In 2011, the winning alumna produced a prototype for early development centres (EDC) for UNICEF. These centres are dedicated to working with children between 0 and 6 years old and helping them as best they can to develop their physical, social and intellectual abilities.  The project was also supported by the government of Rwanda who pledged to integrate this design into 28 centres around the country, extending the service to an average of 450 girls and boys per day. 

 

Organised by Alumni&Careers at UIC Barcelona, the Alumni Awards were set up to recognise and promote personal, professional and corporate models that seek to transform society.  Under this premise, this year’s jury, which was formed of 11 representatives from different faculties at the University, agreed to award first prize to Amorós’ project due to its “creativity, innovation, sustainability and impact on society”. 

 

Two more awards were also presented, the first in recognition of one alumnus’ professional trajectory and the second in recognition of the journey made by an institution that promotes transformative projects. The first was awarded to the president of Grupo Julià, José Francisco Adell, an alumnus from INEDE (1993), the former European Institute of Law and Economics from which the University was founded. The second award was presented to the Paliaclinic Foundation and was collected by its president, Joan Carles Trallero. 

 

Psychiatrist Marian Rojas-Estapé presented the main conference of the day entitled “How to make good things happen in your professional and personal life”. The doctor discussed the concept of happiness and stressed the importance of interpreting reality in relation to our beliefs and state of mind. For Dr Rojas-Estapé, “happiness is about overcoming the past, living in the present and thinking positively about the future”, to which she added that our happiness “is dependent upon our daily emotions”. Illustrator and expert in visual thinking, Elena Urizar, also performed a live visual narrative of the conference. 

 

The event was led by former student from the Faculty of Communication Sciences at UIC Barcelona, Javier Quintano.  Director of Alumni&Careers, Inmaculada Ortega, welcomed guests to the Awards, describing the ceremony as “a source of inspiration and an opportunity to come together”, as well as being an event “brimming with talent and commitment”. The event was later closed with a speech from the Vice-Rector for the University Community, Belén Zárate, who congratulated the winners and asked the audience, which included many former students of the University, to raise their glasses in a toast to happiness.