Enterprise & innovation

Regional Engagement

A very important role of the UGR, as we say in our strategic plan, is: “Shared commitment to shared development”. We believe in the concept of eco-innovation systems led by the university, and understand the university as a key agent of knowledge connected with their territory.

The University of Granada is already the Spanish university with the greatest impact on its local environment measured in terms of provincial GDP. The province of Granada accounts for 2.5% of Spain in terms of surface area, almost 2% of the population and only 1.4% of the national GDP; however, the University of Granada accounts for approximately 4% of all scientific production in Spain.

The economic impact of the University, in a conservative estimate, is 4.7% of the province’s GDP. Thus, the University is one of the most productive Spanish universities in terms of research in a local environment with one of the lowest GDPs.

Scientific production as a driving force for development

After only the universities of the large cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, the University is the top institution in scientific production, in a context which is very different to that of the large cities, with much fewer resources; this makes the University of Granada one of the most efficient. In turn this explains why the University is so enormously important in its local context and the huge potential it shows as a key agent in the future development of the province and surrounding regions.

There has been a clear shift in recent times on the part of research funding institutions of all kinds towards addressing the grand societal challenges of today, often promoting a multi- or interdisciplinary approach which is clearly needed if we are to find sustainable solutions to extremely complex problems.

Sustainable projects and programmes

The organization of our own research has also undergone a shift in this same direction with the setting up of research institutes centred on challenges rather than disciplines (a few examples are our Water Institute (IdA),  the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INYTA), the Women's and Gender Studies Institute, or the Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC)). The UGR is active in many of the grand societal challenges, and welcomes a shift which will hopefully allow leading research universities to sustain more long-term, fundamental, and curiosity-driven research, with less emphasis on short-term outcomes.

We further believe that it is important for universities to be heard in the design and development of research policy. The University of Granada participates actively in consultation rounds regionally and nationally, and at European level through the Coimbra Group network of leading research universities, of which the UGR is an active member.

UGR Emprendedora

The UGR Centre for Entrepreneurship coordinates and integrates UGR activities designed to foster entrepreneurship within the university community. The overall goal of the Centre is to encourage innovation and to make significant socio-economic contributions to society.

Our objectives

The main objectives of the UGR Centre for Entrepreneurship are:

  • To improve the employability of our undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as our alumni, through self-employment initiatives, the creation of startup companies, and by fostering entrepreneurial abilities among these communities, thereby enabling them to innovate and generate significant value within the University community

  • To encourage knowledge transfer from the University to the productive sector through the setting up of new companies that are developed on the basis of research breakthroughs (spin-offs) and to develop innovative projects for companies and institutions

  • To support entrepreneurial and innovative initiatives designed to improve teaching, research, and management processes at the University

Our activities

The Centre for Entrepreneurship carries out and supports the following activities:

  • Activities aimed at students and graduates, teachers, researchers and administration and service staff that encourage innovation, entrepreneurial initiatives (in all knowledge areas), and the development of innovative entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviour within the University community

  • Activities designed to coordinate and promote entrepreneurial initiatives carried out in UGR centres and other bodies

  • Activities to encourage and implement programmes that are jointly run with other institutions, companies and external agencies, with the aim of cultivating entrepreneurship at the University

  • Activities designed with a view to diagnosing and analyzing the entrepreneurship phenomenon and the constantly evolving entrepreneurship ecosystem

  • Activities designed to improve the communication and dissemination of entrepreneurial activities at the University of Granada

Programmes

At the UGR Centre for Entrepreneurship, we help you turn your ideas into hands-on entrepreneurial projects. Proposals from all knowledge areas are welcomed and supported by our centre; from culture, the arts, the environment, healthcare, tourism and education, to industrial applications, the construction sector and the entire service sector. Moreover, for those who wish to develop projects aimed at enhancing social innovation, we offer a specific training programme known as the ‘The UGR Social Entrepreneurship Laboratory’.

We also offer an extensive range of pioneering programmes that encompass the following areas:

  • Design thinking and prototyping

  • Business models

  • Market analysis

  • Marketing and communication

  • Financial management and sustainability

  • Business plans

  • Tools such as Business Model Canvas, Lean Startup, and minimum viable product to help you turn your master’s dissertation into a truly innovative project

  • The UGR Social Entrepreneurship Laboratory

  • Professional mentoring with an inbuilt advisory and career support service

  • UGR Intrapreneurship-Innovation Lab (IN2LAB)

  • Business skills and startup management (corporate governance, legal status, taxation, innovation and business strategy, business development, financial management and funding, marketing and communication)

  • Entrepreneurship skills (risk analysis, problems solving, cultivating creativity, innovation, leadership, teamwork, negotiation skills, communication strategies)

Grants, competitions and funding opportunities

We regularly publish information on open calls for applications (both internal and external), grants and funding opportunities for startups and new initiatives, as well as competitions designed to cultivate entrepreneurial attitudes, innovation and socio-economic progress. We carry out these activities with a view to improving the socio-economic development of Granada while acknowledging and supporting creativity, talent and initiative at our University.

Join the UGR Centre for Entrepreneurship community

Sign up to become a member of our Centre’s vibrant and ever-expanding community and turn your ideas into a reality. By signing up, you will receive newsletters and important updates on our events, programmes, new initiatives, funding opportunities, competitions, open calls, and publications.

The UGR Centre for Entrepreneurship (spanish)