“Deep Tech to Market”, the New Fractus-UPC Hub Course to Boost Science- and Technology-Based Companies The Fractus-UPC Deep

This intensive training program has been designed to provide professionals, managers, executives, and leaders linked to scientific research, innovation, and technological development with the practical tools needed to transform cutting-edge projects and initiatives into viable, scalable, and internationally competitive business models.

The program directly addresses the main challenges faced by so-called deep tech technologies, which are characterized by demanding development cycles, specific regulatory frameworks, and the need for highly strategic funding. To tackle these challenges, the course provides agile tools and methodologies aimed at accelerating the transition from the laboratory to the global market, taking as a reference the successful models of the world’s most advanced ecosystems.

From the Laboratory to Industry: Practical Tools and Commercialization Plan

Throughout the five-week program, participants will work hands-on with the main mechanisms of technology transfer. These include the creation of spin-offs, license management, intellectual property strategies, international regulation, and co-investment models. In addition, the syllabus focuses on a critical step for the sector: the leap from pilot testing to industrial production. By the end of the course, each participant will have developed a personalized Deep Tech Commercialization Plan tailored to their own context through applied workshops.

The program draws on the experience of the technology company Fractus, one of the first spin-offs to emerge from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC). Fractus is a pioneer in the design of miniature and multiband antennas for wireless devices and telecommunications infrastructure, specializing in licensing its technology worldwide. Since 2022, Fractus and UPC have collaborated through the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, a dynamic ecosystem created as part of the Connèxia UPC program specifically to foster innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship, as well as to promote disruptive scientific projects and facilitate their transition from the laboratory to the business sector.

Intensive Format for Specialized Profiles

The program consists of 15 teaching hours (1 ECTS), mainly delivered in a live online format. Classes will take place on Friday afternoons (from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.), starting on November 13, and will conclude on Saturday, December 12, with a final in-person closing session at the UPC School facilities in Barcelona.

The course is especially aimed at founders and CEOs of deep tech start-ups; leaders or managers of research groups, technology transfer offices (TTOs), or corporate innovation management departments; as well as advanced PhD students seeking to validate the market potential of a technology and attract international partners and investors.

The academic direction of the course is led by Kofi Senaya, founder and CEO of Variant Work, who has more than 20 years of experience in building start-ups, digital products, and leading teams across different sectors, including Universal Studios.