system that allows you to open the door or answer intercom calls from your phone. Helena Calva, student on the UOC's bachelor's degree programme in Digital Design and Creation, is behind this invention, which has already hit the market. Individual consumers as well as courier, logistics or holiday rental companies are just some of the target markets for this home automation product, and its creators hope to make it a success story across Europe.

Augmented and virtual reality for education, culture, health and tourism

Immersium Studio is a spin-off that has been subsidized by the UOC, creating immersive educational experiences with augmented, virtual and mixed reality for all kinds of learning areas. For example, it has recently developed a virtual reality training course for healthcare workers that focuses on the management of organ and tissue transplants and donations. 

The company returns to 4YFN because it is a "very important showcase for the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem, as well as being a meeting place for a wide range of stakeholders. We have attended numerous editions. We find the event to be highly beneficial for business, visibility, funding and networking," stated Luis Villarejo, CEO of Immersium Studio.

Technology for protecting the elderly

SeniorDomo specializes in the creation of preventive protection technology for elderly people, available 24 hours a day anywhere in the world. This start-up was one of the winners in the 2019 edition of the SpinUOC entrepreneurship programme final.

The company wants to take advantage of 4YFN to "seek alliances with new suppliers and distributors of specialist eHealth technology, because we are creating a network that will help to accelerate our growth," stated Ángel Puertas, who holds an Executive MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the UOC.

Buy the products that you see in films

Waital is an application that allows you to connect with films and TV series in a different way. This application recognizes what you are seeing, showing you the products, music and locations that appear on the screen. "We make it possible for users to buy the clothes worn by the protagonist and the furniture that appears in the scene, and allow them to book a table in the restaurant where the characters have dinner," explained José Antonio García Pamplona, student of the Executive MBA in Digital Business at the UOC.

For García Pamplona, 4YFN gives them the chance to "make ourselves known, to come into contact with possible partners and to introduce ourselves to potential investors. It is clearly a fantastic opportunity to make further progress towards our goals and to make Waital a successful start-up." His project was one of the winners in the 2020 edition of SpinUOC.

Virtual e-commerce assistants

Xatkit is a platform for creating chatbots, voice bots and virtual e-commerce assistants. This project is being coordinated by Jordi Cabot, research professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and leader of the Systems, Software and Models (SOM Research Lab) group of the UOC’s Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3).

For the creators of Xatkit, 4YFN is the perfect event for presenting their new e-commerce digital assistant, which is based on artificial intelligence. "We want to collaborate with companies who have an online store or who wish to create one as a key element of their digital transformation strategy," stated Cabot.

Xatkit has won the panel award in the 2021 edition of SpinUOC, the UOC's annual program to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and knowledge transfer.

Parallel session with the UOC at 4YFN

From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., on Tuesday 29 June, Jordi Cabot will present XatKit at the Barcelona Deep Tech Startup Demoday, a session to “discover the most promising deep tech start-ups of Barcelona”.

From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday 1 July, you will be able to watch a brief presentation of the following projects by members of their teams at the event’s pitch sessions: BCN RESOL, BeChallenge, Chordata Motion, Immersium Studio and Waital.