The Social and Business Forum of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) held a thematic breakfast on November 13th dedicated to the role of Industrial Doctorates in the transfer of knowledge between the academic environment and the socioeconomic fabric of Catalonia. The event, part of the series of breakfasts promoted by the UPF Social Council, took place in the multipurpose room of the Mercè Rodoreda building on the Ciutadella campus, and was attended by a prominent representation of experts from the university and business world.
The event was hosted by journalist Aurora Masip and brought together witnesses with experience in the program such as Helena Ramalhinho , Vice-Rector for Internationalization at UPF; Marc Serra , leader of Machine Learning at Adevinta Spain and tutor of industrial PhD students in engineering; Lluís Torrens , former director of Social Innovation at Barcelona City Council; and Ramon Balcells , industrial PhD student in an applied research project at the Fundació Joan Miró and UPF. The session opened with an intervention by Montserrat Vendrell , president of the UPF Social Council, who stressed the importance of Industrial Doctorates as a tool to consolidate the knowledge transfer bridge between academia and the research ecosystem of Catalonia and the socioeconomic sector.
Testimonials on the impact of Industrial Doctorates
The speakers shared experiences and reflections on the benefits of Industrial Doctorates, both in academia and in the business sector. Helena Ramalhinho highlighted the value of these doctorates for students and for society, stating that industrial doctorates “ have the opportunity to see how reality works and to directly help society ”. Ramalhinho stressed that the academic quality is comparable to that of traditional doctorates, with an equivalent level of demand.
Marc Serra, leader of the Machine Learning area at Adevinta Spain and tutor of two Industrial Doctorate projects, has explained how these projects are helping to solve essential challenges in artificial intelligence and digital rights regulation. In the first project, focused on Natural Language Processing (NLP) , a multilingual system is being developed to improve the classification and search of job offers and candidates in InfoJobs, which has a positive impact on linguistic inclusion and improves the user experience. The second project, in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center , analyzes the ethical and legal implications of high-risk artificial intelligence to ensure the protection of fundamental rights in the face of new European regulations. Serra has highlighted that these researches not only generate innovative knowledge, but also offer direct added value to Adevinta and the users of its platforms.
For his part, Ramon Balcells spoke about his Industrial Doctorate project with the Fundació Joan Miró, in which he is working on an audiovisual device that will document the Foundation's exhibition history on its 50th anniversary. Balcells described the project as a "transformative" experience, which combines history and experimental cinema to explore the cultural impact of the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona.
In her closing speech, the UPF rector, Laia de Nadal Clanchet , highlighted the Industrial Doctorates as one of the university's most valuable initiatives in the field of knowledge transfer. According to Nadal Clanchet, these doctoral students are "one of our apple of the eye", as they represent a way of seeking real solutions to specific problems and increasing the competitiveness of the territory. With 68 Industrial Doctorate projects active at UPF, out of 1,036 existing in Catalonia, the university reaffirms its commitment to collaboration with the business and institutional sector to promote research and innovation.
This thematic breakfast has highlighted the essential role of Industrial Doctorates in the applied research landscape in Catalonia, facilitating the connection between the university and the socio-economic sector. With initiatives like these, UPF consolidates its commitment to excellence and social impact, offering a unique platform for innovation and the creation of alliances with the aim of building a competitive and sustainable future for society.
