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1. WHAT ARE THE INNOBAGES GRANTS?
The “InnoBages Grants for the promotion of R&D&I within the region’s business sector through projects developed within the official master’s degrees at EPSEM – UPC Manresa” are an initiative of the Bages County Council. Their main purpose is to facilitate the start of collaborations between research projects developed at EPSEM – UPC Manresa and companies, primarily from the Bages region, in order to promote technology and knowledge transfer.
They also aim to facilitate the incorporation of students from the same university into research activities through their participation in the selected projects.
The main objective is therefore to promote collaboration between the academic environment and the business sector and to contribute to strengthening the region’s economic and technological development, reinforcing the connection between the university and the industrial environment.
2. WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE GRANTS?
The InnoBages grants are developed in two phases:
FIRST PHASE:
- Intended for research projects linked to the official master’s degrees currently offered at EPSEM – UPC Manresa.
- Applications must be submitted by Teaching and Research Staff (PDI) from EPSEM – UPC Manresa who lead these projects.
- The projects submitted in this first phase must include the formal collaboration of a company, preferably located in the Bages region.
- The financial support provided in this first phase is intended to contribute to the proper and successful development of the project.
SECOND PHASE:
- Students enrolled in one of the official master’s degrees offered at EPSEM – UPC Manresa and linked to the projects selected in the first phase may participate.
- Students must submit a letter of endorsement signed by the PDI responsible for the project. This endorsement must detail the suitability of the student’s academic background, knowledge, and previous experience.
Each person may submit only one application.
3. WHAT ARE THE GRANTS?
Both the first and second phases provide financial support.
The grants in the first phase amount to €2,000 for each selected research project. The financial support provided in this first phase is intended to contribute to the proper and successful development of the project.
The financial support will be transferred to EPSEM – UPC Manresa in the name of the selected project and the responsible PDI member, and will be specifically allocated to the budgetary item of the Master’s degree and Department to which the project belongs.
The grants in the second phase amount to €2,400 for each selected student. In this case, the grant will be transferred directly to the beneficiary. It is important to note that the grants awarded in this second phase will be subject to personal income tax withholding (Law 35/2006, of 28 November).
In total, the Bages County Council allocates €30,800 to this call for grants. Of this amount, a maximum of €14,000 is allocated to the first phase and a maximum of €16,800 to the second phase.
4. I AM A PDI MEMBER AND I WANT TO SUBMIT A PROJECT. WHAT MUST THE APPLICATION INCLUDE?
The requirements for participating in the first phase are:
- To have a research project included within one of the official master’s degrees currently offered at EPSEM – UPC Manresa.
- To have the collaboration of a company, preferably located in the Bages region.
To formalise the application, the PDI member responsible for the project must submit the following documents:
- Application form.
- Project report.
- Declaration of commitment from the collaborating company.
- Responsible declaration of compliance with requirement 4.4, signed by the university’s legal representative.
The project report must be submitted in PDF format and must not exceed 3 pages. The application form, the company’s declaration of commitment, and the responsible declaration will not count towards the maximum permitted length.
The project report must include, at least, the following sections: project title; PDI responsible for the project; background and justification of the submitted project; list of public grant calls from other institutions from which the project has received funding; explanation of the interest that the project may have for the economic development of the region; objectives and planned activities; list of activities and tasks expected to be carried out by the student beneficiary of the second phase of the grants; link to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); indicative budget for the activities; contact details of the company representative; identification of the company’s activity within which the project is developed; justification of the reasons and usefulness of the project for the company, together with a list of the specific activities in which the company will collaborate.
5. I AM A STUDENT AND I WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN A PROJECT. WHAT MUST THE APPLICATION INCLUDE?
The requirements for participating in the second phase are:
- To be enrolled in one of the official master’s degrees offered at EPSEM – UPC Manresa, associated with the projects selected in the first phase.
- To have an endorsement document signed by the PDI responsible for the project. This endorsement must detail the suitability of the student’s academic background, knowledge, and previous experience.
To formalise the application, the student must submit the following documents:
- Application form.
- Enrolment certificate for the corresponding official master’s degree at EPSEM – UPC Manresa.
