UPC's Barcelona School of Civil Engineering inaugurates the 2025-2026 academic year with the creation of a Business and Social Commitment Council to connect talent, knowledge and society.
Barcelona School of Civil Engineering at Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya (UPC) has held the inauguration ceremony for the 2025-2026 academic year, a day that marked the beginning of its new strategic project "Camins Connected". The event served as a framework for the official presentation of the School's new Business and Social Commitment Council, a key body formed by industry leaders, institutions and social entities that was created with the aim of strengthening the bridges between university education, cutting-edge research and the socio-economic field.
The event, held in the José Antonio Torroja Assembly Hall of the School, was presided over by the director, Esther Real, and included the closure of the general secretary of the UPC, Neus Cònsul. During her welcome, the director emphasized that this was not just the beginning of the academic year:
"Today we are making a strategic step forward with an initiative that wants to transform the way we relate to our environment. This Council was born with a very clear vocation: to connect talent, knowledge and society, and with the ambition to turn values such as social commitment, ethics and sustainability into concrete, measurable and transformative actions".
The central act of the day were two round tables in which the members of the new Council discussed the future of civil and environmental engineering and the challenges of university-company collaboration.
The first table, “Vision and Alliances for an Open School in Society”, moderated by director Esther Real, explored the role of the Council as a strategic bridge and involved José Alberto Carbonell, president of Puerto de Barcelona; Pere Calvet, dean of the Coll·legi d’Engineers of Roads, Canals and Ports; and Toni Aira, journalist and PhD in communication. The debate has focused on how to align training with the country's major projects, guarantee that future professionals respond to the real needs of the market and effectively communicate to society the importance of engineering to face global challenges.
The second table, “From the Council to Action: Strategic Objectives and Key Functions”, moderated by Ángel Simon, who will chair the new Council, directed the vision to concrete lines of action. With the participation of Imma Estrada, doctor of engineering in the energy sector; Franc Cortada, director general of Oxfam Intermón; and Teresa Diviu, financial consultant, the Council's priority functions have been addressed. The speakers highlighted the need to guide training towards the energy transition, guarantee that the projects have a positive and tangible social impact, and define a clear and sustainable strategy for the actions that are promoted.
At the end of the academic event, the new Camins Connected room was inaugurated, a multipurpose space designed to be a meeting point and collaboration between students, professors and professionals in the sector, thus materializing the vision of creating an ecosystem of open innovation.
With the creation of this Council and the launch of the "Camins Connected" initiative, Barcelona School of Civil Engineering reaffirms its commitment not only to academic excellence, but also to its responsibility as an engine of change and progress for the society.
About Barcelona School of Civil Engineering:
Barcelona School of Civil Engineering is a teaching center of the Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) reknown internationally in the fields of civil engineering, environmental engineering and sustainability. Since its foundation, it has trained thousands of professionals who have led the design, construction and management of infrastructures and essential services for the development of society.
Access the photographs of the Opening Ceremony of the 2025-2026 academic year