Technical University of Madrid

What Technical University of Madrid does

Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public Spanish technical university headquartered in Madrid and founded in 1971. It is structured as a federation of specialized technical schools (Escuelas Técnicas Superiores) covering aerospace engineering (ETSIAE), architecture (ETSAM), industrial engineering and design (ETSIDI), telecommunications (ETSIT), and computational simulation research (CCS), distributed across the Madrid metropolitan area within the Campus of International Excellence of Moncloa. UPM operates as a teaching and research institution with an undergraduate, master's, and doctoral portfolio in engineering, architecture, and applied sciences, plus continuing education through Formación Permanente and international summer schools. The university participates in European initiatives such as the EELISA European University alliance and has signed research exchange MoUs with institutions including the University of Macau.

UPM's core research portfolio spans quantum communications and cryptography (hosting the GIICC group and contributing to CIVIQ, OPENQKD, DISCRETION, and EuroQCI-Spain since 2016), additive manufacturing with superelastic Nitinol metamaterials using Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion, AI-driven surrogate models for real-time composite manufacturing simulation, and biomedical imaging technologies (BIT-UPM, integrated with CIBER-BBN). It operates major research infrastructure including the Centro de Investigación en Simulación Computacional (CCS) jointly with other Madrid universities. Revenue generation combines publicly funded undergraduate and master's tuition (set within the Comunidad de Madrid framework), continuing education course fees (€60-€1,000 per course depending on program scope), and research project grants including notable ERDF-funded initiatives such as Q-MIND (€5.3M consortium budget) and AQUAHUB (€4.5M). Industry-facing programs include the fully-funded Samsung Innovation Campus AI courses and professional capacity-strengthening tracks (IPMA, Big Data). Pricing for continuing education ranges from €60 (community astronomy course) to €350 (8-hour quantitative risk workshop), with flagship funded programs (Samsung Innovation Campus) offered at zero cost to participants.

The institution's go-to-market approach is direct enrollment via the UPM admissions portal (admision.upm.es) targeting domestic Spanish undergraduates through the PAU/EvAU system, with international student acquisition via summer schools, EELISA exchange, and bilateral MoUs. Corporate and government engagement flows primarily through research partnerships with firms such as Telefónica (12+ year quantum collaboration), GMV, BBVA, Repsol, IMDEA Materials Institute, and AWAES. UPM holds the European Commission's HRS4R (HR Excellence in Research) label awarded in 2019 and is ranked the #1 Spanish university for Engineering and Technology by El Mundo for 2025/2026.

Name

Technical University of Madrid

Legal name

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Website

https://upm.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Technical University of Madrid (UPM) is a public Spanish technical university offering accredited undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in engineering, architecture, and applied sciences. It serves domestic and international students while conducting research in quantum technologies, additive manufacturing, AI-driven simulation, and biomedical imaging.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive) (EDAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Universities with Architecture, Built Environment & Design Engineering (EDAHAEAJ), Project, Quality & Operations (PMP PDUs, Six Sigma, Quality CE) (EDAAALAM)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Engineering education programs
• University research services
• Professional training courses
• Continuing education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public University Tuition: As a public Spanish university, UPM's primary revenue stream is government-funded tuition from degree programs. Tuition rates follow the framework established by the Comunidad de Madrid for public universities.
2. Continuing Education and Professional Training: Revenue from Formación Permanente programs including professional courses (€60–€350 per course), international cultural courses (€1,000 for the China-Tibet integration course), and certification programs. Also includes specialized training programs such as Samsung Innovation Campus (fully funded/scholarship-based) and capacity-strengthening programs.
3. Research Project Funding and ERDF Grants: UPM participates as a research partner in EU-funded projects such as AQUAHUB (€4.5M budget, €2.1M ERDF) and Q-MIND (€5.3M, ERDF-funded), generating operational funding through research grants, fellowships, and institutional subsidies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) is a public Spanish university that delivers accredited undergraduate (Grado), master's (Máster), and doctoral degree programs in engineering, architecture, and applied sciences through its distributed campus of technical schools in Madrid. It also operates continuing education (Formación Permanente) courses, professional training programs (including Samsung Innovation Campus AI courses), international summer schools, and conducts applied research in quantum communications, additive manufacturing, AI-driven simulation, and biomedical imaging. Revenue derives primarily from government-funded tuition, EU research grants, and industry-sponsored training programs.

Product overview

Technical University of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM) is a public technical university offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational programs and services. Its academic offerings span official degree programs (Grado), master's degrees (Máster), doctoral programs (Doctorado), and continuing education through permanent formation courses (Formación Permanente) including titles such as specialization diplomas and expert certificates. UPM also provides digital services including the UPMdrive cloud storage platform and Politécnica Virtual e-learning environment. Specialized professional training programs include the Samsung Innovation Campus AI courses (in partnership with Samsung), cultural courses like the Opera and Pre-Romanesque Art programs, and international academic programs such as the EELISA European University Alliance. The university operates multiple research institutes and technical schools across engineering, architecture, aerospace, and telecommunications disciplines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HRS4R UPM: Human Resources Strategy for Researchers initiative implementing European Commission principles for researcher career development

Products and services

• Master en Ingeniería Avanzada del Motorsport (MIAM-UPM)
• UPM International Summer School - AI-Driven Design
• Samsung Innovation Campus AI and GenAI Training Courses

Quantifiable outcome

• Mechanical performance (stiffness, load-bearing capacity, energy absorption, toughness) of additively manufactured Nitinol can be tuned across several orders of magnitude through geometric structuring alone
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and strategic.

• TelefónicaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026Telefónica and UPM formalized a new Joint Research Unit focused on quantum technologies, reinforcing a collaboration spanning over 12 years in advanced communications. The agreement is based at the Higher Technical School of Computer Engineers (ETSISI) and linked to the Quantum Information group GIICC. The collaboration has been key to major European quantum communications projects since 2016, including CIVIQ, OPENQKD, DISCRETION, and EuroQCI-Spain. The partnership integrates specialized startups Qoolnet and QCentroid.
• IMDEA Materials InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMDEA Materials Institute and UPM researchers have collaborated on advanced materials research, including the development of woven Nitinol architectures using Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing and AI-powered surrogate models for real-time composites manufacturing simulation. Research results have been published in Virtual and Physical Prototyping journal.
• GMV (Q-MIND Project Lead)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGMV leads the Q-MIND project (Quantum Madrid for Innovation and New Developments) with a budget exceeding €5.3 million, co-funded by the EU through ERDF. UPM is a key consortium partner alongside BBVA, Repsol, QDynamics, QoolNet, Inspiration-Q, CSIC, and Tecnalia. The initiative integrates quantum computing, quantum communications (QKD), and post-quantum cybersecurity (PQC) for strategic sectors including energy, banking, telecommunications, and defense.
• AWAES (Tedagua / Cobra Infraestructuras Hidráulicas)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWAES, an innovation subsidiary of Tedagua and Cobra Infraestructuras Hidráulicas, leads the AQUAHUB project — a 36-month wastewater treatment and circular economy initiative with a €4.5M budget (€2.1M ERDF-funded). UPM collaborates on technologies including anaerobic membrane bioreactors, tertiary water treatment achieving up to 99% removal of emerging contaminants, biomethane production above 95% purity, AI-driven predictive models, and digital twins.
• BBVA, Repsol, CSIC, Tecnalia (Q-MIND Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Madrid-based companies and research institutions participating in the Q-MIND public-private consortium led by GMV. UPM contributes quantum research capabilities to the consortium alongside these industry partners, with EU ERDF co-funding exceeding €5.3 million.
• University of MacaustrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerA delegation from the University of Macau visited UPM (Polytechnic University of Madrid) as part of a European tour including University of Barcelona, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and Rey Juan Carlos University. New memoranda of understanding were signed for student and faculty exchange programs and preliminary consensus on research collaboration in information science, biomedical sciences, engineering technology, and design.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC): Spain's other leading public polytechnic university, also focused on engineering, architecture, and technology. Directly comparable to UPM in mission, public funding model, and competitive positioning within Spanish engineering higher education.
• Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV): Another major Spanish public polytechnic with engineering, architecture, and applied sciences programmes. Competes with UPM for top students, faculty, and industry partnerships in the Spanish technical university market.
• Technical University of Munich (TUM): Germany's leading public technical university and a European benchmark in engineering and applied research. Comparable to UPM in mission, scale, public funding model, and emphasis on industry-linked research, while operating in a more internationalised setting.
• KTH Royal Institute of Technology: Sweden's leading public technical university. Comparable to UPM in mission and structure (polytechnic with engineering and architecture), public funding model, and emphasis on European collaborative research and innovation partnerships.
• Politecnico di Milano: Italy's largest technical university, focused on engineering, architecture, and industrial design. Directly comparable to UPM in federated school model, public status, and ranking profile within European technical higher education.

Broad incumbents

• Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM): Largest public university in Madrid with broader disciplinary coverage including sciences, humanities, and health. Comparable as a public research university in the same region that competes for students and research funding, though less focused on engineering/architecture.
• Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM): Madrid-based public research university with a strong STEM faculty and a joint UPM partnership in the CCS computational simulation centre. Comparable as a public research-intensive university sharing the Moncloa Campus of International Excellence.
• ETH Zurich: Switzerland's premier public technical university, globally top-ranked for engineering and technology. Comparable to UPM as a public research-intensive polytechnic, though operating at significantly larger scale and with a much stronger international funding base.
• Imperial College London: UK-based public research university focused on engineering, science, medicine, and business. Comparable to UPM in applied research intensity and industry partnerships, with a similarly high-ranked position in European engineering education.

Regional players

• Universitat de Barcelona: Major public research university in Barcelona with broad disciplinary coverage. Comparable as a large Spanish public research university, though it competes in a different regional market and is less specialised in engineering and architecture than UPM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UPM
• Facebookfacebook.com/universidadpolitecnicademadrid
• LinkedInes.linkedin.com/school/universidad-politecnica-de-madrid
• Instagraminstagram.com/somosupm
• Xx.com/La_UPM

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Technical University of Madrid