Alumni Trajectories

• Núria Cabutí Brull

Have you ever bought a book from the popular publisher Penguin Random House? Well Núria Cabutí, Economics '90, is the CEO!

Cabutí signed the acquisition of Roca Editorial and the rights to the saga Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin.

She leads more than 2,500 titles a year at the company she joined in 2001, which brings together 61 publishers and 37 Nobel prize winning authors. 

She has run the company since 2010 and her whole professional career has been in this sector, with brands such as Plaza & Janés and Bertelsmann.

 

• Helena García Melero

Does her face look familiar? Helena García Melero, Information Sciences '94, has presented several flagship programmes on TV3.

She started out presenting Telenotícies on the Catalan public channel from 1992 to 2004, and then joined Els Matins de TV3 with Josep Cuní until 2007. She also published the book "Cuinar sense recepta" (2005).

After working for Ràdio Estel, Cadena SER and El Periódico de Catalunya, she returned to TV3 to present the late night show l'Hora Q (2008-2009).

Since 2010, she has presented the magazines Els Matins, Divendres and currently Tot es mou. She has also appeared in specials like La Marató de TV3 (2005 & 2022) and Les campanades (2019 & 2021).

 

• Agnès Arbat

Did you know that 76 million women are affected every year by fertility problems? Agnès Arbat, Medicine '98, is CEO of OXOLIFE, the clinical-stage development company she co-founded, and which works to improve women’s fertility.

Arbat worked for more than 10 years for multinational pharmaceutical company Bayer (2007-2018) becoming its head of general medicine and women's health in the medical department of the Barcelona area.

Meanwhile, in 2013, she co-founded the biotechnology company Oxolife together with Ignasi Canals. As CMO, she was responsible for leading the development of clinical strategies and plans to integrate OXO-001, an innovative treatment to boost embryo implantation in standard therapeutic protocols for female infertility.

In 2019, she became CEO of the company, from where he develops Oxolife's strategies and business plans. Her mission is to bring to market the first treatment that improves the process of embryo implantation to boost declining female fertility.

 

• Meritxell Bautista

Considered one of the most influential women in the ICT sector, Meritxell Bautista, Tourism and Hotel Management '01, fights to get exposure for women in the fields of companies and technologies. Her work as an activist, including her very active participation in lectures and events, was recognised by the Government of Catalonia with the Women in ICT Award 2020. She has also received the international award from the IWEC Foundation 2020, the Cambra Talent Award and the FIDEM Correspondence Award.

Bautista founded Fibracat, where she worked as head of sales (2014-2023), and was the president and promoter of Fibracat TV (2020-2022), the television channel with all programmes entirely in Catalan, for which she received the Pompeu Fabra Award from the Government of Catalonia's Ministry of Culture.

She is currently the executive chairwoman of Holding Manix Capital, a company that promotes companies and innovative talent in the fields of technology, AI, energy, communication and outreach, among others. She is also a member of the board of the Women, Business and Economy Observatory (ODEE) and a board member of FIDEM (International Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs). 

Her influence and trajectory made her one of the 500 most influential women in Spain 2023.

 

• Núria Vilanova

Can you imagine starting your own company at the age of 23? Núria Vilanova, Information Sciences’87, founded the consultancy ATREVIA with her own savings, and a minority shareholder, her mother. 

Today her business, dedicated to global communication and the strategic positioning of companies, has a presence in 15 countries in Europe and America and a team of almost 550 professionals. To encourage diversity, she has mandated that at least 33% of the workforce be men.

She is also president of the Alliance for Iberoamerica Business Council (CEAPI), an association that brings together the presidents of the largest Ibero-American companies, and is also a member of the YPO.

She has written four books: “La esencia de la empresa familiar. Valores y comunicación”, “Actúa contra la crisis” and “Micropoderes, comunicación interna para empresas con futuro”, and was co-author with Iñaki Ortega of “Generación Z. Tot el que necessita saber sobre els joves que han deixat vells als millennials.”

Socially, she is a member of the board of patrons of the FIES Foundation (Spanish Institutional Foundation), the Pelayo Foundation, the Hermes Foundation and the Ayuda en Acción Foundation. 

She has won the Master's Award in Public Relations Communication from the University of Blanquerna, Ibero-American ASICOM-University of Oviedo Award and the Individual Outstanding Achievement Award at the Saber Awards. She has been decorated with the Isabel la Católica Officer's Cross and recognised with the Gold Master of the Senior Management Forum, the IWEC Award (International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge), the FIDEM Award for Women Entrepreneurs, the FEDEPE Award for Women Entrepreneurs, and the ESIC Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

She is in different rankings as one of the TOP 100 women in Spain, of the 20 leading directors in Yo Dona and one of the ten most influential CEOs on Spanish Social Networks.

