The Hicool TecnoCampus Co-Innovation Center aims to facilitate internationalization, knowledge transfer and the generation of joint projects between the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems of both entities. 

The center offers TecnoCampus companies and startups an entry point to Beijing, with soft landing support, connections with companies, investors, institutions, universities and research centers, and opportunities to develop pilots, technological collaborations and R&D projects. At the same time, it allows projects linked to HICOOL to use TecnoCampus as a gateway to Catalonia and Europe. 

For Clàudia Danesi, Director of Transfer, Innovation and Business at TecnoCampus, "having a partner of the size and connection capacity of HICOOL represents a qualitative leap in the internationalization and connection strategy of the TecnoCampus business ecosystem with China." Danesi emphasizes that "having a partner like HICOOL is a great opportunity for TecnoCampus and for our business and entrepreneurial ecosystem, since it gives us direct access to one of the most dynamic innovation and investment environments in China and allows us to better support our companies in identifying partners, opportunities and collaboration projects. The aim is for this alliance to have continuity and generate real opportunities in both directions."

The public presentation of this new center is one of the main milestones of the business mission to Beijing organized by TecnoCampus from August 22 to 30, designed to offer participating companies a direct immersion in one of the most dynamic innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Asia. 

The delegation, made up of Optimal Way, GreenCourt, IN-MOVE/Hypervisoul, TENALACH, Linkkit, Doole Health and INDESCAT, in addition to the TecnoCampus technical team, allowed us to address opportunities in areas such as connected and autonomous mobility, artificial intelligence, digital health, sport and sport-tech, sustainability and efficient resource management, multimodal logistics, textile innovation and new industrial models. 

The mission included the participation of the Maresme delegation in the HICOOL 2026 Global Entrepreneur Summit, held from August 26 to 29 at the China International Exhibition Center in Shunyi, one of the main international innovation and entrepreneurship events in Beijing. 

In this context, Linkkit, a startup founded by Florencia Bordas and hosted in the TecnoCampus incubator, was one of the winners in the Winners category of the HICOOL Global Entrepreneurship Competition, a global competition that in the 2026 edition received 10.209 entrepreneurial projects, with the participation of 13.472 entrepreneurs from 141 countries and regions. This recognition reinforces the international projection of the startups linked to TecnoCampus and highlights the opportunities that the alliance with HICOOL opens up to connect with the entrepreneurial ecosystem with companies, investors and innovation agents of one of the most dynamic technological environments in the world.

For more than two decades, the Creatic Awards have transformed talent into solid business projects, connecting entrepreneurs with the innovative ecosystem of the territory. 

Categories and awards 2026:

• Best business initiative in technology and innovation €12.000 + 1 year of subsidized stay in the TecnoCampus incubator.
• Best business initiative led by women €6.000 + 1 year of subsidized stay.
• Best project with impact €6.000 + 1 year of subsidized stay.

If you have created your startup this 2026 or are about to take the step, this call is for you. 

Registration period open until October 1, 2026.

The awards will be presented as part of the Night of Entrepreneurship, the major annual event of the Maresme entrepreneurial ecosystem, during the month of November.

The Creatic Awards continue to be supported by leading companies and institutions in our ecosystem committed to the sustainable growth of our environment. These sponsoring companies are ESED-Cyber ​​Security & IT Solutions in the Platinum category, FYR Legal, Minoryx Therapeutics, Palobiofarma, Bytemaster, NexTret, Grup Bonanova and Banc Sabadell in the Gold category, Ambisort, Ambit Iberia, Derecho.com and Imaxel in the Silver category.

In addition to the companies that act as patrons, the initiative is supported by the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Independent Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Catalonia (AIJEC), the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the Dona't un impuls association, the Federation of Business Associations and Guilds of Maresme (FAGEM), the Mataró i Maresme New Information and Communication Technologies Business Group (GENTIC) and the PIMEC business organization collaborate.

Check the information and participation rules.

The new building will allow TecnoCampus to tackle new projects in both the undergraduate and postgraduate offering and in the business field, with new spaces for companies interested in integrating into its innovation ecosystem. 

