Back Three UPF research groups renew their TECNIO accreditation

Three UPF research groups renew their TECNIO accreditation

This seal, awarded by the Generalitat (Government) of Catalonia through ACCIÓ, identifies groups and centres that stand out for the transfer of technology and knowledge in Catalonia.

23.11.2020

Imatge inicial

Three UPF research groups have obtained TECNIO accreditation for the period 2020-2023 at the latest call recently resolved. This seal, awarded by the Generalitat (Government) of Catalonia through ACCIÓ, serves to identify and give visibility to high-capacity scientific and technical centres considered as developing differentiating technologies and as being leaders in transferring their knowledge and technologies to industry.

The accredited UPF groups are the Barcelona Centre for New Medical Technologies (BCN MedTech) and the Music Technology Group (MTG), which belong to the Department of Information and Communication Technologies, and the BAAP (BioAnalysis, Proteomics and Pharmacology), a joint UPF - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) centre which belongs to the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences. All three have renewed their accreditation, which they had already been awarded at previous calls.

The requirements for being awarded the TECNIO seal take into account excellence in research and technology, business and management aspects, such as the use of an internal quality management system, and commercial elements, related to the tasks of promoting the skills and technology of the groups.

The accredited groups

BCN MedTech is UPF’s centre for new medical technologies. It is dedicated to research in biomedical engineering from an integrative perspective that includes mathematical and computational models, algorithms and computer-assisted diagnosis and treatment systems, as well as their application to clinical problems and the creation of important industrial products. Its team of researchers is working in the processing of medical images and signals, computer simulation, computer-assisted surgery and biomedical electronics.

Recerca del grup MTGThe MTG conducts research and development in sound and music technologies. Its projects are applicable to various areas: it develops technologies that enhance the enjoyment of listening to music in the digital field such as music recommendation and classification tools; it also works with technologies applied to artistic creation, supporting musicians in their practice; and finally, it creates tools for education that promote learning music.

The BAPP is a multidisciplinary centre specializing in research and services in four sectors: pharmacology, neurosciences, peptide chemistry and bioanalysis. Its activity focuses primarily on developing new drugs for human and veterinary use. The BAPP comprises the FINS research group (Integrative pharmacology and systems neuroscience) at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), on one hand, and the UPF Proteomics and Protein Chemistry research group, on the other.

“Transfer; the way of the future”

The three groups consider that being granted accreditation again is most positive: “It is acknowledgement of our work in innovation and technology transfer”, highlights the ICREA researcher and director of the BCN MedTech, Miguel Ángel González Ballester. According to Josep Rodríguez-Morató, promoter of the BAPP, TECNIO is “a seal of quality and prestige” that is useful in relations with companies that wish to collaborate in R&D projects.

Meanwhile, Sonia Espí, promoter of the MTG, adds that another "useful advantage” is the possibility that accredited centres have of applying to calls for grants to innovation, such as Tecniospring INDUSTRY or Innotec, in collaboration with Catalan companies.

The three groups’ work clearly focuses on collaboration with industry. “It is very important that what we do should have an application”, says Rodríguez-Morató, adding that “transfer is a path which the research of the future must follow” given its innovation potential and the funding opportunities it brings.

Espí highlights another advantage of this joint work with the productive sector: “the connection with the world of industry generates feedback to research, because we transfer our technologies to them and they contribute their market knowledge, and this leads to mutual benefit”.

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