 

• Sara Berbel

With a long career linked to equality policies, Sara Berbel, Social Psychology'86, has served as municipal manager of Barcelona City Council. 

She is also president of the BCN Vocational Training Foundation, CEO of Foment de Ciutat SA and a member of the Boards of Directors of the Metropolitan Transport Authority and Fira 2000 SA. She has been general director of Barcelona Activa SA, and manager of Economic Policy and Local Development on Barcelona City Council. 

She was previously Director General of Equal Opportunities in the Government of Catalonia’s Ministry of Labour, President of the Catalan Women's Institute and Coordinator of Equality, Economic Promotion and Social Economics policies on Barcelona City Council. 

In 2015 she founded the Empowerment Hub, a project for personal, professional and social empowerment. She received the Aspasia Award for defence of gender equity in March 2014, presented by the Network of Social Action Directors and Professionals (DDiPAS) and the Third Sector Observatory. 

Invited by the US Department of State, she participated as an expert in gender leadership in the International Visitor Leadership Program “Women in Leadership: Advancing Women, Advancing Humanity”, together with 11 European representatives of different countries in 2012. 

She publishes articles, lectures and books and gives courses on leadership, empowerment and political practice for women. Her publications include prominent works like El cos silenciat i Sense cadenes, Noves formes de llibertat al segle XXI; as well as her more recent books Directives i empresàries. Dones trencant el sostre de vidre and Idees que canvien el món. She recently published Imbatibles: l'edat de les dones, together with other female professional colleagues.

 

• Elvira Dyangani Ose

Before Elvira Dyangani Ose, Art History, no woman had held the position of director of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA). She had led the museum since 2021, following an extensive career working for prestigious arts institutions in different continents.

She was Director and Chief Curator of The Showroom in London, as well as a Professor of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a member of the Thought Council, Fondazione Prada.

Before that, she was curator of the Gothenburg International Biennale of Contemporary Art, curator of international art at the Tate Modern in London, arts director at Rencontres Picha - Lubumbashi Biennale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, curator of contemporary art at the Andalusian Centre for Contemporary Art (CAAC) in Seville, senior curator at Creative Time, New York and curator of contemporary art at the Atlantic Centre for Modern Art (CAAM) in Las Palmas, Gran Canària.

• Vicenç Villatoro

Vicenç Villatoro (Terrassa, 1957), graduate of Information Sciences #alumni at @uabbarcelona. He is a writer and journalist.

As a writer he has published novels, journals, poetry and essays. He has won the main prizes in Catalan literature, such as the Sant Jordi, Ciutat de Palma and Prudenci Bertrana.

His more mature narrative work has been acclaimed by both critics and the reading public: L’home que se’n va (2014), El retorn dels Bassat (2016), La casa dels avis (2021) and Urgell. La febre d'aigua (2024).

As a journalist, he has been director of Avui and CCRTV and has worked in the main media in the country, both in the press and on radio and television.

 

• Ruth Tormo Benavent

Ruth Tormo Benavent (1974), graduate in Journalism'96 #alumni of @uabbarcelona is the author of the children's novel Què hi tens al cap, Lis?, Quina tocada de nassos! (Guillem Cifre de Colonya Award 2018) and various short stories for the magazine Cavall Fort.

He has also won the Castellbisbal (2016) and Elsa Garcia del Papiol (2018) awards for adult stories; the Recvll Joan Petit (Blanes, 2017) and Joles Sennell (La Seu d'Urgell, 2017) awards for children's literature, and the Ramon Muntaner 2020 award for youth literature for Sense codi de barres.

He has also worked for over twenty years in the field of institutional communication. He is currently part of the Theatre Institute's communication department.

 

• Clara Queraltó

Clara Queraltó is a graduate in Catalan Philosophy'10 #alumni of @uabbarcelona. She is a teacher of Catalan language and literature.

Born in El Pla del Penedès in 1988, she has published El que pensen els altres, winner of the Mercè Rodoreda award for short stories and narratives (Proa, 2017), stories included in the anthologies Barcelona suites and Nits d’estiu (Univers, 2019 & 2020), the novel Et diré R. (Empúries, 2021), children’s novel Xiular en cas d’emergència (Bindi Books, 2023) and Anagrama Com el so d’un batec en un micròfon (2023), which won the Anagrama Books Award for novels.

She also works for RAC-1 and El Nacional.

 

• Neus Arqués

Neus Arqués is a graduate in Political Sciences #alumni of @uabbarcelona. She is a writer and analyst.

