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Thanks to the new bachelor's degree in Automotive Engineering, supported by the Automotive Industry Cluster of Catalonia, the UPC has a full range of courses that mark its commitment to training students for one of the most strategic sectors in Catalonia. The automotive sector represents 8% of Catalan GDP, has a large number of companies employing about 90,000 people, and shows a continuing high demand for labour.

The bachelor's degree in Automotive Engineering (240 ECTS credits) is taught partly in English. It covers product development, study and analysis of the manufacturing process, and business management related to the sector. Students can take the fourth year either at the EPSEM or at the ETSEIB. The ETSEIB currently offers the master's degree in Automotive Engineering, which completes the academic track of the new bachelor's degree. This master's degree has been running since the 2012-2013 academic year and is in high demand. It equips students with the skills to meet the needs and challenges of the automotive industry, including alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and smart driving aids.

The new bachelor's degree will be taught with a high involvement of the business sector through the Automotive Industry Cluster of Catalonia, which has helped set up the programme. In addition, partnerships will be established with national and international companies for high-quality work placement and participation of sector specialists in teaching the bachelor's and master's degrees, which will increase the employability of graduates. The first graduates in Automotive Engineering will join the labour market in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Participation in the industrial doctorate programme by graduates of the master's degree in the automotive field will increase, allowing the research projects to be carried out in collaboration with a company. In fact, the UPC already has agreements to teach the industrial doctorate in this field with companies in the automotive industry, including SEAT, FICOSA, ZANINI and Rücker Lypsa.

The UPC is a benchmark in Catalonia with respect to research, innovation and development in automotive engineering, with long, extensive experience of projects carried out by the Seat-UPC Chair and research groups. Its position has been reinforced by the Cooperative Automotive Research Network (CARNET), which was recently set up in conjunction with SEAT and Volkswagen Group Research and is the first major research and innovation hub to focus on automotive engineering and future urban mobility in Barcelona. This knowledge platform is coordinated by the UPC's Innovation and Technology Centre (CIT UPC) and also has the support of other companies and organisations.

In addition to research and technology transfer, the UPC has a university-enterprise teaching initiative, the Creative Lab, that is the first of its kind in Spain. It focuses on encouraging students to generate new ideas with a view to redesigning the concept of urban vehicles and mobility in the city. The first edition of the Lab was held in the last academic year at the Terrassa School of Industrial, Aerospace and Audiovisual Engineering, in collaboration with SEAT and Volkswagen Group Research.

UPC students traditionally participate in international competitions related to the automotive sector, such as Autopista NISSAN-UPV vehicle design and 'Diseña tu SEAT', and in Formula Student, a university competition that promotes innovation and R&D through the design and creation of a vehicle.