The forecast indicates that the works could be completed by the end of 2029. The initial investment in the project was 52 million euros, and in this expansion the overall investment will be 20 million euros in the new building. It will be located on a plot of land very close to the main building, on Narcís Monturiol Street with Arenys Street, in the Iveco Pegaso sector. TecnoCampus has formalized a loan of 18 million euros with BBVA that will be complemented by the contribution made by the Generalitat.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, has announced that the 2026 budget already includes 2 million euros to promote the expansion of the TecnoCampus. “The Generalitat must commit to major projects like this,” said Romero, who pointed out that this is the first time the Government has made an investment in it. And she stressed that this expansion will allow attracting more talent, facilitating the establishment of new companies and generating more economic activity. 

In this sense, the minister pointed out that it is "essential" that TecnoCampus, "a node of a large network like Catalonia", continues to grow and contribute to making the country more competitive and innovative. 

The mayor of Mataró and president of TecnoCampus, David Bote, has remarked that the TecnoCampus project is a great asset for the city, for its promotion and for the generation of jobs and economic impact. It has been demonstrated, Bote indicated, that TecnoCampus “was not smoke”. The mayor has defended the expansion project as “a commitment to continue transforming the production model” of Mataró. “If we can consider this step forward it is because the activity and the center work”, he said. 

The general director of TecnoCampus, Josep Lluís Checa, pointed out that the future equipment will include classrooms, laboratories, research and transfer spaces, areas for professional training and parking, and responds to the needs of growth and consolidation of the project. “We are moving from a phase of consolidation of a successful project to a new cycle of growth in which we set ourselves the objective of being an actor in the new challenges that we as a society have in the areas of training and business”, he pointed out.

A total of 924 students have applied as their first choice to study at TecnoCampus, a figure higher than last year (877), in the June university pre-registration process.

The Mataró university center, affiliated with Pompeu Fabra University, consolidates once again the high demand in undergraduate studies, focused on professionalization, internationalization and entrepreneurship, with a unique model of center integrated into a technological and business park. The high demand has meant that twelve of the eighteen degrees offered at the center have a cut-off mark. 

The high demand for first preference is general across all studies, both in the fields of technology and business or health:

• Nursing (8,868).
• Physiotherapy (8,606).
• Physiotherapy and Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (8,508).
• Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (8,125).
• Business Administration and Innovation Management (7,766).
• Business Administration and Innovation Management and Marketing (7,222).
• Business Administration and Innovation Management in English (7,16).
• Industrial Engineering -Mechanics, Electronics and Industrial Organization- (7,038).
• Computer Science and Systems Management (7,01). 
• Marketing (6,602).
• Logistics (6,176). 
• Nutrition (5,248).

It is also worth noting that the newly introduced Degree in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence has 55 students assigned to first and second preferences, so it has been very well received in its first year.

The total number of students assigned to TecnoCampus in this June pre-registration process is 1.161 (assigned in first preference and following). 

Starting next week, they will begin to register, in an online process that will last throughout the month of July. TecnoCampus is making available to students a web portal where you can find out about the entire process.

Participation in this conference is part of the Llavor – Knowledge Industry program, an initiative promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya that aims to promote the valorization of research results and facilitate their transfer to the market and society.

The StrongArm project focuses on the testing and validation of a low-cost prosthesis aimed at physical and social rehabilitation. The initiative seeks to offer an accessible solution that contributes to improving the quality of life of users, putting technology at the service of inclusion and personal autonomy.

The presentation of the project in this innovation space has allowed for visibility to be given to the applied research developed at TecnoCampus and the potential of its lines of work to generate social and economic impact. 

StrongArm's participation in this edition of the Innovation Fair and Innovation Day reinforces TecnoCampus' commitment to research aimed at solving real challenges for society and to knowledge transfer as a driver of innovation.

The day brought together nearly 200 people in a community action that aimed to promote citizen awareness of a reality that is often made invisible and to strengthen the collective commitment to the good treatment and dignity of the elderly. 

