On 29 March, a new edition of Entrepreneurship Day (E-Day) was held, which is the contest that rewards the best business projects at UIC Barcelona, and that drives and brings entrepreneurship to the whole university community. Promoted by the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences under the guidance of lecturer Juanjo Marín, this year’s E-Day was attended by students from the Faculties of Economic and Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Dentistry, and from the bachelor’s degree programmes in Biomedicine, Bioengineering and Psychology.

The attendees were able learn first-hand about the business journey, the mission and the values from the company founders of Nude Project, Simplr and the IncUIC Startup Incubator created by UIC Barcelona students Luis Botella, Diego Gómez and Borja Millán.

Borja Millán, Biomedicine student at UIC Barcelona and one of the founders of the startup incubator, explained how the IncUIC project seeks to transform the ideas conceived at the University itself, such as bachelor’s degree final projects or projects presented at E-Day, into consolidated startup companies. “This is the way we want to promote the entrepreneurial culture within the University. Students receive professional mentoring adapted to each project from UIC Barcelona teachers,” Millán explained.

Next, Àngel Bou explained how his Simplr platform seeks to solve the problems generated by the economy and linear production, placing circular economy at the heart of the company. He also stressed the importance of choosing the right team in the entrepreneurial process, a team in line with the same values, and its effects, for example, in funding rounds.

Finally, Bruno Casanovas, co-founder of Nude Project, shared the importance of purpose and how it determines the company’s future path. From his personal experience, he emphasised how the University changed him. “The University not only transformed me professionally, but also personally. I met my partner, Álex Benlloch, and the first person we hired at Nude Project at the University. That is why the contacts that a person makes in the university are very important; they are a source of extraordinary networking,” Casanovas said.

The event ended with a closing speech by the rector of UIC Barcelona, Alfonso Méndiz, who valued the second edition of the Entrepreneurship Day celebration very positively.

The contest had 140 participants, with the Vitalung group (Ivon Sánchez, Ainhoa Agustin, Antía Villar, Cristina Zamorano and Domenica Arlet) as winner of the for-profit category, and the Edu-K-T group (Aina Redondo, Anna Góngora, Iria Andrea Herraez, Abril Ramírez and Carol Teixidó) as a winner of the non-profit category.