Last May 7th marked the celebration of the 10th edition of Innovation Day (i-Day), a day that brings together members of the university community in teams to propose solutions to challenges posed by various entities and companies.
On this occasion, the challenges were proposed by three outstanding UB chairs:
- Danone Chair: How to educate the population about the importance of probiotics and the microbiota for health?
- Chair of the Official College of Nurses and Nurses of Barcelona (COIB): How to improve the social recognition of nurses?
- Telefónica Chair: How to respond to some of the challenges posed in SDG11 in the City of Barcelona, with a holistic vision that includes technology, culture, organization, processes and financing?
Throughout the day, 105 students from different disciplines from the University of Barcelona were organized into 27 teams to address the understanding of the problem and the affected user, the generation and selection of ideas, the prototyping and the preparation of the presentation. The teams were accompanied at all times by facilitators and experts in the methodology and subject matter.
A jury made up of members of the Catalan entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem selected the winning proposal for each challenge, each of which received a prize of 500 euros.
The winning teams presented creative and innovative solutions. The team that tackled Danone’s challenge (Kevin Veliz, Héctor Bordas, Diego Lasierra, Cecília Rosés and Judith Cardona) proposed an application that facilitates the visualization, instruction and monitoring of the microbiota through a playful and accessible approach. The winning group of the COIB challenge (with Pere Prujà, Rohit Nautiyal and Daniel Pérez) presented an immersive video game that offers an experience of a day in the life of a nurse. Finally, the team that faced Telefónica’s challenge (with Claudia Gómez-Pastrana, Montse Reguant, Eliana Lodi, Eider del Hoyo and Laura Rodríguez) presented a proposal for biological paint that absorbs pollution, improving Barcelona’s air quality.
The UB Innovation Day provides students with a valuable opportunity to work as a team and apply their skills in the search for effective solutions to contemporary problems.
