The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) has awarded La Salle-URL, in Spain, accreditation as an Entrepreneurial University.
La Salle Campus Barcelona, a founding member of the Universitat Ramon Llull, is a university campus of international prestige with more than a century of history, offering undergraduate, master's, postgraduate, doctoral, and specialized studies. With technology and humanism as essential elements of its DNA, the campus currently hosts more than 7,000 students, over 32% of whom are international, representing up to 100 different nationalities. La Salle Campus Barcelona also boasts two unique innovation and research spaces: the Internet of Things Institute of Catalonia and the forthcoming Interactive Arts & Science Laboratory (IASlab), both leading European laboratories in their fields.
“We educate students so that they are not oblivious to injustices, encouraging them to respond in an entrepreneurial and innovative way to global challenges. We focus on knowledge transfer and promote technology-based entrepreneurship through La Salle Technova Barcelona, our innovation park, which acts as our hub connecting startups, investors, and corporations in the framework of our entrepreneurial university. Achieving this great milestone, being awarded the ACEEU accreditation as an Entrepreneurial University, reinforces our mission and the values we have”, says Josep M. Santos, General Director of La Salle Campus Barcelona.
La Salle Campus Barcelona promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and applied research, and encourages constant interaction between students and companies. Faithful to its mission of training professionals with values capable of transforming society, it promotes the development of social and humanistic sensitivity in its students and the transversal collaboration between its fields of knowledge. ACEEU accreditation now puts the university in the top world universities for entrepreneurship, showcasing the excellence of the university in its third mission efforts.
“At ACEEU we want to promote a more transformative approach in higher education through an entrepreneurial approach. La Salle Campus Barcelona is making an important contribution by having entrepreneurship in its culture, the values, their public strategic commitment. They contribute to the economic development of the industry and region in a unique way and are a role model of an entrepreneurial approach” says Professor Thorsten Kliewe, Chair of the ACEEU Council.
The six evaluators who contributed to the accreditation of La Salle-URL were impressed by its clearly defined commitment to entrepreneurship, which is deeply interwoven with its identity and mission, confirming the institution's commitment to creating significant impact through entrepreneurship and fostering an entrepreneurial culture is marked by strong recognition and awards, effective communication, supportive environments, and community engagement. This vibrant ecosystem empowers the university community to embrace entrepreneurship, positioning the university as a leader in entrepreneurial education and innovation. The University has met all 15 accreditation standards, achieving excellence in 7 of them:
1. Standard 1.1: Institutional Commitment
2. Standard 1.2: Shared Goals
3. Standard 2.1: Leadership
4. Standard 3.1: Culture
5. Standard 3.2: Internal Support Structures
6. Standard 3.3: Service Alignment
7. Standard 4.1: Education
To receive this accreditation, La Salle Campus Barcelona succeeded in presenting evidence of their achievements in the 15 standards of ACEEU accreditation for entrepreneurship. La Salle-URL was very successful in the accreditation, receiving the classification of “excellent” for several standards. The university went through a four-phase process, including a self-evaluation and a peer review visit, before the Accreditation Council awarded the Entrepreneurial University status.