The program included a popular walk open to the public and various informative, participatory and educational activities at the Espai Mataró Cuida, a leading facility in the field of care, aging and social innovation. The day became a meeting point between citizens, professionals, entities and institutions that work to promote the well-being and quality of life of older people. 

TecnoCampus had a stand to inform citizens and other participating entities about the lines of research and knowledge transfer that it promotes to contribute to healthy aging. During the day, doctoral student Diana Flaqué, from the Chair of Aging and Quality of Life, presented the SEREM project, a study aimed at women over 65 years of age residing in Mataró that aims to better understand how social relationships, feelings of loneliness, memory, attention and emotional well-being influence the aging process. 

Participation in this conference is part of TecnoCampus' commitment to knowledge transfer and collaboration with local agents to promote more inclusive, safe and friendly environments for older people. Actions like this allow research to be brought closer to citizens and highlight the role of innovation and scientific knowledge in building more cohesive communities committed to the well-being of all people.

Researchers from the GRAEFES research group at TecnoCampus and the CRES UPF research group Helena M. Hernández-Pizarro and Albert Prades-Colomé have presented the paper Too Hot to Cope? The Role of Long-Term Care Against Heatwave Health Risks within the framework of the XLV Conference on Health Economics (AES), held from June 17 to 19 at the University of Seville under the motto “Data, evidence, decisions: generating value for health management and policies". 

This congress is one of the leading scientific meetings in Spain in the field of health economics and brings together researchers, healthcare professionals, managers and public policy makers to debate the main challenges of health systems. 

The study analyzes how the environment where long-term care is provided (care for dependency) influences the risk of mortality associated with heat waves among older people with dependency needs, an issue of great relevance given the increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat episodes resulting from climate change. The research uses administrative data from more than 182.000 people over 60 years of age with level II or III dependency in Catalonia, corresponding to the period 2015-2024, combined with meteorological and environmental information. 

Using advanced econometric techniques, researchers estimate the causal effect of the type of care received—residential care or care in the home environment—on mortality during heat waves. The results indicate that, compared to home care, people in residential centers have a significantly higher increase in mortality during episodes of extreme heat and the days immediately following. The study suggests that this effect could be related to limitations in the air conditioning of the facilities, the characteristics of the buildings or certain organizational factors, such as the availability of personnel and specific training in situations of extreme heat.

Based on these results, the researchers highlight the need to incorporate adaptation to climate change into dependency care policies, reinforcing measures such as improving cooling and ventilation systems, protocols for dealing with heat waves and training professionals, both in the residential and home care sectors. 

TecnoCampus' participation in this international congress contributes to strengthening the visibility of the research carried out at the institution in the areas of health economics, aging and public policies, and highlights the generation of scientific evidence to address the effects of climate change on the health of the most vulnerable population. 

This research is also part of the industrial doctorate that Albert Prades-Colomé is developing, in collaboration with the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Generalitat de Catalunya, a project funded by the Agency for the Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR), which promotes the transfer of knowledge between the university and the public administration.

The City Council of Mataró, in its capacity as president of ACTE (Association of European Textile Collectives), has successfully concluded the institutional mission held on June 2 and 3 in Brussels, marked by the celebration of the Annual General Assembly and the Executive Committee of the entity, as well as a conference and round table dedicated to the challenges of the clean transition and the competitiveness of the European textile sector. 

The meeting served to consolidate one of the main commitments assumed by Mataró's candidacy for the presidency of ACTE a year ago: to expand the territorial representation and strengthen the presence of the association on a European scale. 

In this sense, the General Assembly has approved the incorporation of five new members from two new European countries, expanding the association's network and strengthening its presence within the European textile sector. The new accessions correspond to:

• Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences – AMFI (Netherlands).
• Open Connector Alliance (Belgium).
• Fashion Innovation Center (Sweden) . Hogent (Belgium) . 
• Eurecat (Spain). Boras Incubator (Sweden).

