UAB becomes Campus of International Excellence

Logotip del Campus d'Excel·lència Internacional UAB

UAB obtains the title of Campus of International Excellence with a plan based on alliances with R&D&I centres in the vicinity of the campus. UAB's priority is to make nanoscience and biotechnology strategic research lines, in alliance with the ALBA Synchrotron.

24/11/2009

The Campus of International Excellence programme is a strategic plan that aims for excellence at international level in all areas of the university: in the quality of research, teaching and in the transfer of knowledge, in the quality in campus life, and in the integration with the University's surroundings.

The project "UAB Campus of International Excellence: Promoting Knowledge, Encouraging Innovation", is based on three important objectives: making nanoscience and biotechnology a priority in terms of strategic research lines; the internationalisation of the University and attraction of talent; and the integration of social, cultural and R&D&I entities of the surrounding area. For all this, UAB has a strategic alliance with a direct contact with the campus: ALBA Synchrotron, the most important scientific facility in Spain.

To carry out this project, UAB has established collaboration agreements with over 100 entities of the surrounding area. These include the Catalan Government and the city councils of Barcelona, Cerdanyola, Rubí, Sabadell, Badalona, Sant Cugat, Terrassa, Ripollet and Badia; the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the research park Parc Tecnològic del Vallès, the ALBA Synchrotron, the business park ESADE CREAPOLIS, the Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA), and more than 28 research centres and institutes of the UAB Research Park and neighbouring firms such as Esteve pharmaceuticals and university spin-off companies, as well as the research institutes from all five UAB-affiliated hospitals.

In the long term, UAB is determined to make the Campus of International Excellence project a starting point for the future “UAB-30 Knowledge Cluster”, an initiative which aims to join the R&D&I centres and the productive, social and cultural networks found in the vicinity of the AP-7/B-30 motorways, one of the most dynamic areas of all of Spain. The long-term goal of the project is to consolidate this nucleus as the most important pole of innovation of the Mediterranean and place UAB among the best European universities in the international rankings.

For the four-year period of funding for the Campus of International Excellence programme (2009-2012), UAB has prepared specific objectives and actions which will be carried out in six areas:

- In the field of teaching, UAB will work on improving the internationalisation of its academic courses, increasing the mobility of students and the attraction of talent, providing easier access to information for the centres included in the project and improving teaching areas.

- In the field of science, UAB will work on boosting research activities taking place in strategic and priority fields such as in nanoscience and biotechnology, strengthening the cohesion of the centres participating in the project, and improving the internationalisation of the research.

- In the field of further developing the campus as a social model, UAB will work on urban and architectonic improvements with the purpose of guaranteeing accessibility and mobility, increasing the participation of neighbouring cities in university activities and promoting equality between men and women.

- In the field of adapting to the European Higher Education Area, UAB will work on expanding the internationalisation of its academic offer and the attraction of students from abroad, adapting areas and technological tools on campus to the new teaching methodologies, and boosting the teaching value on campus.

- In the field of knowledge and technology transfer to society, UAB will work on improving the efficacy of knowledge assessment processes, consolidating the UAB Research Park, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of its community and the creation of spin-offs, and improving the facilities of its scientific and technical services.

- In the field of interactions with its surroundings, UAB will work on further integrating the centres dedicated to the R&D&I sector, increasing the participation of governmental and social organisations, and create alliances with other universities.

UAB CANDIDACY VIDEO: UAB Campus of International Excellence