She has been director of International Relations at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, ​​and head of the Pan-American programme at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She directed the Barcelona Promotion Foundation. And in 2000 she founded Manfatta, a digital marketing company included in the list of the 500 most innovative agencies in the world.

She is also a lecturer on several graduate programmes and is considered one of the 35 most influential Spanish women on the internet.

She has published, among others, the books I tu, quina marca ets? and Màrqueting per a escriptors. She has also published several novels.

 

• Xavi Coral

Xavi Coral i Trullàs, graduate of Information Sciences'95 #alumni of @uabbarcelona. He is a Catalan journalist, being presenter of Telenotícies Migdia on TV3 since 2020

In 2024 he published his first novel, Aprendre a esquivar les bales, based on his grandfather's diary during the Spanish Civil War and his grandmother's memoirs of service in the rearguard.

Born in Terrassa in 1971, he started working at Televisió de Terrassa, where he presented news. From 1997 and for twelve years he led different editions of Telenotícies - mainly the midday edition -, accompanied by Helena Garcia Melero, Raquel Sans and Núria Solé.

From 2007 to 2009 he presented the analysis programme on Canal 33 called Àgora.

Between 2009 and 2015 he and Espartac Peran presented the Divendres entertainment magazine, broadcast in the afternoons on TV3, where he presented the content live from the studio, while Peran went each day to a different part of the country. Also with Peran, he presented the New Year show in 2010 from the Agbar Tower in Barcelona and in 2011, the Marató de TV3 to raise money for the regeneration and transplantation of organs and tissues. In the 2015-2016 season he was the presenter of the show on TV3.

Between September 2016 and July 2020, he was the channel's correspondent in Brussels, replacing Francesc Serra. Since 2020, he has been co-presenter with Raquel Sans of Telenotícies Migdia on TV3.

 

• Xavier Bosch

Xavier Bosch, graduate of Information Sciences'91 #alumni of @uabbarcelona. He was born in Barcelona in 1967. His novel 32 de Març was the best-selling fiction book of Sant Jordi 2023.

He is the author of the trilogy of novels featuring investigative journalist Dani Santana: Se sabrà tot (Sant Jordi Prize 2009 and biggest selling book of 2010), Homes d’honor (2012) and Eufòria (2014).

He previously published collections of short stories called Jo, el simolses (1992) and Vicis domèstics (1998) and the teen novel La màgia dels Reis (1994). In 2015 he won the Ramon Llull Award for Algú com tu, an unprecedented success that sold 60,000 copies and was translated into seven languages.

Later, Nosaltres dos and Paraules que tu entendràs were number one best sellers in 2017 and 2019, respectively. A journalist with a long career, he has been the creator of successful audiovisual formats such as Alguna Pregunta Més, El món on RAC1 and El gran dictat.

He has led programmes on RAC1, was director of Avui, of the documentaries La fleur and Estadi Johan Cruyff: camí dels somnis, and the TV shows Un tomb per la vida, Aquest any, cent! and Àgora on TV3.

A columnist for Mundo Deportivo, he is currently a member of the editorial board of Ara.

 

• Sílvia Soler i Guasch

Sílvia Soler i Guasch, graduate of Information Sciences'85 #alumni of @uabbarcelona. She is a writer and journalist.

She recently published Estimada Gris (2023), Nosaltres, després (2021), El fibló (2019), Rellotges de sol (2017), Els vells amics (2017) and Un any i mig (2015).

She has received several awards, including the Ramon Llull Award in 2013 for the novel L'estiu que comença.

She wrote the collection of short stories Arriben els ocells de nit (1985) and the novels El centre exacte de la nit (1992), El son dels volcans (Columna, 1998), L'arbre de Judes (Columna, 2001), 39+1, L'edat en què una dona sap que l'home de la seva vida és ella mateixa (Columna, 2005) and 39+1+1, enamorar-se és fàcil si saps com (Columna, 2007).

Sílvia was co-author of the book Ramblejar (1992), a journey through the history of Les Rambles in Barcelona. Her novel Mira'm als ulls won the Fiter i Rossell Award in 2003, and Petons de diumenge (Columna, 2008) won the Prudenci Bertrana Award in 2008.

The author regularly collaborates in various Catalan media.

 

• Regina Rodríguez Sirvent

Regina Rodríguez Sirvent, graduate of Psychology'06 #alumni of @uabbarcelona. She went to the USA after finishing her degree, and it was there that she wrote her first novel, Les calces al sol, which is one of the top three best-selling fiction books in Catalan for the last year and a half.

She is a columnist in the Estils section of Ara newspaper, where she also worked as a screenwriter and presenter of Ara Vídeos. For almost two years she wrote a daily comedy programme presented by Antoni Bassas. Internationally, she has published articles in the magazine of Georgia Institute of Technology and in the Spanish-language American publication Mundo Hispánico.

