From the 10 years of the CBI programme: nearly 70 innovative solutions from students at the UPC, Esade and the IED Barcelona to address social challenges with the help of CERN.[...]

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Over the past 10 years, more than 400 students from over 20 nationalities have embarked on a journey of innovation and creativity through the Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) programme, driven by IdeaSquare and the Department of Innovation at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), under the auspices of the European project ATTRACT Academy in recent editions.

The CBI experience has brought together interdisciplinary teams of students from the UPC (Telecommunications, Electronics and Informatics Engineering), Esade (Full-Time MBA) and the IED Barcelona (Product Design and Interaction) to address society's challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with IdeaSquare, CERN's innovation space, and its scientists and researchers. Students have developed and presented projects for the purpose of learning through the application of innovative technology to solve specific challenges.

Fighting pollution and climate change, responding to overall health needs or those arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, improving the sustainable development of cities in particular and the planet in general are examples of the recent challenges posed as part of the CBI initiative, which has also addressed emergency aid systems, human interaction with the environment and the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI).

Three discussion panels featuring participants and companies

Students and faculty will discuss this learning experience in a series of debates, starting at 5.30 p.m.

The first panel will feature Ramón Bragos, Manuela Procopio and Nanita Ferrone, academic coordinators of the programme from the UPC, Esade and the IED Barcelona respectively, along with Klaus Castrén representing the ATTRACT Academy (Aalto University) and Ole Werner from IdeaSquare at CERN.

The second panel will feature representatives of organisations and companies linked to innovation, technology and creativity: Margarida López, head of Innovation at TMB; Albert Soret, head of Earth System Services at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); Manel Peiró, director of the former master's degree in Hospital Management (Esade); and Ruben Bonet, co-founder, president and CEO of Fractus, the sponsor of the ceremony and the first deep tech spin-off emerging from the UPC, which is dedicated to creating disruptive antenna technologies based on fractal antennas.

The third panel will feature graduates from the three participating academic institutions, who will discuss their experiences as students. In the case of the UPC, the panellists will be graduates from the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB) and the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB).

● Roser Batlle (CBI, 2019 edition). Graduate of the bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Technologies and Services Engineering (ETSETB-UPC).

● Diego Pacheco (CBI, 2017 edition). Graduate of the bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile) and MBA from Esade. He is now European Sales director at the food technology start-up Novameat.

● Ola Rajska (CBI, 2022 edition). Graduate of the bachelor's degree in Interior Design from the University of South Wales and the master's degree in Design Management at the IED Barcelona. She is creative director at Iventions Event Architects.

● Marçal Garcia (CBI4IA, 2023 edition). Graduate of the bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Technologies and Services Engineering, majoring in Audiovisual Systems (ETSETB-UPC), and the master's degree in Data Science (FIB-UPC). He participated in the AI-specific CBI (CBI4AI, 2023 edition). He is an assistant professor of training programmes at Fusion Point, a meeting point for academic institutions to promote applied research and problem solving, as is the case with CBI.

Showcasing disruptive prototypes

The event will also showcase a few projects emerging from the CBI programme. Some will be featured in the summary video at the beginning of the ceremony, such as INDE and MAT, developed by the teams Ampère and Team Faraday (CBI, 2015 edition) respectively. The first is a flexible skirt with airbags to prevent injuries from falls, especially among elderly women, and the latter is a food sensor to identify fruit type and condition and to determine its optimal stage for distribution and consumption.

Other teams will exhibit experimental prototypes at the end of the event.

• A device for diagnosing mesothelioma-lung cancer induced by inhalation of asbestos fibres-by the Manabe team (CBI, 2022 edition). Conceived for shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh, the solution combines diagnosis based on hyperspectral analysis of pleural fluid, using ATTRACT's disruptive technology, with an awareness programme among workers. The result is a portable station that analyses samples using AI to obtain a conclusive result.
• A portable system for monitoring cancer evolution, by the Curie team (CBI, 2022 edition). LUMO is a solution to make cancer treatment monitoring more accessible in rural areas. Using a small, low-cost gamma camera along with a transport service for radiotracers, the team proposes an imaging system to monitor tumour progression using a manually-driven probe, similar to an ultrasound imaging system, and to conduct cancer monitoring tests without having to travel to a hospital.
• Tumor DeTech to improve cancer research, by the Yallah team (CBI4AI, 2023 edition). This system offers laboratories worldwide the ability to track tumour growth in a standardised way. It facilitates data exchange to build a code algorithm for predicting tumour growth, using POSICS-2 and Random Power systems, and processing information among research teams. This tool can replace the need for animal testing in cancer research.
• A comprehensive solution to the mould problem, by the Midas team (CBI 2023). GuardianAir is a proposal to address the widespread problem of mould in UK homes. It brings together two cutting-edge solutions: first, a sensor that detects environmental conditions favourable to mould growth, and second, a handheld device that detects it inside walls and classifies it, providing real-time data to support action and ensure healthier work and home environments.

Another seed of the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Some of these projects have been the seed of business initiatives or have sparked the entrepreneurial spirit of participants. In the same vein, a year and a half ago Fractus and the UPC promoted the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, an ecosystem dedicated to fostering innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship by promoting the transfer to market and society of the most transformative technologies, working closely with the Emprèn programme and the University's schools to support entrepreneurial talent.