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The Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE) will open in the 2016-2017 academic year on the new Diagonal Besòs Campus of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), with about 3,500 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree students and 400 professors and researchers. The School, located at the intersection of Carrer Ramon de Penyafort and Carrer Eduard Maristany, is the core of the new campus, located in an area of growth between Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs.

The EEBE will combine the teaching and research activities of the Barcelona College of Industrial Engineering (EUETIB), a school hitherto dependent on the Barcelona School of Industry Consortium and affiliated to the UPC. The full integration of the EUETIB in the UPC under the name EEBE will coincide with the transfer of the activities to the new school on the Diagonal Besòs Campus. The EEBE will also undertake part of the teaching and research of the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB) in the fields of chemical and materials engineering.

The aim of the EEBE is to be a high-quality school in the field of engineering for industry in the 21st century, acting as an agent of transformation in collaboration with the socio-economic fabric of Catalonia and with a strong international focus. The EEBE will be directed by Professor Luis Miguel Llanes, currently director of the EUETIB.

The Diagonal Besòs Campus has a potential gross building area of 150,000 m2, of which 53,000 m2 has currently been built. The campus consists of three buildings dedicated to teaching and research, with the following floor areas:

• EEBE (Building A): 27,979 m2
• Building C: 11,619 m2
• Building I: 13,202 m2

In the future the new campus is expected to house a hall of residence for students and researchers.

As of the 2016-2017 academic year, the following bachelor's and master's degrees and doctoral programmes will be taught at the EEBE:

Bachelor's degrees:

• Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering
• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Electronics and Automatic Control Engineering
• Bachelor's degree in Energy Engineering
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering
• Bachelor's degree in Materials Engineering

Postgraduate degrees (master's degrees and doctoral programmes):

• Master's degree in Chemical Engineering
• Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering
• Erasmus Mundus master's degree in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering (AMASE)
• Doctoral degree in Materials Science and Engineering
• Doctoral degree in Chemical Process Engineering
• Erasmus Mundus Joint European doctoral degree in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering

The bachelor's degrees will be presented to prospective students and secondary school teachers during the open day on 10 February at the new facilities of the EEBE, coinciding with the open day of all UPC schools.

In addition to teaching, the EEBE's other major line of activity is research, innovation and knowledge transfer. In total, 27 research groups and cross-disciplinary research units will be located there. Two research groups are integrated in the UPC's Innovation and Technology Centre (CIT UPC) and are members of the Catalan government's TECNIO network.

The EEBE (Building A)
In addition to its teaching facilities, the 12-storey EEBE building will house the following 12 research groups and cross-disciplinary research units in various fields of engineering (biomedicine, electricity, electronics, industrial automation, energy, materials, mechanics and chemistry):
• A section of the Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), which is a TECNIO centre
• Impact Biomechanics Group (GRAB)
• Control, Dynamics and Applications (CoDAlab)
• Manufacturing and Materials Development Group (DEFAM)
• Electrical Energy, Power Electronics, Automation and Systems Control Group (E3PACS)
• Biomedical System Signals Research Group (LASSIE)
• Surface Interaction in Bioengineering and Materials Science Research Group (InSup)
• Sustainability, Technology and Humanism Group (STH)
• Sustainability in Distributed Generation and Renewable Energy Group (SGDER)
• Systems Telemanagement Group (GReTS)
• A section of the Multimedia Applications and ICTs Laboratory (LAM)
A section of the Numerical Analysis Laboratory Group (LaCàN)


Research Building (C)
The eight-storey Building C will house the Nanoengineering Research Centre (CRNE) and the following six research groups working in the fields of energy, materials and nanotechnology:
• Astronomy and Astrophysics Group (GAA)
• Materials Characterisation Group (GCM)
• A section of the Environmental Engineering and Microbiology Group (GEMMA)
• Nanoengineering of Materials Applied to Energy (NEMEN)
• Microtron Research Group
• A section of the Polymer and Composite Technology Group (POLYCOM)


The building will also house the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), an entity associated with the UPC that forms part of the Research Centres of Catalonia (CERCA) network.

Research Building (I)
The eight-storey Building I will house eight research groups, of which three work in materials engineering and five in chemical engineering:
• Centre for Process, Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering (CEPEiMA)
• Centre for Technological Risk Studies (CERTEC)
• Structural Integrity, Micromechanics and Materials Reliability Centre (CIEFMA), which is a TECNIO centre
• Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering Group (BIBITE)
• Innovation, Modelling and Engineering of (Bio)Materials (IMEM)
• Synthetic Polymers: Structure and Properties. Biodegradable Polymers (PSEP)
• Metal Forming Processes (PROCOMAME)
• Separation Processes and Industrial Waste Treatment Group (SETRI)

The construction of the Diagonal Besòs Campus was promoted by the UPC, together with the Government of Catalonia, the town councils of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, and Barcelona Provincial Council, with the support of the Barcelonès County Council, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) and the Besòs Consortium.