She also has a small company that organises culinary tours of Barcelona.

• Virginia Pelayo, Biology’13

“You have to find out what you like and pursue it. There are many ways to achieve this, a good record helps but it's not the only way to get there”

Virgnia Pelayo Malet is an ethologist, research assistant on the People and Fauna Programme and works at Las Pumas Rescue and Sanctuary in Costa Rica. She has a degree in Biology (UAB) and Master's in Ethology, Animal Behaviour and Ethology (University of Cordoba).

She has loved big cats since she was little. She did her thesis at Barcelona Zoo where she then worked as an intern for a year and a half, dealing with, among other things, environmental enrichment programmes for all mammals that are not primates or cetaceans. She also works as an independent professional in dog and cat ethology. In 2016, she made a trip to Costa Rica volunteering as an ethologist and fell in love with the country, where she settled in 2017. Since then she has been working with wildlife and wild cats, in the rehabilitation and conservation of cats at rescue and release centres. Since March 2020 she has also been part of the People and Fauna programme as a research assistant, working in communities where jaguars and pumas are present, both doing research studies of felines and working for more social projects that promote welfare incentives in cattle communities to encourage coexistence with felines. 

 

• Martí Cabanes, Biotechnology’13

“What am I passionate about? It's an important question if you want to work in research. Often you don't know until you find it, but you can learn what you don't like”

Martí Cabanes Creus leads a research subgroup within the Translational Vectorology Unit at the Children's Medical Research Institute in Sydney. He has a degree in Biotechnology (UAB), Master's in Applied Biotechnology (Uppsala University) and a PhD in Gene Therapy from University College London.

He spent the second year of his master's degree on a research stay at the Salk Institute in San Diego, where he met his doctoral mentor who was setting up a laboratory in Australia at the time. He took his doctorate between UCL in London and the laboratory in Australia and when he finished he started working as a sponsored research postdoc for the Children's Medical Research Institute, which had taken an interest in his research. He is very convinced when he says that it doesn't matter if you don't know what you want to do with your life, because as you try things you get a better idea of ​​what you like, saying that "I like academic research but I'm always unsure about whether I should move to biotech. About living here or abroad... When I was doing my degree I was sure that I wanted to go away but since I left I've started wanting to go back!"

 

• Laura Medrano, Genetics ’13

“I really like research, but I have had moments of doubt, wondering whether I should continue. Sometimes it's hard to know what you want”

Laura Medrano González is a postdoc researcher at the Oncological Institute of Catalonia. She has a degree in Genetics (UAB), Master's in Science (Imperial College London) and a PhD in Immunology and Cell Biology from Queen Mary University of London.

She admits that she would have liked to have attended a conference like this when she was a student. She was convinced that she wanted to go abroad and she decided to take an Erasmus Practicum (where internships rather than subjects are assessed) at the University of Glasgow. She believes that it is important to accumulate lab experience to learn about different dynamics and find out what you really like. After a master's degree in Science Immunology at the Imperial College of London and a PhD at the Queen Mary University of London, she had been abroad for 7 years and wanted to return. She says that all experiences are different depending on your bosses, the projects you do and whether you have been able to publish. Over the years she has come to see how the concepts she studied at university and the techniques she has been learning all ended up getting applied. Now as a postdoc researcher at IDIBELL, she is happy with the research she is doing and feels at home.  

 

• Eduard Vico, Microbiology ’13

“The research world is demanding and exhausting. If you stay in academia, it has to be for something special, that's worth bearing in mind”

Eduard Vico Otón is a postdoc researcher at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL). He has a degree in Microbiology (UAB), a Master's in Science (University of Aberdeen) and a PhD from the University of Nottingham.

He always knew he wanted to be a microbiologist and do a PhD focusing on the more academic side of research. His plan was to do his doctorate in the United States, because the country is a powerhouse in terms of research, but he ended up doing his master's degree in environmental microbiology in Scotland. After finishing his doctorate in England, he returned home to look for work as a postdoctoral researcher. He says that "the situation in Spain is a bit precarious and resources are very limited. Here I was looking for more industrial research and, as a postdoc, a laboratory that interested me. I was also thinking of going to a country like Norway or Switzerland where I could go mountaineering.” It was the first time that he hadn't focused purely on his professional interests but was instead trying to strike a balance between his professional and personal life. He ended up finding a position in Switzerland, where thanks to the financial resources available to him, he has the creative freedom to explore the most interesting science-based projects possible. 

