UAB Professor Maria Vanrell receives the DonaTIC Award 2026

Dr Maria Vanrell Martorell, professor in Artificial Intelligence at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and researcher at the Computer Vision Centre (CVC), is the winner of the DonaTIC Award 2026 in the Academic/Research category.

The DonaTIC Awards, of the Government of Catalonia through the Secretariat for Digital Policies, these awards annually recognise outstanding women and initiatives in the field of digital technologies, with the aim of highlighting female talent, fostering interest in technology-related careers, and promoting a greater presence of women in leadership and decision-making roles within the sector.

The twelfth edition of the awards reached a record level of participation, with 164 entries submitted, and recognised thirteen professionals and two benchmark initiatives from the Catalan technology sector. The awards ceremony was held at the Petit Palau within the Palau de la Música Catalana.

The jury selected Maria Vanrell in recognition of her career in the field of artificial intelligence and computer vision. The researcher has built a distinguished academic and scientific career, associated with the UAB and the CVC, with significant contributions to colour perception, image analysis and interpretation, and the development of intelligent systems capable of understanding the visual environment.

This recognition highlights the role of the UAB and the CVC as leading centres for research and innovation in digital technologies, as well as the contribution of their researchers to the advancement of knowledge and the technological transformation of society.

The DonaTIC Awards form part of the DonaTIC Plan of the Government of Catalonia and, since its creation in 2015, have been regarded as one of the primary instruments for recognising female talent in the ICT sector in Catalonia.