The home of innovation

Poblenou was a neighbourhood that was once so full of factories that it was referred to as the Catalan Manchester. But in the late 20th century it began a transformation that turned the former industrial areas into a land of innovation, known as 22@. The installation of the UPF’s Communication Campus in one of the former manufacturing spaces, in 2009, contributed to the transformation of this modern neighbourhood, open to technology and with the will to become an area primarily dedicated to knowledge and innovation.

Campus of excellence

The campus consists of a set of new buildings equipped with cutting-edge technology, and integrates within it the former Ca l’Aranyó textile factory, a very important building that is an example of Catalan industrial architecture from the late 19th century. This past is also preserved in an imposing chimney, which now stands in the central square of the campus where students read or chat in the shade.

The UPF, which in 2010 was given the Campus of International Excellence rating, is the university considered the most international in Spain and is among the fifteen major European universities. Incorporating the Communication Campus in the Poblenou neighbourhood signified the creation of a quality academic, scientific, entrepreneurial and innovative environment, both internationally oriented and socially integrated.