 

• Oriol Pavón, Biomedical Sciences ’13

“If you don't know people who have taken this path, workshops like these are very useful, I'd have liked to have had them when I was studying”

Oriol Pavón Arocas is a pre-doctoral researcher in Neuroscience at University College London. He has a degree in Biomedical Sciences (UAB) and a Master's in Neurosciences (LMU Munich).

He was convinced that there weren't many opportunities in Spain due to a lack of financial resources and scholarships and he didn't quite know what to do. But in the final year of his degree he started looking for a master's degree that would take him abroad. From the outset, his academic career was a pleasure. He got a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the UAB, a 2-year master’s in Munich where he got the opportunity to do an Erasmus Practicum first in Amsterdam and then in Oxford and eventually finished his doctorate at the University College of London. But he thinks it would be dishonest to claim that everything went smoothly, saying that "changing cities every three months, taking a sabbatical year in Barcelona thinking about my future before becoming a PhD student, when no one in your family had done a PhD and you don't know what an academic career is going to be like if you do research. It's not exactly easy." In these years he has learned that the traditional path of bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctorate, first postdoc and perhaps a second one too with high-impact publications to become a principal researcher in your own group and end up as a professor, is an option but not the only one. "There are many other alternatives," he says. 

 

• Eloi Parladé, Microbiology ’13

“Everyone has to make their own way and shouldn't be afraid of change”

Eloi Parladé Molist is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB - UAB). With a degree in Microbiology and Master's in Applied Microbiology (UAB), he has worked in the pharmaceutical and food industry as a microbiologist, and holds a PhD in Microbiology from the UAB.

He's done a little bit of everything, with one foot in industry and the other in research, and he thinks he's still unsure what he wants to do. "I never knew what my vocation was, or what I liked didn't end up defining a clear path for me", he admits. While doing his thesis, he became curious about going to the United States and his great regret is not having done an Erasmus. In the final year of his doctorate he went to the University of California Davis, where he studied the branch of bioinformatics and discovered that maybe that was what he really likes. He doesn't rule out becoming a programmer in the future. “As long as you like it and feel comfortable, go for it!" he says. "We shouldn't be afraid of leaving our fate up to fortune." He claims that whether you do research or go into the corporate world, it is the contacts you make that will end up weaving your future. He agrees with his fellow alumni that research is often linked to short contracts, some of which can be precarious, while others are not so much. 

 

• Berta Peris, Environmental Biology ’13

“When you finish your degree you say... Now what? At the time I'd have appreciated an employability workshop to know what opportunities we had”

Berta Peris is a secondary school teacher. She has a degree in Environmental Biology (UAB), Master's in Teacher Training, Master's in Regional Development in Germany and postgraduate in Local Agroecological Revitalisation.

When her studies ended she found herself faced by an abyss: "What do I want to do? And where am I going? Environmental education or research in the field of biology with mosses?" She took a year off, which she used for a couple of stays in France and Ireland, on organic farms, where she worked in exchange for accommodation on a Leonardo scholarship. As part of the Erasmus+ programme, she did an internship in toxicology in Germany but she didn't like it much. She decided to do a Master's in Teacher Training and worked as a guide at the Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia for 4 months, where she learned about technical issues and most importantly the social part. Then she did her first substitution at a school, which she likes, but she says "my goal is to introduce environmental and sustainability education into formal education, so that it is something more than small one-off sessions." She was in Germany for two years doing a master's degree in Applied Sciences. She admits that languages played a key role in being able to go abroad and sustain herself financially. She says everyone should try to work abroad at some stage. Since 2018 she has been working as a secondary school teacher and since 2019 she has been part of a communal living project with several fellow alumni. "We are 11 people living in a farmhouse, setting up an agroecology and perhaps environmental education project, with the intention of connecting with nature and getting away from more urban spaces." 

 

• Joan Mir, Environmental Biology’13

“The great doubt of now what do I do? It gets repeated throughout your academic and professional life”

Joan Mir Arguimbau is a PhD student in Marine Ecology and works part-time in scientific and naturalist illustration. He has a degree in Environmental Biology (UAB) and a Master's in Oceanography and Management of the Marine Environment (UB).

Throughout his studies, he worked as an instructor in his free time, and got his instructor and open water diving license and started doing things like illustration and painting as a hobby. He was sure that he wanted to do marine research but when the time came he had second thoughts. He opted for a year off, and took several environmental education courses to expand his curriculum and knowledge. He decided to do the master's degree in Oceanography and Management of the Marine Environment, which didn't quite convince him. "I wasn't sure if I liked the marine topic enough and started working as a marine environmental educator" he says. "But I wasn't convinced by that kind of outreach either." He finished his Master's degree and the doubts came back. When he was doing his master's thesis at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona, ​​he was told that they were recruiting for a new project and he could do his doctorate with their team. The project convinced him and he accepted, and while the possibility of obtaining a scholarship was being sorted out, he decided to go back to the illustration and theatre that he had drifted away from. "That's when I got the idea of doing scientific illustration" he says. "I'm now in the fourth year of my doctorate and combining it with illustration.” When he finishes his doctorate, he says he has no intention of pursuing a scientific career, because "I don't like the price that has to be paid, the personal effort that goes into research." 

