The University of Barcelona awards more than €120,000 to research projects with high transfer potential
The University of Barcelona (UB), through the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), the University’s knowledge transfer office, has awarded €122,500 to research projects with high transfer potential as part of the tenth edition of the Innovation Promotion Fund (F2I) 2025 call. These grants aim to support UB technologies and bring them closer to market requirements.
According to the UB Vice-Rector for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, Dr Mercè Segarra, “the F2I programme is a key tool to help researchers bridge the gap between research and knowledge transfer, bringing innovative technologies closer to real societal challenges”. Segarra also highlights that “these grants make it possible to validate high-potential technologies and strengthen the innovation ecosystem of the University of Barcelona”.
The F2I programme includes two funding schemes: on the one hand, the Proof of Concept (PoC) grant, aimed at advancing UB projects with high transfer potential; and on the other, the Mentor in Residence (MiR) grant, designed to complement teams with an external advisor specialised in business-related aspects.
Proof of Concept – Advancing UB technologies
The Proof of Concept call, with a budget of €100,000, aims to help projects advance the maturation of selected technologies in order to bring them closer to market requirements and enable their transfer through licensing to an existing company or through the creation of a new spin-off.
Four projects have been selected in this call, each receiving €25,000. The selected projects are:
· “Mechanical activation of secondary clay resources for their use in the construction sector”, led by Dr Josep Maria Chimenos Ribera, Faculty of Chemistry.
· “Non-peptidic VHL inhibitors: From hit to lead”, led by Dr Jordi Juárez Jiménez, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
· “First-in-class RTP801 inhibitors for neurodegenerative diseases”, led by Dr Cristina Malagelada Grau, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
· “Multimodal Nanotracer for Expanding Real-Time Navigation in Cancer Surgery”, led by Dr Ana Belén Caballero Hernández, Faculty of Chemistry.
The Proof of Concept grants are aimed at UB researchers leading transfer projects in which the University owns or co-owns both the background knowledge and technology, as well as the results for which funding is requested. A total of 17 research projects generated at the University of Barcelona were submitted to the 2025 Proof of Concept call.
Since 2016, the Innovation Promotion Fund programme has enabled the licensing of eleven technologies, supported the creation of eleven spin-offs —AIGecko Technologies, Bluephage, ColorSensing, Dapcom Data Services, Electraqua Tech, Flavii Therapeutics, Mind & Identity, Neurekalab, Oniria Therapeutics, Organaid Holdings and Synpix—, and contributed to raising more than €7.8 million in equity investment.
Mentor in Residence – Supporting and promoting spin-off creation
The MiR call, with a budget of €22,500, offers entrepreneurial teams the support of a specialised mentor to guide them through the different stages of project definition and fundraising, with the aim of fostering the creation of stronger UB spin-offs from the outset.
It is aimed at UB researchers leading transfer projects focused on the creation of a company in which the University owns or co-owns the knowledge on which the new business will be based.
The selected MiR projects are:
· “Real-time tracking of apoptosis for functional cancer precision medicine”, led by Dr Joan Montero Boronat, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
· “Digital transcription tool for teaching”, led by Dr Mireia Farrús Cabeceran, Faculty of Philology and Communication.
· “Microbial-based solutions for enhancing crop resilience: biostimulants and biopesticides”, led by Dr Rubén Alcázar Hernández, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
· “Lumina: light-activated drugs for cancer therapy”, led by Dr Vicente Marchán Sancho, Faculty of Chemistry.
· “Celiacase: a novel gluten-degrading enzyme for coeliac disease”, led by Dr Francisco J. Pérez Cano, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
This activity is part of the project “Implementation programme of the UB–FBG Knowledge Transfer Plan (2025–2028), IMPACTE UB-FBG” (operation code UR68-8121), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union, with the support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Government of Catalonia, within the framework of the Catalonia ERDF Programme 2021–2027.