The Research to Business (R2B) Programme has held its inaugural in-person bootcamp at StartUB!: two intensive days in Barcelona that open a 24-month journey to help applied research teams across the Mediterranean turn scientific discoveries into viable, market-ready businesses.
Fifteen applied research teams make up the R2B cohort, drawn from countries across the region. R2B is designed to strengthen research commercialization in the Mediterranean, pairing structured support with mentoring, specialist guidance, ecosystem engagement, and access to collaboration and funding opportunities.
The programme is an initiative of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), in partnership with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and aligned with the UfM R&I agenda and the 2022 UfM R&I Ministerial Declaration. It addresses regional priorities in climate change, renewable energy and health, alongside sectors such as agriculture, the green and blue economies, and deep tech, and targets countries within the Spanish Cooperation’s Masar Programme. R2B is led by Berytech, with ANIMA Investment Network and the Universitat de Barcelona as partners.
Over the two days, the teams worked through the fundamentals of turning research into business. The first day opened with a welcome session, an introduction to sustainable entrepreneurship and an intellectual property strategy workshop, and closed with an expert panel and a speed-dating session with the programme’s Steering Committee. On the second day, participants visited the Universitat de Barcelona’s historic building (Edifici Històric) before sessions on opportunity validation, sustainable business model development and team management, and ended with each team pitching its Business Model Canvas for expert feedback.
From here, the teams move into the programme’s blended phase of remote mentoring and support, working toward investor-ready pitches and new cross-Mediterranean partnerships.