Call for applications now open for the 2026 UB Social Council and Bosch i Gimpera Foundation Awards
The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation and the Social Council of the University of Barcelona (UB) have once again launched the Antoni Caparrós and Senén Vilaró awards, each endowed with €5,000. The Antoni Caparrós Award recognises the best knowledge, technology and innovation transfer project, while the Senén Vilaró Award recognises the best innovative company.
The deadline for submitting applications is midnight on 20 July 2026. For more information, please click on the following link.
The jury’s decision, made up of representatives from the organising institutions, will be announced during the awards ceremony, which will take place at the end of 2026.
Antoni Caparrós Award for the best knowledge, technology and innovation transfer project
Projects eligible for this category include knowledge, technology and innovation transfer initiatives developed by UB researchers in collaboration with a company or institution and managed by the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation.
A knowledge, technology and innovation transfer project is understood as one in which technology or knowledge generated at the University of Barcelona has been transferred to a company or institution for its use.
Senén Vilaró Award for the best innovative company
This category is aimed at innovative companies promoted by UB researchers, companies based on research results generated at UB, and companies advised by the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation and/or involving participation from the University of Barcelona. Eligible companies must have been operating for at least two years.
More than forty award recipients since 2008
In the latest edition, the Antoni Caparrós Award was presented to Dr Noemí Pereda, Full Professor at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Barcelona, for the first nationwide study analysing experiences of victimisation and violence among adolescents in Spain.
The Antoni Caparrós Award was also granted to Dr Mario Montes, professor at the Faculty of Physics, for the project that developed a programmable fluorescence microscopy system based on acousto-optic devices capable of controlling lasers with great precision and speed, enabling the generation of complex illumination patterns in real time and improving super-resolution SIM microscopy.
The Senén Vilaró Award for the best innovative company was granted to the UB spin-off Nimble Diagnostics for developing a non-invasive and non-ionising medical device for monitoring patients with implanted stents.
Since 2008, the Social Council and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation have granted more than forty awards recognising efforts to promote knowledge transfer and research-based entrepreneurship. These awards aim to highlight the social and economic impact of innovation generated at the University of Barcelona and to recognise the efforts of its researchers to bring research results closer to society.