BIHUB reaches fourth year as a leader in research, innovation and training in sport

BIHUB reaches fourth year as a leader in research, innovation and training in sport

During this period, 50 research projects and 5 projects with start-ups have been carried out, as well as more than 16,000 professionals taking online courses and Masters.

The Barça Innovation Hub was launched on March 27, 2017, as a show of commitment by the club to innovation, scientific research, and the spread of knowledge in a structured and involving way throughout the institution. This declaration of principles, one of the cornerstones of the "Mes que un club" philosophy, has turned the BIHUB into a global centre of innovation and sporting knowledge in different areas after just four years.

The numbers reflect that. BIHUB is currently working on more than 50 research projects in different fields, and in some it does so with the help of international organisations such as FIFA or UEFA, who have identified this platform as an ideal partner to carry out these initiatives. At the same time, the BIHUB is co-developing five projects with start-ups to create new products and services, based on the club’s knowledge and with high-impact commercial success in the sports market. There are a total of 36 institutions, research centres, companies and start-ups with whom the club’s innovation and knowledge centre currently works.

One of the objectives of the BIHUB is to influence different areas of the sports industry, from the leading clubs in the world, to amateur sports and to the general public. A good recent example is the TRiankle project, funded by the European Commission, which aims to develop regenerative therapies based on the bioimpression of materials to improve the treatment of ankle injuries. Such conditions are common in both high-performance professional footballers and in different segments of the general population. The results obtained will have an impact on the quality of life of this segment of society, as well as on the economics of health systems in countries around the world.

The experience generated in these and other projects has made the BIHUB a benchmark in the sector, and its impact has had a positive effect not only for the club but also other external experts, promoting the professionalisation of sport globally.

40 online programmes and ten masters

During these four years, the BIHUB has trained around 16,000 professionals and experts from more than 135 different countries in the sports industry. Physicians, physiotherapists, sports marketing and sponsorship specialists, data analysts, performance technicians, and nutritionists, among others, have received training tailored to their needs in order to continue evolving in a world that is increasingly changing.

This training, which is both diverse and specific at the same time, has helped all those professionals who normally work in the background for athletes, and whose challenge is to continue training, continue to reinvent themselves and look for new limits to contribute to the individual and collective improvement of sport.

The BIHUB currently has 40 online training programmes, as well as 10 postgraduate master's degrees that it organises with universities and academic institutions from different parts of the world, with 650 students. Among the institutions with which it collaborates are the Universitat de Barcelona, ​​the UPC, the INEFC and the Johan Cruyff Institute.

In addition to the programmes and master’s degrees, the BIHUB organises an annual world-class conference, Sports Tomorrow Congress, which has become another unique opportunity to generate and share knowledge globally. These congresses have eight conferences dedicated to technology, science and business in the field of sport, bringing together more than 2,000 professionals and experts each year. In the 2020 edition, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the congresses had an online format with the participation of more than 150 speakers and more than 2000 registered attendees.

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Força Barça

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