La startup santcugatenca representarà la ciutat a la trobada de la Red Innpulso, que reunirà els dies 29 i 30 de setembre a Terrassa ciutats i projectes empresarials innovadors d’arreu de l’Estat.

Sant Cugat del Vallès participarà els propers 29 i 30 de setembre a Terrassa en la novena edició d’Innpulso Emprende, Encuentro de Alcaldes y Alcaldesas con la Innovación, una iniciativa de la Red de Ciudades de la Ciencia y la Innovación – Red Innpulso, dependent del Ministeri de Ciència, Innovació i Universitats, organitzada enguany en col·laboració amb l’Ajuntament de Terrassa.

En aquesta edició, l’Ajuntament de Sant Cugat ha seleccionat AGRIKOLA.AI com a startup innovadora representant de la ciutat. Amb seu a Sant Cugat, AGRIKOLA.AI desenvolupa tecnologia aplicada a una agricultura més sostenible, combinant robòtica autònoma, intel·ligència artificial i computació al núvol per reduir l’ús de productes químics en la protecció dels cultius.

Entre les seves solucions destaca Wagus, un robot agrícola autònom i elèctric que utilitza llum ultraviolada UVC per tractar malalties causades per fongs sense necessitat d’aplicar fungicides químics. El sistema es complementa amb Nimbus, una plataforma al núvol que permet gestionar i coordinar els robots i automatitzar tasques de protecció dels cultius.

La participació d’AGRIKOLA.AI encaixa especialment amb l’orientació d’aquesta edició d’Innpulso Emprende, que posa el focus en projectes capaços de donar resposta a reptes territorials, ambientals i econòmics, amb solucions innovadores, escalables i susceptibles de ser testades en entorns reals.

Sota el lema “Innpulso Emprende, donde la innovación se conecta”, la trobada vol afavorir la connexió entre municipis, empreses, talent, coneixement i administracions públiques, així com donar visibilitat a les pimes i startups innovadores dels municipis que formen part de la xarxa.

El programa es desenvoluparà durant dues jornades. El 29 de setembre tindrà un caràcter institucional i de networking, mentre que el 30 de setembre, al Vapor Cortès de Prodis, tindrà lloc la presentació dels projectes seleccionats per les ciutats participants.

HEALTH CITIES is a European project led by Sant Cugat City Council within the framework of the Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA). It brings together nine partners from seven European countries with the aim of strengthening regional health and life sciences ecosystems through the exchange of public policies and best practices. With a total budget of €1.84 million, the project is co-funded by the Interreg Europe programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and positions Sant Cugat at the forefront of a European network working to foster innovation, competitiveness and entrepreneurship in one of Europe’s most strategic sectors for the future.

The study visit focused on four key themes that are central to Lund and Skåne’s success as a leading life science region: commercialisation, capital, competence and governance. Through site visits, expert presentations and roundtable discussions, participants gained first-hand insight into how regional actors collaborate to support innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable ecosystem development.

The programme began at Medicon Village, one of Scandinavia’s largest life science hubs, where participants were introduced to Lund’s innovation ecosystem and the role of collaborative environments in connecting companies, researchers, healthcare stakeholders, investors and public authorities. Discussions on commercialisation featured contributions from LU Innovation, SmiLe Venture Hub and Innovation Skåne, highlighting support mechanisms that help transform research results into market-ready solutions with societal and patient benefits.

Participants also visited SmiLe Venture Hub, where they learned about specialised incubation programmes, startup support services and laboratory facilities designed to accelerate the growth of life science companies. The topic of access to finance was explored through presentations by LU Venture and SmiLe Inject, which showcased different approaches to investment readiness and funding opportunities for early-stage ventures. Medicon Village additionally presented its Investor Panel initiative, which facilitates connections between promising life science companies and national and international investors.

Talent attraction and retention formed another important part of the programme. A dedicated session at International Citizen Hub Lund examined how regions can attract, integrate and retain highly skilled international professionals. Representatives from International Citizen Hub Lund, the Cross Border Talent Bridge project, ESS and Region Skåne shared experiences on international recruitment, cross-border mobility and long-term competitiveness in knowledge-intensive sectors.

On the second day, participants visited the world-leading research infrastructures MAX IV and ESS, gaining insight into their role in advancing scientific excellence and innovation. The programme continued at the ATMP Centre at Skåne University Hospital, where participants explored how advanced research capabilities are translated into clinical innovation and healthcare applications.

The study visit also included a session on Lund Innovation District, an initiative aiming to strengthen connections between the region’s major innovation assets, including Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Medicon Village, Ideon Science Park, Science Village, MAX IV and ESS. Discussions focused on building a more integrated and internationally visible innovation ecosystem capable of attracting talent, investment and new business opportunities.

The final day expanded the perspective to the wider regional and cross-border ecosystem. Participants visited Medeon in Malmö and learned about the role of the Research and Innovation Council in Skåne (FIRS) in supporting regional innovation strategies. The programme concluded with a visit to Medicon Valley Alliance in Copenhagen, highlighting the importance of cross-border collaboration within the Greater Copenhagen and Medicon Valley region.

The study visit provided an excellent opportunity for HEALTH CITIES partners to exchange knowledge, identify transferable good practices and discuss common challenges faced by health and life science ecosystems across Europe. By fostering peer learning and interregional cooperation, the project continues to support the development of stronger, more connected and more competitive innovation ecosystems that contribute to improved health outcomes and regional growth.

