In Residence

En Residència, a Program University-Society

Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) regards its relationship with society as a key part of its mission: to contribute knowledge and innovation for social, cultural, and economic progress.

This commitment takes shape through projects and initiatives that foster collaboration, dialogue, and knowledge exchange between the university community and its surrounding environment.

Within this framework emerges En Residència, an incubation programme on the Poblenou campus that puts this vision of university–society connection into practice. The programme offers students, alumni, and members of the UPF community the opportunity to develop their own transformative projects —social, cultural, or economic— with the university’s support and resources.

Through this initiative, UPF builds direct links with organisations, institutions, and external professionals, promoting two-way knowledge transfer and the creation of real solutions to the challenges of today’s society.

“En Residència” program: incubating ideas with real impact

En Residència is an incubation space that hosts projects in applied research, entrepreneurship, or social and cultural innovation with transformative potential. The programme supports the development of these initiatives to create prototypes, services, projects, or enterprises that have a real impact on their environment.

Proposals may come from any of the university’s three main areas of knowledge:

• Social sciences and humanities (Law, Economics, Communication, Humanities)
• Health and life sciences (Biology, Medicine, Public Health)
• Engineering (Computer Science, Telecommunications, etc.)

Through this programme, UPF provides spaces, mentoring, and resources to turn ideas into tangible solutions that deliver value to society.

Who is it for?

The program is designed for individuals or groups who have, or have had, a connection with UPF, including:

• Alumni (undergraduate, postgraduate, master’s, doctoral)
• Current students
• Academic and research staff

Services Offered

During the residency —which lasts one academic year, extendable for an additional year— UPF provides key tools and resources to support project development in collaboration with the university community:

• Workspace: access to a shared coworking space, promoting dialogue and collaboration among resident projects.
• Support and training: mentoring, tutoring, and specialized training tailored to each project’s needs.
• Access to facilities: use of classrooms, laboratories, and technical spaces on campus, as well as full access to Library services (loans, databases, online publications, audiovisual material).
• Visibility and advice: guidance on communication and visibility, and access to UPF’s institutional channels to promote each initiative.
• Collaboration: fostering dialogue and cooperation with all university bodies to enrich and grow the projects.

See the call for applications
Application form
How to submit the application