UIC Barcelona's Alumni&Careers and the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, have organised the Entrepreneurship series of seminars 2021. The initiative will be held in the form of conferences and round tables with a view to promoting entrepreneurship at university and supporting the creation of start-ups, spin offs and innovative business ideas. 

The series aims to offer students, alumni and researchers a solid grounding in matters related to financing, legal obligations and the public resources needed to launch an entrepreneurial project. Additionally, the talks will also focus on how the pandemic has impacted existing entrepreneurial projects. 

“We want this series of seminars to be a call to all our entrepreneurial alumni, who can also inspire our current students by sharing their experiences”, said Frederic Van Dyke, director of Alumni&Careers and Corporate Development.  Òscar Carbó, director of the UIC Barcelona Knowledge Transfer and Valorisation Centre, also hopes that this series “helps spark an interest in entrepreneurship among our teaching staff”. 

The series’ opening session will take place on 23 March under the title “Entrepreneurship in times of pandemic”, and will take the form of a round table with entrepreneurs from a variety of sectors who will explain their projects and how they have benefited or been affected by the economic fallout caused by COVID-19. 

The series continues on 18 May with a seminar titled “Public resources to help get your project off the ground”. The third seminar, on “Legalities to bear in mind when launching your entrepreneurial project” is planned for 8 June. The series will resume its course after the summer holidays with another session on 28 September titled “How to finance your project with public and private funds or by fundraising”. The final seminar will take place on 16 November and will consist of a masterclass showcasing success stories to inspire future entrepreneurs.   

The series forms part of the UIC Barcelona GaudiR programme and attendance is free for the entire university community. This new programme was established in order to provide support, guidance and training in research and knowledge transfer to all teaching staff at the University. The series is co-financed by the ERDF, allocated by the European Union.