On April 21, the 3rd General Council of the Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA) was held in Sant Cugat del Vallès, at Banco Sabadell’s headquarters.

The session opened with a welcome address by Sonia Quibus, Chief People and Sustainability Officer of the institution, and featured a presentation by Roger Olivet, Director of New Technologies and Solutions.

During the meeting, Albert Salarich, Councillor for Business, Innovation and Internationalisation at Sant Cugat del Vallès City Council, presented the progress achieved since the launch of BIVA, as well as the main ongoing and upcoming actions.

These include initiatives such as the Business Recognition Awards, the European project Health Cities (Interreg Europe), BIVA Talent Day, and participation in leading events such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC), 4YFN, Talent Arena, and B·Health Week, promoted by Biocat.

Within the framework of the Council, the new Sant Cugat Urban Sandbox was also presented—an initiative aimed at enabling real-life testing environments for the development and validation of innovative projects.

In addition, the HP Large Format Sandbox case was shared, presented by Bruna Silver of HP, as an example of a corporate sandbox focused on testing and validating solutions prior to market launch.

Finally, the session served to promote the activation of new dedicated working groups, such as the Smart Commuting group, with the aim of continuing to generate real impact and strengthening collaboration among local stakeholders.

• Showcase Sant Cugat’s innovation ecosystem on the international stage.
• Present strategic initiatives such as the Urban Sandbox, a programme designed to enable real-world testing of cutting-edge solutions in urban environments.
• Be joined at our stand by a delegation of high-potential startups from Sant Cugat.
• Participate in the Talent Arena, the congress’ dedicated space for digital and tech talent.

• Atleia
• Wildebit
• Fitter Health
• Wisar
• Mathew
• Connecthink
• FlexiiC
• Point Pressure
• Placenet, The Internet of Places

4YFN will once again become a key meeting point to connect, exchange knowledge and build new strategic partnerships.

As part of the Health Cities Days , the Health Cities project’s study visit under Interreg Europe, on 29 October the partners visited Roche Diagnostics headquarters in Sant Cugat, member of Sant Cugat is BIVA*

Jacques Baudin, Head Go-To-Market & Customer Success EMEA–LATAM, Roche Diagnostics España Information Solutions, highlighted the value of clinical diagnostics and the ethical and regulated use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as key elements in transforming healthcare systems. AI can accelerate clinical decision-making and improve result accuracy — always within a robust regulatory framework and under human supervision — empowering healthcare professionals rather than replacing them.

Dr Josep Quer (Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) – Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca) presented the translational research model aimed at bringing biomedical research outcomes into clinical practice. He illustrated it with the hepatitis C project, which uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) tools to raise the cure rate to 95%, thanks to collaboration between research, hospitals and industry. He emphasised that innovation only makes sense when it benefits patients and society.

An inspiring closing session that showed how collaboration between research and industry can pave the way towards a more personalised, digital and ethical health system.

As part of the Health Cities Days study visit of the Health Cities project under the Interreg Europe programme, on 29 October project partners visited HP Sant Cugat, where David Soriano Baguet, Healthcare and O&P Segment Manager for HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions, showcased real-world applications of 3D printing in personalised medicine and biomedical research.

Soriano explained how HP is transforming the healthcare sector — particularly in prosthetics and orthotics — thanks to HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology: lighter, more comfortable and fully customised devices, produced through automated, sustainable and scalable processes. In Sant Cugat, the global headquarters of HP 3D Printing, more than 2,600 people work on site, including over 800 engineers, and the centre welcomes around 7,000 visitors every year.

HP collaborates with startups and companies such as Invent Medical, FITED, EXTOL, iOrthotics, Naked Prosthetics and Quorum Prosthetics, scaling up production and improving patients’ quality of life. The visit concluded at the Application Centre, where participants were able to see and handle real examples of these innovations — a truly inspiring experience.

The roundtable, moderated by Marta Rojas Gregorio (B.Link) and featuring contributions from Miquel Martí (Tech Barcelona) and David Pijoan Almaraz (Biocat, BioRegion of Catalonia), explored how these models can help address key challenges faced by startups: validation, regulation and scalability.

Speakers highlighted that Catalonia benefits from a unique ecosystem that brings together hospitals, universities, technology centres and a strong public healthcare system. Even so, they stressed the need to improve coordination between public and private stakeholders in order to turn potential into real impact.

Concrete examples were showcased: the publication of the ten main needs of the Catalan healthcare system to guide research and technology transfer, and Tech Barcelona’s open innovation model, which connects startups, corporations and investors with clinical and regulatory support.

The session concluded with the idea that Catalonia has all the ingredients to consolidate itself as a European hub for health innovation, provided that the links between research, industry and public institutions are further strengthened.

As part of the Health Cities Days, the first study visit of the Health Cities project under the Interreg Europe programme, the event highlighted the opportunities offered by digital and technological talent as a driver of competitiveness and growth.

La sessió va comptar amb les intervencions de Marc Payola (Mobile World Capital Barcelona), Elisenda Vives (manager de Transformació Digital i Cultural a HP), Ana Ochoa (Global IT Barcelona Hub Manager a Nestlé) i Ferran Urgelés (Head of IT a Boehringer Ingelheim Espanya), que van compartir les seves reflexions sobre l’atracció i el desenvolupament de talent en entorns impulsats per la innovació. Tots ells representen empreses membres de l’aliança Sant Cugat is BIVA*.