- Academic transcript of the bachelor’s degree used to access the master’s programme.
- Report.
- Endorsement document signed by the PDI responsible for the project, in accordance with requirement 3.2.
- Responsible declaration of compliance with requirement 3.4, signed by the applicant.
The report must be submitted in PDF format and must not exceed 2 pages. The application form, enrolment certificate, academic transcript, endorsement document, and responsible declaration will not count towards the maximum permitted length.
The report must include, at a minimum: identification of the candidate, identification of the project for which they wish to apply, and personal motivation.
6. HOW CAN APPLICATIONS BE SUBMITTED?
Applications must be submitted to the Registry of the Bages County Council, either in person or electronically, within the established deadlines.
They may also be submitted through any of the channels provided for in Article 16 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
Submitting an application to participate in these grants implies knowledge and acceptance of the rules governing them.
7. UNTIL WHEN CAN APPLICATIONS BE SUBMITTED? WHAT ARE THE DEADLINES OF THE CALL FOR GRANTS?
The following deadlines establish the key periods for the submission, resolution, and awarding of applications:
FIRST PHASE:
The opening date for submitting projects is 1 September 2026, and the deadline is 25 September 2026. The list of selected projects will be published no later than 9 October 2026.
SECOND PHASE:
The opening date for submitting second-phase applications will be approximately during the first half of October 2026.
The final resolution is expected to take place at the end of October or the beginning of November 2026.
Grant beneficiaries must submit the project justification report before 15 February 2027.
8. WHAT ARE THE EVALUATION CRITERIA?
The evaluation criteria for the proposals submitted in the first phase are:
- Quality of the submitted report (75 points):
o Description of the purpose and objectives of the project: 20 points.
o Consistency between the stated objectives and the proposed activities: 15 points.
o Degree of solidity and foundation of the proposed project within the framework of other projects supported by competitive calls from higher-level institutions: 15 points.
o Impact on the economic development of the Bages region, depending on the company’s location and the productive sector: 15 points, according to the following criteria:
If the participating company has its headquarters in the Bages region: 10 points.
If the participating company has its headquarters in the region of influence of Bages, Central Catalonia: 2 points.
If the participating company is a micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise, according to the definition established in Article 2 of Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of the European Commission: 3 points.
According to the importance of the value chain to which it belongs (turnover volume, number of jobs in the sector, among others): 2 points.
o Alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 10 points.
- Project impact and transferability (25 points):
o Degree of suitability and incorporation of the project into the company’s activities: 10 points.
o Transferability: potential for incorporating the project into the company, scalability elements, and possible future collaboration pathways: 10 points.
o Planned coordination between the PDI responsible for the project, the company, and the selected student: 5 points.
The evaluation criteria for the proposals submitted in the second phase are:
• Student suitability for the project (60 points):
o Personal motivation: 40 points.
o Fit with the project: 20 points.
• Academic record (40 points).
Efforts will be made to ensure that, whenever possible, there is gender balance among the selected candidates.
9. WHO EVALUATES THE PROPOSALS?
The evaluation panel for the proposals is made up of a group of professionals selected to ensure balanced representation from different fields. The panel for this call is composed of:
• Carme Ferrer Caelles, Technical Secretary of the College of Industrial Technical Engineers of Manresa.
• Montse Ficapal Soler, Territorial Secretary of PIMEC Central Catalonia.
• Albert Marañón Ledesma, Head of the Technical Service for Economic Promotion and Rural Development of the Bages County Council.
• Alba Prat Llobet, Economic Promotion Officer of the Bages County Council.
• Montserrat Ribalta Sala, Knowledge Officer of Manresa City Council.
• Sebastià Vila Marta, Deputy Director of Strategic Projects at EPSEM – UPC Manresa.
Once the proposals have been received, the Bages County Council will forward them to the members of the evaluation panel so that they can be assessed.
10. IF I HAVE QUESTIONS, WHERE CAN I CONTACT?
For further information and enquiries regarding the InnoBages Grants, you can consult send an email to [email protected] or a WhatsApp message to 607 648 999.
