On Tuesday 23 March the inaugural session of the 2021 Entrepreneurship Cycle was held. It was jointly organised by the Department of Alumni & Careers and Corporate Development and the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at UIC Barcelona. It was entitled “Emprender en tiempo de pandemia” (Entrepreneurship during a Pandemic). Four entrepreneurs from different fields shared their experiences in starting up their business at a round table held online and explained how they had to adapt to the current crisis caused by COVID-19. 

Alejandro Catasús, co-founder of the Good News Group and a graduate of the UIC Barcelona Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations, said that “Our business idea was actually born precisely in the middle of the pandemic while meeting up with friends at the neighbourhood kiosk and realising that kiosks are iconic and should not be lost.” Mayka Sánchez, co-founder of Bloodgenetics SL and a lecturer and researcher at UIC Barcelona, said that her company “was born out of enthusiasm to diagnose minority diseases and provide solutions to people.” The session was also attended by Albert Duaigües, general manager and founding partner at RawData and a graduate of our University Executive Master’s Degree in Big Data Science, who underlined the importance of new technologies when setting up as an entrepreneur. “The first thing we provided as a company was predictions generated based on artificial intelligence,” he said. Finally, Adrián Guerrero, co-founder of EXUM and a graduate of our Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management, said “At the beginning it is very important to describe your business idea and listen to people’s different opinions, because you never know where you can find an investor.” 

The 2021 Entrepreneurship Cycle consists of a series of presentations and round tables that will be held throughout this year with the aim of boosting entrepreneurship in the university environment based on success stories. This is an event held entirely online and is free for everyone who wishes to participate. The next session will take place on 18 May and will be entitled “Public resources to help you undertake your project”.

Co-financed by: