Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Catalan: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, UPC, [uniβərsiˈtat puɫiˈtɛŋnikə ðə kətəˈɫuɲə]), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech and commonly named just as UPC, is the largest engineering university in Catalonia, Spain. It also offers programs in other disciplines such as mathematics and architecture.
UPC's objectives are based on internationalization, as it is one of Europe's technical universities with the most international PhD students and the university with the largest share of international master's degree students. UPC is a university aiming at achieving the highest degree of engineering/technical excellence and has bilateral agreements with several top-ranked European universities.
UPC is a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network, which allows for student exchanges between leading European engineering schools. It is also a member of several university federations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) and UNITECH.
The university was founded in March 1971 as the Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona through the merger of engineering and architecture schools founded during the 19th century. As of 2007 it has 25 schools in Catalonia located in the cities of Barcelona, Castelldefels, Manresa, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Terrassa, Igualada, Vilanova i la Geltrú and Mataró. UPC has about 30,000 students and 2,500 professors and researchers.
EET: Escola d'Enginyeria de Terrassa (Terrassa Engineering School)EETAC: Escola d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicació i Aeroespacial de Castelldefels (Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering)EPSEB: Escola Politècnica d'Edificació de Barcelona - (Barcelona Construction Engineering School)EPSEM: Escola Politècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Manresa - (Manresa Engineering School)EPSEVG: Escola Politècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Vilanova i la Geltrú - (Vilanova i la Geltrú Engineering School)ESAB: Escola Superior d'Agricultura de Barcelona - (Barcelona Agriculture School)ETSAB: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona - (Barcelona Architecture School)ETSAV (or EAV): Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura del Vallès - (Vallès Architecture School)ETSECCPB: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Camins, Canals i Ports de Barcelona - (Barcelona Civil Engineering School)ETSEIAT: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeries Industrial i Aeronàutica de Terrassa - (Terrassa School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering)ETSEIB: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona (Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering)Telecom BCN, ETSETB: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicacions de Barcelona - (Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering)FOOT: Facultat d'Òptica i Optometria de Terrassa - (College of Optics and Optometry of Terrassa)FIB: Facultat d'Informàtica de Barcelona - (Barcelona School of Computer Science)FME: Facultat de Matemàtiques i Estadística - (School of Mathematics and Statistics)FNB: Facultat de Nàutica de Barcelona - (Barcelona Nautical Studies School): Marine Engineering, Nautical Engineering, Maritime Transportation, Systems Engineering, Nautical Technology, Nautical Studies, Naval Engineering, and more.CFIS: Centre de Formació Interdisciplinària Superior - (Interdisciplinary Higher Education Centre)CITM: Centre de la Imatge i la Tecnologia Multimèdia (Image Processing and Multimedia Technology Centre)EEI: Escola d'Enginyeria d'Igualada (Igualada School of Engineering)EEBE: Escola d'Enginyeria de Barcelona Est (East Barcelona School of Engineering)EUPMT: Escola Universitària Politècnica de Mataró - (Mataró Technical College of)EUNCET: Escola Universitària Caixa Terrassa - (Caixa Terrassa College)EAE: Centre Universitari EAE - (EAE University Centre)Càtedra UNESCO de Direcció Universitària (CUDU) - UNESCO Chair of Higher Education ManagementCàtedra UNESCO de Mètodes Numèrics en Enginyeria de la UPC - UNESCO Chair of Numerical Methods in EngineeringCàtedra UNESCO de Sostenibilitat - UNESCO Sustainability ChairCàtedra UNESCO en Salut Visual i Desenvolupament - UNESCO Chair of Vision and DevelopmentCàtedra UNESCO en Tècnica i Cultura - UNESCO Chair of Technology and CultureThe UPC has a number of research centres.
CCABA - Advanced Broadband Communications CenterCD6 - Centre for Sensors, Instruments and Systems DevelopmentCDPAC - Cen. de Documentació de Projectes d'Arquitectura de CatalunyaCEBIM - Molecular Biotechnology CentreCERpIE - C. Recerca i Desenv. per a la Millora i Innov.de les EmpresesCETpD-UPC -Tech. Research Cen. for Dependency Care and Autonomous LivingCPSV- Centre of Land Policy and ValuationsCRAE - Centre de Recerca de l'Aeronàutica i de l'EspaiCRAHI - Centre de Recerca Aplicada en HidrometeorologiaCRAL - Centre for Research and Services for the Local AdministrationCIMNE - International Center for Numerical Methods in EngineeringCREB - Biomedical Engineering Research CentreCREMIT - Center for Engines and Heat InstallationsCRNE - Centre for Research in NanoengineeringLACÀN - Specific Research Center of Numerical Methods in Applied Sciences and EngineeringLIM/UPC - Maritime Engineering LaboratoryLITEM - Laboratori per a la Innovació Tecnològica d'Estructures i MaterialsMCIA - Center Innovation Electronics. Motion Control and Industrial ApplicationsPERC-UPC - Power Electronics Research CentreTALP - Centre de Tecnologies i Aplicacions del Llenguatge i la ParlaFrom 1991-2010, the Board of Trustees at UPC organized and awarded an annual Science Fiction Award. Currently the award is presented bi-annually.
Previous winners include:
2007: Brandon Sanderson, Defending Elysium; and Carlos Gardini d'Angelo, Belcebú en llamas2008: Eduardo Gallego Arjona and Guillem Sánchez Gómez, La cosecha del centauro2009: Roberto Sanhueza, Bis2010: José Miguel Sánchez Gómez (Yoss), Super extra grande2012: Miguel Santander, La epopeya de los amantes2014: Roberto Sanhueza, El año del gato 
