Applications to present entrepreneurial projects at SpinUOC 2023 programme now open

If you are studying or have completed your bachelor's or master's degree final project, we can help you turn it into a reality through the university's entrepreneurship programme: SpinUOC. What's more, if you are or have been a student at the UOC, or if you are a member of the teaching staff, research staff or university administrative staff, you are also eligible. Members of the UOC community have until 22 January to submit applications for projects and entrepreneurial ideas that they are working on for the latest edition of SpinUOC.

Eight finalists of SpinUOC 2023 will be chosen from among all the candidates, and they will be presented at the final at the former Estrella Damm Brewery in Barcelona in June. Three prizes will be presented at the event: a prize for the best entrepreneurial project, awarded by a jury of experts; another prize for the project with the greatest social impact, awarded by the Ramon Molinas Foundation, and a third prize for the best presentation, which will be chosen by the audience attending the event. These cash prizes are €3,000, €2,000 and €2,000, respectively.

Regardless of their stage of development, the projects presented will have access to entrepreneurship training materials. The eight finalists will also receive personalized advice from experts.

The eight finalists will also receive a ticket to attend 4 Years From Now (4YFN) 2024, the event for start-ups which takes place as part of the Mobile World Congress. The projects may also be selected to be displayed on the UOC stand during the event.

Satisfaction at over 10 years promoting entrepreneurial projects

The SpinUOC programme, which is coordinated by the Hubbik entrepreneurship platform, has been supporting entrepreneurial ideas for over 10 years. More than 1,000 projects have signed up for the programme in that time, and 84 of them have had the opportunity to present their proposal in public at one of its final gala events.

UOC President Josep A. Planell pointed out that, over all these years, SpinUOC "has crystallized into a wealth of experiences, projects, applications, contacts and start-ups". Marking the programme's 10th anniversary, he highlighted the importance of "this decade and continuing to move forward".

The opinions of past participants in SpinUOC are a clear indication of the programme's success in terms of achieving its objectives. "We're extremely proud of this prize and SpinUOC has been an unforgettable experience," said Irene Martínez, a student on the Joint Master's Degree in Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (UOC, UB) in the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications at the UOC, and Cristina Abascal, who are the people behind GenomAbs who won last year's prize for their project's social impact.

Another participant who is pleased with the experience is Alex Escolà, a course instructor on the Master's Degree in Child and Adolescent Psychology: Intervention Techniques and Strategies in the UOC's Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences. As the person behind the AutisMIND Videos project, which won the audience prize last June, Escolà thanked SpinUOC for the opportunity. "It's been an incredible experience […] I can't ask for any more after the support I've received for a project that will help many people with autism," he said.

Finally, Carla Gomez, an engineer and student on the Master's Degree in Taxation in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the UOC, and one of the people responsible for TheKer, a project that received the prize awarded by the jury, said that "SpinUOC has been the best possible experience for sharing our project".

UOC R&I

The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) is helping overcome pressing challenges faced by global societies in the 21st century, by studying interactions between technology and human & social sciences with a specific focus on the network society, e-learning and e-health.

The UOC's research is conducted by over 500 researchers and 51 research groups distributed between the university's seven faculties, the E-learning Research programme, and two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

The University also cultivates online learning innovations at its eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC), as well as UOC community entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer via the Hubbik platform.

The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and open knowledge serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information: research.uoc.edu #UOC25years