The three finalists will embark on an intensive mentorship programme to help them get their projects off the ground.
Three finalists of the third UOC-RMF Prize, Iñaki Bigatà, with MenuServe; Maria Teresa Garcia, Català with Volunteers in Action, and Eduard Marcel González, with Emotion recognition system in speech based on voice signal parameterisation, that have got through to the third and final stage of the competition to make their projects a reality.
Judged on their ability, potential and their projects’ potential for social impact and success, the Ramon Molinas Foundation and the Open University of Catalonia have decided that the three finalists will begin their training with Hubbik, a collaborative ecosystem created by the UOC with the aim of fostering innovative projects and supporting the transfer of knowledge.
Throughout this third phase, the finalists will complete an intensive personal mentorship programme that will help them to move their projects forward. This last phase, made up of 20 hours of support finishing mid-June, will allow the finalists to move forward with their business plan and take the first steps towards setting up their business. Finally, one of them will have the opportunity to participate in 4Y4N at the Mobile World Congress 2018 and another will attend SpinUOC 2018.
The finalist projects
Matadepera resident Iñaki Bigatà’s project, MenuServe, is a free system designed for the hospitality sector that simplifies and lowers managing costs for bars and restaurants. The project will democratise access to information technology and communication, making it available to smaller establishments. The tool is an integrated management system located on the cloud and is suitable for all devices connected to the internet, therefore making it easy to set up. Establishments interested in trying out the software can install it and have it up and running in less than a day just by opening an account through the application’s web page.
Volunteers in Action, Maria Teresa Garcia Català’s proposal, is an application for mobile phones and tablets helping social development programmes in Spain to manage volunteer participation. The app aims to be the point of contact where non-profits can meet volunteers willing to give up their time to help vulnerable people, and be a permanent and immediate volunteer platform for information, coordination, participation and management.
Lastly, Emotion recognition system in speech based on voice signal parameterisation, a project by Eduard Marcel González from Tortosa, is a tool which helps users to automatically recognise emotions in the voice. It will serve as the basis for multiple applications or technologies that require the ability to recognise emotional states. The project will offer highly useful technology available to everyone with the objective of opening up new opportunities in fields such as health and social care.