The UAB starts the new year committed to the wellbeing and personal growth of its community

Professor Deus dedicated the first part of his speech to reviewing the historical evolution of the concern for mental health, which "has always been present in human beings", as he explained, "although it has evolved historically from believing in myths to scientific and humanitarian approaches". From religious beliefs in ancient civilisations and the Middle Ages, knowledge of the mind has progressed into the field of science and, today, "mental health is as much a priority as physical health".

That said, Professor Deus quoted the American Psychological Association to clarify that mental health "is not limited to the absence of mental disorders or problems, but encompasses the ability to live a meaningful and fully satisfying life". He also stated that, according to the World Health Organisation, "mental health disorders affect approximately 10% of the global population" and that, in addition, "depressive and anxiety disorders have experienced a marked increase after the covid-19 pandemic".

With regard to the university environment, Professor Deus mentioned the preliminary results of a study by the Ministry of Universities according to which "50% of students present symptoms compatible with depressive or anxiety disorders", a phenomenon which, moreover, affects women more frequently. He gave significant examples such as "the excessive stress that often affects first-year students and those taking part in international mobility programmes", a problem that can be associated with "negative academic results".

The new Organic Law of the University System (LOSU) states that universities must provide "health services and psychological and pedagogical support to care for and promote the emotional and mental wellbeing of students". In this sense, he remarked that "the UAB has always been committed to this mission" and highlighted the role of the Psychology and Speech Therapy Service (SPL) of the Faculty of Psychology, of which he is the assistance coordinator, in the areas of "assistance, training in prevention, as well as in the promotion of mental health and emotional wellbeing".

"A pioneering university"

In his speech, Rector Lafuente agreed with Professor Deus that the UAB has been "a pioneering university in the implementation of psychological care and support services" and commented, among other measures, on the installation of purple points in teaching centres to "move towards a culture of prevention and awareness in relation to harassment, abuse and gender-based violence". He also recalled that mental health is "a strategic area" for the UAB, which is strengthening its impact on health sciences with an increase in the number of places available in Medicine, the construction of a new building on the Bellaterra campus, the forthcoming incorporation of the Terrassa and Mataró hospitals into its teaching system and the signing of an agreement with the University of Barcelona to collaborate in training in the field of medicine.

Rector Lafuente referred to other lines of work that will mark the development of the 2023/24 academic year, including the drafting and approval of new statutes that represent "an opportunity to adapt the basic rules of the University to the objectives for the coming years". Rector Lafuente thanked "the work of all the people who, year after year, help the UAB carry out its mission", while stressing the importance of staff stability and the attraction and retention of talent. "The implementation of the crash programme to rejuvenate the workforce and reduce precariousness with the support of the Catalan Government has marked a significant change with respect to the policies of recent years," he said. And he added that, "despite the increase in resources allocated to the university system, it is necessary to move forward with an ambitious policy to strengthen universities so that they can contribute fully to a knowledge-based society and economy".

The effects of artificial intelligence

UAB Secretary General Esther Zapater presented the video report for the 2022/23 academic year, a document that reflects "the outstanding results in the generation and transmission of knowledge" of the UAB, as well as its "commitment to the progress of the region". At the same time, according to Zapater, the past academic year was not "exempt from difficulties which were faced with responsibility and self-criticism" that "will help us to improve as an organisation and as a community".

The president of the UAB Social Council, Tania Nadal, congratulated the UAB for the institutional campaign of this academic year and for its commitment to emotional well-being, which she described as "one of the two most important challenges we have as a university" together with the development of artificial intelligence. On this second aspect, Nadal stated that "it is essential that governments, companies and educational institutions identify the jobs that will give people an advantage over machines and that academic programmes adapt to these needs". In this respect, she emphasised the role that "lifelong learning and entrepreneurial culture" will play.

As for the representatives of the public administrations at the event, the mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallés, Carlos Cordón, thanked the social impact of the activities carried out by the UAB, which he described as "a determining institution for the wealth of society and the wellbeing of people". Cordón recalled that "universities are suffering the consequences of the energy and price crisis" and remarked that "it is essential to guarantee the sufficiency of university funding and to take into account the particularities of each campus". The mayor called for "interaction between institutions" with the aim of advancing "towards the knowledge economy" and affirmed that "Cerdanyola is the UAB and the UAB is Cerdanyola".

An excellent system

The Catalan Minister for Research and Universities, Joaquim Nadal, closed the event by recalling his time at the UAB, when he was a member "of the board of the Senate that approved the first statutes of the university some decades ago". He referred to the current process of drafting new statutes that, following the approval of the LOSU, all the universities are setting in motion: "Together we will create statutes that respond to the challenges of the Catalan university system", which he described as "excellent" despite the fact that, as he acknowledged, "the level and performance of the system are higher than the resources that the Government devotes to it". According to Nadal, "if this imbalance is maintained, the level of excellence will suffer".

He also commented on the problems of an ageing workforce and the professional precariousness suffered by the system as a whole: "The perversion of the replacement rate has placed the workforce in a process that could have been lethal and we have probably arrived in time to stop it". For this reason, he said that his commitment in terms of the budget allocation for universities is "for this change not to stop, but rather for it to become consolidated and grows". Finally, the minister praised the growth of the UAB campus throughout its history and, referring specifically to the city-like expenses that the UAB faces every year, he declared: "All the administrations must come together to help this university have everything it deserves as a university campus".