The UAB expands grants to mature research results and boost the creation of companies

The UAB opens its Proof of Concept (PoC) 2026 call, with two lines of support to foster the maturation and transfer of research results. The objective of the call is to accelerate the transfer of knowledge from UAB research groups by maturing the results. To do this, it funds projects that include pre-commercial valorisation activities, i.e., actions to test the usefulness and viability of the results, obtain new evidence, validate them with potential users, and define the best way for them to reach society or the productive sector. 

The main novelty this year is a specific line for the Social Sciences and Humanities, which is added to that of the Experimental and Technological Sciences. This call is complemented by a new edition of CREAR-EM, aimed at promoting the creation of companies based on UAB research findings.

The new Social Sciences and Humanities line targets projects based on UAB research findings in these fields, aiming to mature them and bring them closer to the productive sector. The call has a total budget of 50,000 euros, with a maximum of 12,500 euros per project. The funded projects will run for twelve months.

In these areas, a transferable outcome need not necessarily be a technology or a product: it may be new applicable knowledge, a methodology, a tool, an intervention model, an educational or cultural resource, or a new form of organisation. Projects that respond to a specific need, offer distinctive value, and move towards real-world application will be particularly valued. The deadline for submitting applications is 20 November 2026.

The UAB Proof of Concept call 2026 in the Experimental and Technological Sciences field targets research results that require further maturation to bring them closer to society or the productive sector. It has a total budget of 200,000 euros and can award up to 50,000 euros per project.

The call provides one grant open to any scientific and technological discipline, and three grants linked to the health system and public health; industrial transition, advanced materials and new manufacturing techniques; and energy transition, decarbonisation and smart, sustainable mobility. The deadline for submitting applications is 20 November 2026.

This line is already well-established at the UAB. In the 2025 edition, funding was awarded to four projects linked to the fields of personalised health, sustainable and healthy food, advanced materials and waste mitigation, and the circular economy.

The PoC grant can continue beyond this call. An example of this is OMNIWAVE, a dynamic wireless charging technology for electric vehicles and heavy-duty lorries that received support in the 2024 edition. Two years later, the University presented the project at the 4YFN 2026, the innovation and entrepreneurship event linked to the Mobile World Congress.

The UAB has also launched a new edition of the CREAR-EM 2026-2027 grants, aimed at incentivising the creation of technology-based companies, knowledge-based companies, or spin-offs.  

This call is aimed at teaching and research staff with teaching duties during the 2026–2027 academic year who wish to start a company before the end of 2027. The grant provides for a reduction of three academic credits—facilitated by a financial contribution to the staff member's home department—to allow them more time to advance their business project. The call will remain open until 31 March 2027, or until the available budget is exhausted.

With these instruments, the UAB strengthens its support for research teams, spanning from the maturation of research results to their transfer and, where appropriate, to the creation of a new company.

More information and registration details:

• UAB Proof of Concept call (PoC2026)
• Call for grants 2026–2027 to incentivise business creation (CREAR-EM)