Alliance of public universities of the Barcelona metropolitan region
On 24 November, the UB, the UAB, the UPC and the UPF presented the Barcelona Knowledge Alliance (BKA) at the Torre Glòries of Barcelona. The combined efforts of these four institutions aim to establish a framework of collaboration for the promotion of culture, science and knowledge transfer, and to achieve greater visibility and international positioning of the universities that are part of it for the benefit of the citizens of Barcelona, its metropolitan region and Catalonia in general.
Rectors Joan Guàrdia of the University of Barcelona (UB), Javier Lafuente of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Daniel Crespo of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), and Laia de Nadal of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) presented this university platform that aims to promote Barcelona as a pole of reference for knowledge and innovation with its own voice within the Europe of cities. In this way, the BKA will be a driving agent of a common metropolitan strategy that will be beneficial both for the universities that form it, in terms of visibility and international presence, and for the institutional, economic, cultural and social fabric of the city.
With this alliance, the four universities assume an active role in addressing the city's main challenges through knowledge and research with social impact and consolidate their relationships with different organisations and institutions in the metropolitan area. The Barcelona Knowledge Alliance will also serve to integrate the international dimension in all areas of university activity: teaching, research and knowledge transfer. At the same time, it will allow the establishment of strategic partnerships with higher education institutions around the world, maximising the name of Barcelona in international decision-making environments.
An enormous potential
The alliance will have an annual rotating presidency among the four participating universities. The first institution to hold this responsibility will be the UB, in the figure of Rector Joan Guàrdia, followed by the UAB, the UPC and the UPF, the four public universities in the metropolitan region, which together include more than 130,000 students, more than 15,000 teaching and research staff, and more than 7,000 technical, management and administrative and service staff. All four occupy reference positions in the main international rankings that measure various indicators related to university research.
The UAB, with Sustainable Development Goals
Quality education
Sustainable cities and communities