UVic-UCC creates the TOUS Chair to foster research and innovation in the fields of design, creativity and jewellery

The University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) has added another chair to its research and knowledge transfer ecosystem. The TOUS Chair, the University's seventeenth, is the result of a cooperation agreement between the University, through the Elisava Faculty of Design and Engineering, and the jewellery company TOUS, which originated and is based in the Bages region of Catalonia. The new chair has been created in order to promote research, innovation, training and knowledge transfer in the fields of design, creativity and jewellery.  

More specifically, "it seeks to provide answers to the challenges posed by the dynamic and competitive world of jewellery, fashion and trends, in which creativity, design and innovation are the cornerstones for success and standing out in the market." The Chair is explained in these terms by the academic director of the Chair, Anna del Corral, who is a lecturer on the bachelor's degree course in Industrial Design Engineering at the Elisava Faculty of Design and Engineering, a doctor in Computer Science and holds an engineering degree in Industrial Design. "Design is the result of the combination between craftsmanship and industrial processes which creates innovation," says del Corral, who maintains that "this is why we are committed to a chair with close links to the culture of design and innovation, focused on the specialist field of contemporary jewellery, which needs to be approached in an interdisciplinary way in order to bring together humanistic, technological, social and market knowledge." She explains that this all "seeks to foster know-how that brings together culture, science, technology, and industrial and business knowledge." 

In this context, the Chair is based on four objectives: promoting research to create valuable knowledge for the sector; innovation at all levels; fostering young talent through a range of training appropriate to the needs, motivations and formats of the new generations, and knowledge transfer, to ensure that the work done reaches society and the market.  

Bringing value to the industry and the business community 

The TOUS Chair is also "another step forward in UVic-UCC's desire to work closely with industry and the business community in the region and In Catalonia as a whole, to meet their real needs, in the present and future," explains the rector of UVic-UCC Josep Eladi Baños. With the new chair, UVic-UCC not only consolidates its position in its natural region of influence, Central Catalonia, where it is present with campuses in Vic and Manresa. It also reinforces its presence in Barcelona, where it has had a campus since the Elisava Foundation joined the UVic-UCC's federated structure in 2020. According to the rector Baños, the creation of this chair also "reaffirms Elisava's role as a key factor in the present and future of the UVic-UCC university project," as well as "reinforcing the University's expertise in a field of knowledge that is as important as design." 

Javier Peña, the general manager of the Elisava Private Foundation University School, explains that the TOUS chair represents "significant progress in our mission to strengthen ties with local business and industry, while consolidating our leadership in innovation in the field of design and creativity." 

Meanwhile, Anaïs Durand, brand development director at TOUS, explains that "creativity has been crucial throughout the history of TOUS, and cooperation with the academic community and with the new generations is a key factor in continuing to promote it." In this context, she maintains that "we are very proud to be partners with a prestigious training centre like the UVic-UCC Elisava Faculty of Design and Engineering to create a chair that is a pioneer in Spain."   

Research, teaching, transfer and dissemination 

The UVic-UCC chairs are units that enable the University and other public and private institutions to collaborate in order to produce scientific and technological knowledge, and to transfer that knowledge to society and the production sector. The chairs' activities include training, support for research, technological oversight, dissemination and knowledge transfer activities. Each chair focuses on the most appropriate activities for achieving the objectives in its specific field. 

The TOUS Chair will be working in various areas of action, and one of these will be carrying out projects and programmes focusing on scientific research, development and technological innovation. Other lines include the deployment of training programmes and content; organising and undertaking activities related to the promotion and dissemination of scientific culture and technological breakthroughs, and finally, the dissemination of the results obtained in the activities carried out. Based at the Elisava Faculty of Design and Engineering in Barcelona, the Chair was formally created last December after its approval by the Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation, the institution which owns the UVic-UCC.  

The new unit is one of a total of seventeen chairs at UVic-UCC, which have been established in knowledge areas as diverse as Health, Education, Biosciences, Business, Marketing, Literature and Sustainability. Its creation is also aligned with the UVic-UCC strategic plan, and more specifically, with the research and knowledge transfer area, in which one of the actions consists of strengthening the business environment with the creation of chairs and research centres in the business field.