 

• Adrià Voltes, Genetics’13

“I wanted to go into research and I ended up in a very different field, which arose from exploring the interest I developed in the relationship between science and ethics”

Adrià Voltes Cobo provides scientific advice and communication at the Franz Weber Foundation. He has a degree in Genetics (UAB) and a Master's in Biomedicine (UPF). He is a doctor of Biomedicine.

He was sure that he wanted to go into research. When he finished his Master's in Biomedicine, he contacted his future thesis supervisor in the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences UPF at the Biomedical Research Park in Barcelona. His thesis research was focused on how the zebrafish brain is formed during embryonic development. Towards the second half of his thesis he started to explore networking. "I thought it could be interesting to experience collaborations between the biosciences and humanities," he says. He was rather negative about his time in research and says doing a doctoral thesis is no bed of roses. Another reason why he left research was that he had developed another interest and the possibility had come up of doing it professionally. He finished his thesis in late 2018 and in early 2019 he started working as a scientific advisor and doing scientific outreach at the Franz Weber Ecological and Animal Defence Foundation. His day-to-day endeavours involve constant disciplinary exchange between science, ethics and politics.

 

• Rosa Sayeras, Biomedical Sciences’13

“Everyone expected me to do my doctorate but it didn't fulfil me enough. I am aware that maybe I have to set aside the more professional kind of science and do science didactics”

Rosa Sayeras Rosa Sayeras is a biology teacher at a secondary school. She has a degree in Biomedical Sciences (UAB), a Master's in Cytogenetics and Reproductive Biology (UAB) and a Master's in Teacher Training (UPF).

She opted for biomedical sciences because they appealed to her, but in her first year she started having doubts about whether to change to a different degree or not. She combined her studies with stays in a laboratory, volunteering at science conferences to learn more about the scientific world, waiting to settle into things, but despite a good academic record she never felt fulfilled. She got good grades, and everyone expected her to do a doctorate because she was sure to get scholarships. She took a Master's degree in Cytogenetics and Biology of Reproduction, saying that "I enjoyed it but it didn't fulfil me either." While she was studying, she gave private lessons and worked as a monitor on summer schools and enjoyed it so much that she decided to do a Master's in Teaching. She combined that with stays at the Biomedical Research Park in Barcelona, ​​hoping to find a group or line of research that would motivate her but never did, and found it a lot more fulfilling to give review classes to students with few resources. "I really enjoyed teaching," she explains. "So I decided to leave the doctorate." Until now, she has been a teacher at various centres of different kinds, including primary schools, private, public and semi-public schools, and had been at public schools for years now. She isn't sure if this is what she'll do for the rest of her life, but for now she's really enjoying it. 

 

• Josep Ballarà, Genetics ’13

“I prefer to see the short-term impact that my work has on society”

Josep Ballarà Busquets is a Digital Business Partner at Novartis. He has a degree in Genetics (UAB) and a Master's in Pharmaceutical Marketing (UPF - Barcelona School of Management).

He had always wanted to be a scientist, to do science and research, but when he started his degree he realised that the impact of research is usually minor and long-term. To move from science to business, he took a Master's in Pharmaceutical Marketing, which helped him move into the pharmaceutical industry, specifically in the marketing field. He reckons that we are now at a time of transition in which the pharmaceutical industry needs to win back the reputation that it lost some years ago: "It earned a poor reputation for bad practices, he explains. "But now we’re in an era of change, of the digital revolution, in which the patient is increasingly empowered. Pharmaceutical communication is gaining in importance, not so much talking about the product or selling it, but informing and empowering the patient regarding their pathology." That's why pharmaceutical companies need to recruit professionals with scientific knowledge and who are able to inform society in a transparent and comprehensible manner. 

 

• Carla Vila, Biomedical Sciences ’13

“To start working in the European Union, I recommend doing some internships that have a good reputation, you get to see how it works from the inside and you will learn how to apply for a position."

Carla Vila de la Puente works in banking regulation affairs at a European Union agency. She has a degree in Biomedical Sciences and Company Management and Administration (UAB), and a Master's in Health Policy and Economics (London School of Economics and Political Science).