The new university campus is located on land granted for the project by the Diagonal Besòs Campus Consortium. This entity is composed of the local governments that originally owned the land: the UPC, the Government of Catalonia, the town councils of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, the AMB, the Besòs Consortium and the Barcelonès County Council.

The Diagonal Besòs Campus Consortium approved the development project for the whole area in November 2008 and the first stone of the campus was laid on 17 December 2009.

The design, development and management of the Diagonal Besòs Campus is carried out by the b_TEC Foundation, whose board of directors is composed of the UPC, the Government of Catalonia, the local authorities grouped under the Campus Consortium, and the University of Barcelona. The Foundation is chaired by the rector of the UPC, Enric Fossas. The construction of the Campus cost €96.5 million and was financed as follows:



Last December the UPC and the Government of Catalonia approved a performance contract for the implementation and operation of the EEBE on the Diagonal Besòs Campus. This contract provides funding of €9.3 million per year for eight years (2015-2022).

Light and flexibility are some of the features of the architectural project for the EEBE, designed by the architects José Antonio Martínez Lapeña and Elías Torres, and Buildings C and I, designed by the firm Batlle i Roig Arquitectes. The urban development project was carried out by the Cáceres-Espinàs-Tarrasó team.

The three buildings are arranged along a central boulevard, parallel to Carrer Eduard Maristany and the Ronda del Litoral. This boulevard articulates the complex and integrates it within the urban space. It leads to a landscaped area that acts as a central space of the Diagonal Besòs Campus and also gives access to the -1 basement level. The three buildings converge and are unified at this level, connected by a porch and an interior circulation gallery that receives natural light through a series of courtyards and skylights.

This area, which now only serves the underground level of the buildings, will house services that complement academic activity (maintenance, general services, etc.) and will run through the entire campus like an interior boulevard.

The interconnection between the buildings also facilitates flexibility in the use of space, especially for multidisciplinary research. The complex therefore has modular spaces for research, teaching, teamwork and project development.

Sustainability is another feature of this university space: the three buildings are connected to the Districlima urban hot and cold water supply for heating, cooling and domestic water. In addition, the three buildings have selective refuse intake hatches connected to the pneumatic urban solid waste network of the area. The network leads waste to the processing centre without the need for traditional waste bins. The complex also uses highly efficient LED lighting, in addition to machinery and materials that respect the environment, so it will have excellent energy performance. Moreover, special care has been taken to protect the buildings against solar radiation using adjustable blinds for thermal insulation and acoustic protection.

The current urban planning provides for the future construction of a footbridge above the Ronda del Litoral to link the Campus to the Fòrum Port.

The new university area of the EEBE is connected to the various modes of public transport. It can be accessed by Metro line 4 (the Maresme-Fòrum and Besòs Mar stations) and by the bus lines 7, 36, H16, H14 and 143. It can also be accessed by the Trambesòs (the Can Llima and Fòrum stops) and line C1 of the Renfe local lines (Sant Adrià de Besòs station, which is two stops from the Campus on the Trambesòs). The cycle lanes of Avinguda Diagonal and part of Carrer Eduard Maristany are also close.

By private transport the EEBE and the Diagonal Besòs Campus can be accessed directly from the Ronda Litoral (exit 25 in the Besòs direction and exit 24 in the Llobregat direction).

When the EEBE is opened it will become an agent for economic and social transformation in the area bordering the municipalities of Barcelona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, and in their areas of influence. The location of the campus will strengthen relations with the local socio-economic sphere and will boost local commerce. It will also facilitate relationships with vocational training and upper secondary schools in the area and in its area of influence. The new university area, very close to the Parc de la Pau and the beach of the Fòrum Port, is located in a growing hub of economic, cultural, leisure and commercial activities, near to El Poblenou, which is also a strong focus for emerging professional activity in a variety of sectors.

The new school adjoins the Telefónica Tower and the Fòrum Parc, which houses the Photovoltaic Pergola and the Museu Blau, in addition to the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) and the Fòrum Auditorium, two large-capacity venues that are a magnet for international conventions, conferences and cultural events.

Nearby is the Fòrum Port, the Catalan Sailing Federation, the High Performance Centre, two sports centres and the Font de la Mina Library. The area also contains the Besòs waste water treatment plant, one of the world's largest covered urban sewage plants and the plant with the greatest processing capacity in Catalonia. With its three tall chimneys cutting into the skyline, another landmark building in the area is the former power station of Sant Adrià de Besòs, which local governments want to declare a local cultural heritage site.