On May 12, the IX CIEU-FEiE 2021 Award for the most entrepreneurial person was awarded, a recognition from the Center for University Entrepreneurial Initiatives (CIEU) of the UAB to the members of the university community for their trajectory and spirit entrepreneur.

The event, which on this occasion was held virtually, began with a welcome from David Urbano, honorary member and founder of CIEU. David Urbano explained that this Award is intended to spread entrepreneurship from the university, and also give visibility to deserving projects of people who have emerged from the university world.

Next, Héctor Sala, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, pointed out that training and entrepreneurship were key to "getting ahead" in the current context, and congratulated all those who have maintained the entrepreneurial spirit in difficult times. Montserrat Balagueró, Director of Teaching Services at the UAB Foundation, also highlighted the importance of entrepreneurial capacity as a competition with which students and graduates continue to find solutions to improve people's lives, also in times of pandemic.

Next, the economist Jordi Gusi gave a presentation where he explained his entire career up to the present time. After going through various companies and sectors, Jordi Gusi founded the Tandem Social cooperative with two more partners. From Tandem Social they do strategic consulting for companies and social projects, with the aim of transforming and achieving a social, environmental, cultural or educational impact.

For Jordi Gusi, the keys to entrepreneurship are self-knowledge, “knowing what you like and what you are passionate about”, and knowing how to identify how to carry it out in a workplace reality. Another challenge, for him, is to achieve the cohesion of the teams and partners.

Currently, the cooperative already has 21 workers and up to 2,115 initiatives are being attended to. 55 projects have also been carried out and some 10,000 people have been trained. Among the services they offer, there are business support, participatory processes and open government, training and knowledge transfer, and the search for talent (headhunting).

On the part of the general UAB category, the graduate Pol Llonch started a business related to the veterinary industry with some colleagues from the Faculty. The AWEC company, which is a spin off created from the university, is dedicated to training and transmitting knowledge in the field of veterinary medicine; and it also seeks to solve problems associated with the behavior and welfare of farm, companion and zoo animals through innovation.