# Polytechnic University of Catalonia

The Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Catalan: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, pronounced, Spanish: Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest polytechnic university in Catalonia, Spain.
UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it is one of Europe's technical universities with the most international PhD students and the university with the largest share of international master's degree students. UPC is a university aiming at achieving the highest degree of engineering/technical excellence and has bilateral agreements with several top-ranked European universities.
UPC is a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network, which allows for student exchanges between leading European engineering schools. It is also a member of several university federations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) and UNITECH. UPC is also a parent institution of the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI).
The university was founded in March 1971 as the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona through the merger of engineering and architecture schools founded in the 19th century. As of 2007 it has 25 schools in Catalonia located in the cities of Barcelona, Castelldefels, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Igualada, Vilanova i la Geltrú and Mataró. As of the academic year 2017–18, the UPC has over 30,000 students and over 3,000 teaching and research staff, 65 undergraduate programs, 73 graduate programs and 49 doctorate programs.

## Rankings

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is one of the top public universities in Barcelona, Spain. It is ranked #354 in QS World University Rankings 2024. UPC is consistently ranked as one of the leading European universities in the technology and engineering fields. U.S. News & World Report, for instance, ranks it as the world's 36th for Computer Science and 60th for Engineering. The QS World University Rankings also place the UPC among the world's 50 best universities in disciplines such as Architecture, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Instruments Science and Technology and Remote Sensing.

## Schools

* Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE)
* Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering (EETAC)
* Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB)
* Manresa School of Engineering (EPSEM)
* Vilanova i la Geltrú School of Engineering (EPSEVG)
* Barcelona School of Agricultural Engineering (ESAB)
* Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering (ESEIAAT)
* Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB)
* Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV)
* Barcelona School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCPB)
* School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB)
* Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB)
* Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB)
* School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME)
* Barcelona School of Nautical Studies (FNB)
* Terrassa School of Optics and Optometry (FOOT)
* Interdisciplinary Higher Education Centre (CFIS)
* Image Processing and Multimedia Technology Centre (CITM)
Affiliated Schools
* Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI)
* Euncet University Business School (EUNCET)
* EAE University Business School (EAE)

## UPC UNESCO Chairs

* Càtedra UNESCO de Direcció Universitària (CUDU) – UNESCO Chair of Higher Education Management
* Càtedra UNESCO de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria de la UPC – UNESCO Chair of Numerical Methods in Engineering
* Càtedra UNESCO de Sostenibilitat – UNESCO Sustainability Chair
* Càtedra UNESCO en Salut Visual i Desenvolupament – UNESCO Chair of Vision and Development
* Càtedra UNESCO en Tècnica i Cultura – UNESCO Chair of Technology and Culture

## UPC Research Centers

The UPC has a number of research centres.
* BSC – Barcelona Supercomputing Center
* CCABA – Advanced Broadband Communications Center
* CD6 – Centre for Sensors, Instruments and Systems Development
* CDPAC – Cen. de Documentació de Projectes d'Arquitectura de Catalunya
* CEBIM – Molecular Biotechnology Centre
* CERpIE – C. Recerca i Desenv. per a la Millora i Innov.de les Empreses
* CETpD-UPC -Tech. Research Cen. for Dependency Care and Autonomous Living
* CPSV- Centre of Land Policy and Valuations
* CRAE – Centre de Recerca de l'Aeronàutica i de l'Espai
* CRAHI – Centre de Recerca Aplicada en Hidrometeorologia
* CRAL – Centre for Research and Services for the Local Administration
* CIMNE – International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering
* CREB – Biomedical Engineering Research Centre
* CREMIT – Center for Engines and Heat Installations
* CRNE – Centre for Research in Nanoengineering
* LACÀN – Specific Research Center of Numerical Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
* LIM/UPC – Maritime Engineering Laboratory
* LITEM – Laboratori per a la Innovació Tecnològica d'Estructures i Materials
* MCIA – Center Innovation Electronics. Motion Control and Industrial Applications
* PERC-UPC – Power Electronics Research Centre
* TALP – Centre de Tecnologies i Aplicacions del Llenguatge i la Parla
* TIEG – Terrassa Industrial Electronics Group
* CIMNE - Centro Internacional de Métodos Numéricos en la Ingeniería

## Science Fiction Award

From 1991–2010, the Board of Trustees at the UPC organized and awarded an annual Science Fiction Award. Currently the award is presented bi-annually.
Previous winners include:
* 2007: Brandon Sanderson, Defending Elysium; and Carlos Gardini d'Angelo, Belcebú en llamas
* 2008: Eduardo Gallego Arjona and Guillem Sánchez Gómez, La cosecha del centauro
* 2009: Roberto Sanhueza, Bis
* 2010: José Miguel Sánchez Gómez (Yoss), Super extra grande
* 2012: Miguel Santander, La epopeya de los amantes
* 2014: Roberto Sanhueza, El año del gato