She explains that she was not a bright student and was a bit lost but knew she didn't want to work in a laboratory or as a pharmacist. Economics appealed to her and when she finished her degree in Biomedical Sciences, she studied Company Management and Administration. "It opened the doors to a world that I didn't know and would never have known," she says. With a scholarship from La Caixa, she took a Master's in Health Policy and Economics, learning about such a variety of topics as the financing of the health system and the prices of medicines. After finishing, she worked for a year at the McKinsey & Co consultancy. Her interest in public administration led her to leave London for Brussels, where she got a scholarship from the European Commission "that changed my life! I learned what lies behind the policies of the European Union." She successfully applied for certain positions and is now working in the field of banking regulation. On day-to-day public management in the European Union, Carla Vila says that depending on where you work and the subject matter, the duties are very different, "but if you are working in health, what you'll mainly be doing is coordination between units, meetings and negotiations." 

 

• Tarik Ruiz, Biochemistry’13

“More stable collaborations need to be established between academia and business”

Tarik Ruiz is a Biological Process Area Manager. He has a degree in Biochemistry (UAB) and a Master's in Pharmaceutical Industry and Advanced Biotechnology (UPF). He has a doctorate in Biology and Biotechnology from the UAB and an MBA (EADA Business School – École desPonts ParisTech).

When he finished his degree, he didn't have a very clear idea of ​​what it meant to work in a laboratory or in a company. When he finished his master's degree, it would be two and a half years before he began his industrial doctorate in Biology and Biotechnology. He has had several professional experiences: two at the UAB, in the Department of Microbiology and at the Neuroscience Institute of Catalonia. While doing his master's degree he worked as a specialist at Hospital Clínic, and then for the company Vytrus Biotech S.L., first as bioreactor manager and then as production manager. He is now a biological process area manager, working in collaboration with the CSO (Chief Scientific Officer), where he is in charge of the scientific justification of projects, the implementation of new technologies, project management with different partners, and support for other scientific departments. 

 

• Joan Carrasco, Biotechnology’13

"Partnerships between universities and companies are commonplace in Denmark"

Joan Carrasco Vidiella is a Technology Transfer Lead at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. He has a degree in Biotechnology (UAB) and a Master's in Biotechnology (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet).

He admits that, like most biotechnology students, he didn't know what biotechnology was exactly, and when he finished his degree, he still wasn't too sure. He had no desire to stay in Catalonia and looked for a master's degree abroad. He chose Denmark with the intention of staying there for two years and has ended up living there for seven. He started with his Master's, which he found boring and realised that the level of what he had learned at the UAB was very high. After doing an internship and spending almost four months looking for a job, sending an average of ten CVs a week, he ended up getting a call from the Biogen company asking him to work as an operator on the night shift. He thought "six years studying to end up working as a factory operator, albeit in a company that makes medicine!" But he accepted." A year and a half later he became the head of his department, before going to another company that makes bacteria for dairy products, yogurts, cheese and other probiotics. In times of Covid, the factory was bought by Fujifilm, which also makes biotech, becoming a CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organisation), offering services to other companies in the pharmaceutical industry. He is now in charge of technology transfer.

If anyone is thinking of taking a master's degree in Denmark or going to work there, Joan doesn't advise them to do it if they don't know English. Apart from that, the rest is relatively easy, as long as you are aware that everything is a lot more expensive and it's not easy to find a job when you're in a country where you have no connections. They should also bear in mind that if they want to study at a foreign university, they'd be better off sorting out the paperwork sooner rather than later to make sure everything is ready in time.

 

• Carles Solà, Microbiology’13

“To work in a company, it helps if you are an open, curious person, who reads scientific and corporate topics, who likes to give oral presentations and going to conferences” 

Carles Solà is an account manager at Mabtech AB, a biotechnology company in Sweden. She has a degree in Microbiology (UAB) and a specialised Master's in Infection and Immunity (University College London). She also has a PhD in Immunology from the Karolinska Institutet.

She wanted to go abroad and decided to do the last year of her degree on an Erasmus stay at the University of Bergen. From there, she chose to continue her scientific training outside of Catalonia. She moved to London where she did a master's degree in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and her master's final project convinced her to take a doctorate. She applied to places in Europe to be relatively close to her family. In 2014, she moved to Stockholm where she still lives now, having accepted a position at the Karolinska Institutet. In late 2019, she also started working as a project leader and member of the executive board of a student association that organises events around entrepreneurship and innovation. This experience led her to start working part-time as a project manager for a start-up, working in the digitisation of health in dermatology. Before presenting her thesis, she also did an internship in medical communication at Bayer. After finishing her doctorate (2019), she spent about five months as a postdoc, while also having job interviews. “I know I want to leave the academic world" she says. "I'd like the chance to train in corporate finance and business administration to complete my academic resume and be able to find a job that's more focused on marketing, sales and finance. Thanks to my networking earlier, I got the job where I am now."