This growth reaffirms ACTE's role as the main European network of textile and fashion territories, consolidating its vocation of representation, cooperation and defense of the interests of a strategic sector for numerous European regions. 

Within the framework of the institutional meeting, ACTE organized the conference “The clean transition of the European textile sector: regulatory framework and competitiveness opportunities”, which brought together representatives of European institutions, industrial agents, technology centers and textile territories. 

With this initiative, Mataró strengthens its leadership within ACTE and its commitment to innovation, sustainability and the defense of the interests of European textile territories.

During the day, it was highlighted that the great challenges of artificial intelligence revolve around three axes: talent training, effective adoption by companies and its democratization, so that it is accessible to organizations of any size. 

Several speakers agreed that AI is already a cross-cutting tool that allows us to automate repetitive tasks, increase productivity and generate new opportunities for innovation. For TecnoCampus, this meeting reinforces its role as a connector between the University, business and entrepreneurship, promoting an environment where technological knowledge is transformed into real business projects. The celebration of the Pitch Battle, with innovative startups such as Sense, Niddo and Distinkt among the winners, exemplifies this commitment to fostering the creation and growth of initiatives with a technological base and market impact. The message shared by the participants was clear: AI should not replace people, but rather enhance their capabilities. E

In this context, TecnoCampus is positioned as a key agent for training the professionals who will lead this transformation and for facilitating the incorporation of artificial intelligence by companies in the region in a responsible and competitive manner. 

Read thearticle published in La Vanguardia.

The book collects different articles and reports published by the author in the Mataró digital newspaper Capgròs about events of the democratic transition, framed between the years 1973 and 1982. 

It begins with an article explaining how the death of Carrero Blanco was experienced in Mataró and concludes with the victory of the PSOE in the 1982 general elections, also from the point of view of what happened in the city. In addition, there is an unpublished chapter dedicated to the different times that the people of Mataró had the opportunity to vote during the transition. 

The publication has a prologue by Salvador Milà, who was Minister of the Environment of the Generalitat de Catalunya and Councillor for Urban Planning at Mataró City Council, and an epilogue by Manuel Mas, Mayor of Mataró between 1983 and 2004 and Member of Congress between 2004 and 2011. 

Both people, along with the Mataró journalist Vern Bueno, accompanied Miguel Guillén at the presentation event, which was attended by a hundred people.

The theory defended by Torras, coordinator of the SSIT research group, is that bone conduction devices break a one hundred and fifty year old listening paradigm where, until now, sound reception was carried out through the eardrum. 

With bone conduction, listening takes place directly in the inner ear, bypassing the tympanic membrane. This small change represents the most important change in hearing in a century and a half. 

In turn, this variation in listening modality implies less attention to the object being listened to (music, for example), more immersion in the sound environment of any listening activity, and the use of the body as a receiver. The article notes that future logical changes in the user-device relationship will focus on the disappearance of the external listening device.

The Mataró City Council and TecnoCampus have launched the “Data Forest” project, a citizen science initiative that combines open technology, environmental education and community participation with the aim of building a citizen environmental monitoring network in the city. 

This collaborative network allows students, teachers and residents to build, install and manage their own sensors to measure air quality and urban noise. “Bosc de Dades” wants to go beyond the traditional concept of smart city to move towards a city with an active and involved citizenry in the generation and interpretation of environmental data. 

The initiative uses open source sensors and accessible digital tools to transform invisible environmental data into shared knowledge and awareness-raising actions. This citizen network has several objectives: to foster scientific and technological culture, promote environmental education, generate open data on the city's environmental quality and promote participatory processes linked to sustainability and urban health. It also seeks to bring technology closer to citizens from a practical and educational perspective. This project is integrated into the international Sensor.Community network, which allows the data collected in Mataró to form part of a freely accessible world map. 

Likewise, at a pedagogical level, specific learning situations are being developed so that Mataró high schools work with real data in science and technology subjects, promoting a critical spirit.

The project has the collaboration of the Barcelona Provincial Council and the EDINT project (Data Spaces for Smart Urban Infrastructures), a FEMP project.