UAB Entrepreneurial Talent Marks 16 Years of Innovation at the 2025 CIEU-FEiE Awards

16/12/2025

The UAB Center for University Entrepreneurship Initiatives (CIEU), along with the School of Economics and Business (FEiE) and Escola FUAB Formació, held another edition of the Award for Best Entrepreneurial Idea of 2025. The event, which took place in the auditorium of the School of Economics and Business, brought together nearly three hundred students, faculty members, and individuals interested in learning about the disruptive proposals generated by university talent.

The event opened with welcoming remarks from Andreu Turró, associate professor in the Department of Business and event moderator, who emphasized that CIEU's main objective is to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among students, in line with UAB's strategic goals. Turró added that the power of entrepreneurship transforms societies and that academic events like this inspire the creation of more businesses with added value.

Stefan van Hemmen, Associate Dean for Students, Entrepreneurship, and Employability at the School of Economics and Business, spoke about the entrepreneurial activities taking place at the school, including the entrepreneurship club, and encouraged students to join.

Mariluz Pacheco, Executive Vice President of Fundació UAB, noted that this award aims to promote entrepreneurial ideas to transform society and that innovation is key to student education.

 

Hugo Palomar's Presentation: Entrepreneurship as a Way of Life

The guest speaker invited to share his entrepreneurial experience was Hugo Palomar, a UAB graduate in Hotel Management, CEO and founder of Mindset Digital, and recipient of the 2025 CIEU-FEiE Award for Most Entrepreneurial Person.

Palomar shared his entrepreneurial journey, which began with creating startups in the tourism sector, such as a gastronomic tourism agency. He is also an angel investor in various startups and invests in entrepreneurial teams looking to create business ideas with promising prospects. The speaker mentioned that he created initiatives like Bluvoyager,

where he brought together a group of complementary investors to offer support to more entrepreneurs and help them bring their innovation projects to life.

"Teamwork is very important, especially when it comes to learning from others. It's essential for entrepreneurship," Palomar emphasized, adding that "entrepreneurship is a way of life and a way of being."

 

Winners of the XVI CIEU Award for Best Entrepreneurial Idea of 2025

The event continued with the presentation of awards to students. The finalists had previously given brief presentations on their business ideas.

Here is the list of winners:

"Escola FUAB Formació" Category:

· 1st Prize: Daniela Pérez and Valentina Méndez Rizo, students in the Master's Degree in Management and Organisation of Event Tourism, for the "EVENT365" project.

· 2nd Prize: Elisabet Balaciart, from the Master's in Hotel Business Management, for the "Inclusive Hotel" proposal.

· 3rd Prize: Shin Jihee and Laura Fernández Guilemany, from the Master's Degree in Management and Organisation of Event Tourism, for the "Anda+" project.

"School of Economics and Business" Category:

· 1st Prize: Lidia Marrufo, Xènia Cabeza, and Marina Martín, students in the Bachelor's in Business Administration and Management, for "EcoCycle."

· 2nd Prize: Alba Barrios, Carla Robles, Alexander Cortés, and Rosario Flores, from the Bachelor's in Business Administration and Management, for "ENERGYBREAK."

· 3rd Prize: Arnau Pérez, Ona Pitarch, and Gal·la Solé, from the Bachelor's in Business and Technology, for "Yumbo."

"General UAB" Category:

· 1st Prize: Francisca Polgatti, Valentina Rendich, Raffaele Barbato, Aletvia Ramirez, and Luis Campaña, from the Master's in Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation, for "Platos y Relatos."

· 2nd Prize: Ricard Baulies and Sebastián Heredia Querro, from the Master's in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Law, for "VITACODE."

· 3rd Prize: Laia Chozo Mendoza, Kamile Buineviciute, Julia Siwiec, Emilia Widajewicz, and Gema Burillo Roman, from the Bachelor's in Business Administration and Management (English), for "forUABers."

 

To conclude the event, Maite Ibern, Head of Entrepreneurship and Business Creation in UAB's Research Vice-Management Office, spoke about the importance of entrepreneurship education offered at the university. "Ideas are very important because we're in a global and changing context, and they shape the future," she concluded.