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Good practice Imported

Fundació Bosch i Gimpera — University of Barcelona's 40-Year Technology Transfer Office

Spain · Barcelona · See the Spain profile · See the Barcelona profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 65% 62/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 1983, the University of Barcelona's technology-transfer foundation has run patenting, licensing and spin-off creation; in 2022 alone it managed 819 research-transfer projects worth €54m, signed 17 licences and launched 2 new spin-offs.

819
Research and transfer projects managed (2022)
53.98 € million
Value of research and transfer projects (2022)
135
Patents held for licensing (2022)
17
Licensing contracts signed (2022)
2
New spin-offs launched (2022)
729
External companies/institutions contracting research with the university (2022)
23
Companies in the university's equity portfolio
200+
Jobs created across the equity portfolio
Fundació Bosch i Gimpera — University of Barcelona's 40-Year Technology Transfer Office

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Fundació Bosch i Gimpera (Universitat de Barcelona)
Period
1983–present
Region (NUTS)
ES51
Keywords
technology transfer, university spin-offs, patent licensing, research contracting

Context

Fundació Bosch i Gimpera (FBG) has operated as the Universitat de Barcelona's technology-transfer office since 1983, one of Europe's longest-running university TTOs.

Objectives

FBG manages the university's full technology-transfer pipeline — research contracting and consultancy, patent protection and licensing, and spin-off creation — and runs the StartUB! unit to give students, staff and alumni entrepreneurship training and pre-incubation support.

Activities

In 2022 alone, the foundation managed 819 research and transfer projects worth €53.98 million, held 135 licensable patents, signed 17 licensing contracts, helped launch two new spin-offs (Virmedex Virtual Experiences and Nimble Diagnostics), and contracted research with 729 external companies and institutions.

Results

Across its full portfolio, the university holds equity in 23 companies that have together created more than 200 jobs.

Conclusions

Output is modest compared with national-network models such as France's SATT system, and FBG's public reporting does not break down impact by sector or demographic group, so equity of access to its support cannot be independently verified.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Fundació Bosch i Gimpera technology-transfer office staff, StartUB! entrepreneurship and pre-incubation unit

Conditions for success

  • 40+ years of continuous institutional operation and a self-managed funding base
  • A large patent portfolio (135 licensable patents) to draw licensing deals from
  • Sustained industry engagement (729 external companies/institutions contracting research in 2022)

Commonly funded by

Horizon Europe National / regional programmes Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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