Many universities around the world have developed incubator and accelerator programmes to
improve technology transfer within the university as well as enhance the university’s educational
portfolio. Although several alternatives boost innovation in the UPC, none offers the full package
of technology transfer combined with an improvement in the educational portfolio.
This work attempts to design a programme that can cover this opportunity and from which the
ETSEIB can profit. The ETSEIB is one of the biggest sources of talent in Barcelona; an
accelerator programme could complement the ETSEIB’s portfolio of educational services. In
addition, the designed programme should help teachers with their interests and fears, as well as
offer them a complementary service.
This work proposes a possible design of an accelerator programme for the ETSEIB. The
programme design includes a proposal of a programme structure, a budget, and an
implementation plan. This project should cater to two sets of possible users. The first are students
and teachers who wish to launch startups, and who need training and mentorship. The second
group comprises researchers with a product that could fuel a business, but these researchers do
not wish to undertake such a project. This group needs a way to improve the technology transfer
in the school and to earn profits on these projects without leaving the university.
To prepare this proposal for the programme and ensure that it is feasible and sustainable, the
design follows the business model canvas framework. Preparing this proposal and deciding on
the position of everything in the framework was made possible by linking the theory, the insights
from professionals, and the analysis of the environment.
The theory has been analysed by conducting research on academic papers, books, and
information from other sources. This review sought to understand the concept of incubator and
accelerator programmes as well as the theory behind them.
Seven interviews were conducted with industry professionals associated with various types of
programmes. The variety of opinions and experience has allowed this work to explore the
divergences with the theory and recognize the real opportunities in this sector.
Understanding the environment where this programme would be implemented was just as
important. This paper includes an analysis of the characteristics of the innovation environment of
Barcelona and the UPC. It also includes the analysis of responses to a survey questionnaire that
was distributed among a large percentage of ETSEIB teachers. The survey provides first-hand
knowledge about the opinions of one of the major stakeholders of this programme.
