UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE MADRID
ABOUT US
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) is a reference institution in research and teaching in architecture, engineering, sport and physical activity sciences, and fashion design. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, it is among the world's top 75 universities in engineering and technology, and it is Spain's best polytechnic university for graduate employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). UPM comprises 15 schools, one faculty and one affiliated centre.
It is Spain's leading university in securing external funding for research, development and innovation (R&D&I), with almost 2,800 researchers working across 220 research groups in its centres. UPM leads Spanish universities in the number of patents granted, and 15% of its budget comes from technology transfer activities. UPM has 16 research centres, five research institutes and three innovation centres.
OUR ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE CONSORTIUM
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) plays a leading role in the STICS project, contributing above all its expertise in semantic interoperability and ontology engineering. UPM is recognised for its work on ontology-based interoperability and collaborates with standardisation bodies such as ISO, ETSI and W3C.
In the STICS project, UPM contributes to WP3 by defining the technical and semantic foundations of the interoperable STICS data ecosystem, ensuring alignment with the FAIR principles and current data space specifications. UPM leads Task 3.1, where it is responsible for adapting and extending existing ontologies, such as ETSI SAREF and W3C Web of Things, to support interoperability across the data ecosystems of smart cities and regions.
BENEFITS OF OUR OUTPUTS AND TARGET GROUPS
Within the STICS project, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) will deliver key outputs aimed at enabling semantic interoperability in the project's data ecosystem. These include the development of a standards-compliant ontology tailored to smart cities and regions. UPM will also contribute tools and methodologies for enabling semantic interoperability, ensuring alignment with data spaces.
These outputs will benefit a broad range of target groups: local and regional authorities will gain better capacity for evidence-based decision-making; technology providers and small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to build scalable, interoperable smart city solutions; academic and research institutions will gain access to advanced semantic models for further research and innovation; and policymakers will be supported in shaping data governance and standardisation processes.
Raúl García-Castro
Principal Investigator, UPM
What do you expect from the STICS project?
My expectations of the STICS project centre on the practical application of semantic technologies to solving real-world problems. I see STICS as a unique opportunity to show how semantic interoperability and data governance frameworks, areas in which UPM has deep expertise, can directly empower smart communities to work together more effectively through shared and trusted data ecosystems.
I expect the project not only to validate our research results in ontology engineering and semantic interoperability, but also to contribute to creating standards-based solutions that can be replicated in other scenarios. In this respect I value the interdisciplinary and international collaboration that STICS fosters, as it aligns with our mission to connect academic innovation with societal impact.
Who will be able to use your outputs, and when?
Our outputs will be applicable to several target groups at different stages of the STICS project. In the short term, by month 9, we will deliver the first version of the framework for ontology development and the project's technical architecture; these will be directly usable by technical partners and developers within the consortium during their development work. At the midpoint of the project (month 18), the final version of the architecture will be delivered along with a new version of the STICS ontologies and the first version of the semantic interoperability services. At that point the pilots will have fully functional components to use in their own development. All these components will continue to be developed throughout the project, with the final versions published after the project ends in month 30.