The UAB participates in the 4th Conference of Catalan University Technology Transfer Offices

On 2 July, the UAB participated in the 4th Conference of Catalan University Technology Transfer Offices, which was held at the UPC’s ETSEIB. The event brought together over 150 professionals from Catalan universities, as well as institutional representatives and innovation experts, with the aim of analysing the role of knowledge transfer in driving competitiveness, social progress and regional development.

Organised jointly by the UPC and Catalan universities, and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for Catalonia for the period 2021–2027, the conference built upon last year's event at the UAB.

During the event, key figures on the activities of the Catalan university system in the field of knowledge transfer were presented. In 2025, Catalan universities generated €522.68 million in revenue from R&D&I activities, €85.56 million of which came from contracts and agreements with companies and organisations. These activities also resulted in the establishment of 17 new spin-off companies, the signing of 42 licence agreements, and the filing of 96 priority patent applications.

The data presented at the conference emphasised Catalonia’s leading role in establishing technology-based companies, with one in three university spin-offs in Spain originating from Catalan universities. However, outstanding challenges were also identified, such as increasing investment in R&D&I, strengthening seed capital instruments, and accelerating the transfer of research results to the market and society.

Teresa Riesgo, the Secretary-General for Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, attended the event. She emphasised the strength of the Spanish scientific system, which is ranked eleventh in the world for scientific publications, but also noted that progress must be made towards a model that has a greater real impact on society. She also emphasised the ambition of Catalan institutions to improve technology transfer indicators and recalled that the Ministry has increased R&D spending by 60 per cent since 2018. Riesgo highlighted the role of instruments such as INNVIERTE, promoted by the CDTI, in helping science-based start-ups founded with public funding to raise capital.

Victoria Hernández, a member of the Governing Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC), gave a lecture offering a strategic vision of the future of European innovation. She highlighted Europe’s scientific potential, noting that it generates between 20 and 30 per cent of global scientific output despite accounting for only five per cent of the world’s population. However, she also warned that the continent continues to export too much intellectual property, which is then capitalised on by other regions of the world. According to Hernández, the challenge lies in better connecting science, capital, industry, regulation and demand. In this context, she believes that technology transfer offices must evolve to become instruments of technological sovereignty.

The event also featured various panel discussions on new urban experimentation environments, such as sandboxes and living labs, as well as on the security of research relating to dual-use goods. The presentations as a whole highlighted that technology transfer offices are playing an increasingly strategic role in bridging the gap between universities and industry, as well as in strengthening European technological sovereignty and ensuring responsible knowledge management.