 

• Laia Garcia, Biotechnology’13

“To be good at managing you need to work in as sales department”

Laia Garcia is a biotechnologist with experience in sales, marketing and multi-channel strategy in the pharmaceutical industry. She has a degree in Biotechnology (UAB) and a Master's in Pharmaceutical and Parapharmaceutical Industry (CESIF).

She explains that when deciding on a degree, she wasn't sure whether to do Sciences or Company Management and Administration. However, she was told that it is easier to change professional direction if you study sciences and so she opted for Biotechnology. After completing her degree, she felt sure that laboratories aren't her thing. She took an interest in master's degrees that would help set her on a different track and start working. At that time, the pharmaceutical industry was looking for ‘new science’ candidates, such as biotechnologists to sell products that departed from chemical drugs. She took the Master's in Pharmaceutical and Parapharmaceutical Industry, where she learned about the areas of the industry where she might be able to work, including management, sales, neo-marketing, regulatory affairs, and others. While she was studying for her master's degree, she worked at the company where she had been an intern when doing her degree. She admits that even though the company offered her a car, iPad, iPhone, laptop and the option of working from home, it was a major professional shock at first because she had to achieve goals, which made her realise that she needed certain skills that aren't taught on a degree course. "It's essential to know how to communicate and have clear targets" she says. She is currently still working in sales, this time of paediatric vaccines. "I work with hospitals, managing large accounts" she says. "In recent years, I've also specialised in digital areas, trying to find other ways to contact customers, helping patients to access different training or content in the pharmaceutical industry." 

 

• Gerard López, Microbiology’13

“If I could go back now, I wouldn't do a master's degree in Forensic Analysis, but thanks to my Master's degree, I am who I am now. All experiences shape you”

Gerard López is a medical visitor and product specialist. He has a degree in Microbiology (UAB) and a Master's in Forensic Analysis (UPV).

For his degree internship, he worked for three months as a lab technician doing microbiological analyses of water, food and cosmetics. It struck him as a repetitive job and made him change his plans. Like most of his colleagues, his initial idea was to do a bachelor degree, then a Master's and then a doctorate. At the end of his bachelor's degree, he went to Manchester for a year, a kind of sabbatical to live there and do something different to microbiology. On his return, he took a Master's degree in Forensic Analysis, the intention being to do something less academic and open up his range of possibilities. "If I could go back, I'd probably do an MBA now," he says. He decided that research wasn't for him and opted to work in industry, where there were several options. He chose to become a medical visitor, which he says "is a salesman, informer, promoter of new pharmaceutical products and medicines, who visits doctors and presents them with new pharma products to try." He started working for a company that deals with products from other pharmaceutical companies, where he gradually acquired the experience that would prove useful for ending up at the Farmamix Vision company where he is now. He has also been a product specialist for the last year and a half, a job that consists of providing extensive training on a product, explaining how the medicine works, and showing its advantages over others. If the hospital eventually decides to adopt the product, he gives them practical training in its use. 

The Catalan journalist and writer Antoni Cruanyes i Plana, known as Toni Cruanyes, is an #AlumniUAB like you!

Born in Canet de Mar, El Maresme, in 1974, he graduated in Journalism and Political Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, with additional studies at the Universities of Stirling (Scotland, 1996) and Florence (1998). Maybe you passed him in Plaça Cívica...

In 1995, he set up the local magazine ÁMBIT in Canet de Mar. From 1999 to 2003, he was a reporter for the BBC World Service in London, where he covered the arrest and release of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, a subject he wrote about in his book "El llarg adéu de Pinochet."

He collaborated with several Catalan media from London and published the book "De Tony Blair a Zapatero. Una autòpsia de l'esquerra europea." In 2004, he worked for the United Nations Radio in New York before joining Televisió de Catalunya.

At TV3, he was a presented on the 3/24 news channel and had prominent roles in the International Section. He was also deputy director and acting director of Avui newspaper. He won the Joan Fuster Award for essays in 2012 for his "Un antídot contra l'extrema dreta." In 2014, he stopped being a Paris correspondent to instead present the prestigious evening news show Telenotícies Vespre.

In 2019, he published his essay on Catalan politics titled "Un dels nostres." In 2022, he won the Josep Pla Prize for his book "La vall de la llum", a tribute to his grandfather and the generation that lived through the war and the pandemic.

Toni Cruanyes is another fine example of the large community of famous faces who started out at the UAB!