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The University of Barcelona magazine spring 2008 www.ub.edu

Building the University of Europe Malaria: a vaccine is close at hand Barcelona: behind the seen Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

EDITORIAL

Editorial Barcelona, Capital of the European University Community

The magazine you are holding in expand that aim to reach everyone in the European university commu- your hands, the English version of nity, a community which we are trying to build together. The UB is home La Universitat, has been timed to to a third of the students in the entire Catalan university system and it coincide with the spring confe- stands at the forefront of the university rankings. We want to share with rence of the European University you the UB’s innovation in teaching and research and our commitment Association (EUA) taking place on to the UB’s third mission, the transfer of knowledge, together with our 26-29 March in the University of high sense of social and institutional responsibility. To achieve these Barcelona’s Paranymph Hall. The aims, we are working at the local level in close partnership with the city conference marks the first gathe- of Barcelona and, more generally, our efforts seek to uphold the univer- ring of the EUA in Spain since the sity’s character as a strong force for social and democratic advance- association was founded in ment. In addition, the UB has a stated commitment to the economic Salamanca in 2001 and its focus transformation of Catalonia through knowledge transfer, technological this year will be on the gover- progress and active participation in the regional system of innovation that nance of European universities is embodied, in part, by the Barcelona Science Park. from 2010 onwards. Gathered together in these pages, you will also find the activities we La Universitat, a quarterly have instigated to rethink the university in the current context of globalisa- publication of the University of tion as well as the addition of new functions to help us better tackle the Barcelona (UB), came into exist- social and economic challenges of the country. In this respect, I highlight ence over ten years ago with the our internal initiative the Framework Plan UB Horizon 2020 and the outsi- aim of sharing the university’s life de assessment conducted by a committee of international experts under and activities with the rest of the aegis of the EUA. With these tools, our mission is to guide the UB more Catalan society. Now with its effectively and more efficiently, while maintaining and improving the uni- English version, we wish to versity’s premier position in the international context.

Màrius Rubiralta Rector Barcelona, March 2008

Editorial Board: Màrius Rubiralta, Rector; Jordi Matas, Vice-Rector of Students and Language Policy; la Universitat Ernest Trias, Head of Communication. Published by the Press Office. Editor-in-Chief: Ester Colominas; Assistant Editor: Núria Quintana; Staff Writers: Jordi Homs, Rosa Martínez, Patrícia Lainz, Marta Casellas and Bibiana Bonmatí. Translation and language expertise:

ER ECOLÒ P GI A C the UB Language Services; Lucille Banham; Joel Graham. Administrative support: Montserrat Cenzano. P Printed on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, 08007 Barcelona. Tel.: 934 035 544. Fax: 934 035 357. Contact: environmentally- [email protected] friendly paper Prepared in collaboration with: Communication Services at the Barcelona Science Park, the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, the Institute for LifeLong Learning (IL3-UB) and Fundació Clínic / IDIBAPS. Photography contributed by M. Rué. Design, printing and advertising: Primer Segona Communication Services. Tel.: 933 436 060. Edition: 2,500 copies. Distribution: Interpàs, Associació Ginesta. National Book Catalogue Number: B-19682-97.

Online version: www2.ub.edu/comunicacions/revista_launiversitat

Cover photograph: The Historical Building in its urban setting (photograph: the University of Barcelona Audiovisuals Unit) highlights

Highlights 6 The Profile: Barcelona: university and city 10 The Analysis: Building the University of Europe 14 News: Postgraduate courses with an international scope 16 Science Notes: Malaria: a vaccine is close at hand 20 The Report: Barcelona: behind the seen 28 The Debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play 32 News: Barcelona Science Park, an Engine for Innovation 34 Chronicle: 75° North: The UB sets sail for the Arctic Ocean 38 Publications

People you could have met at the UB

Santiago Ramón fessor of the University during a y Cajal productive period of his research into the mechanisms governing Medical students at the Univer- the structure and connection sity of Barcelona who studied of neurons. In Barcelona, he Histology and Pathological sought the means to continue Anatomy between 1887 and this research. In memory of his 1892 were taught by the first— time at the UB, two halls have and to date the only—UB pro- been given his name, one in the fessor awarded the Nobel Prize Sciences Patio in the Historic in Medicine (1896): Santiago Building, and the other in the Ramón y Cajal. He was a pro- Faculty of Medicine.

Antoni Gaudí

From 1869 to 1873, prior to studying architecture, Antoni Gaudí attended classes in the lecture the entrance to the Finca Güell tion is retained, black holes can- halls of the University of Barcelo- estate. Two of the gates to Finca not be used to travel to other na’s Faculty of Sciences. Nobody Güell were also designed by universes.” could have imagined that a cen- Gaudí. Both the pavilions and the So spoke the theoretical tury and a half later, his work gates were proclaimed historic- physicist, Stephen Hawking would be a world benchmark in artistic monuments of national when, on 5 July 2005, he ad the history of architecture and interest in 1969. dressed over 400 lecturers and that some of his designs would students in Lecture room 105 of form an important part of the the UB’s Faculty of Physics. With University of Barcelona’s herit- Stephen Hawking his laptop and voice synthesis- age. In the Diagonal Campus (the er, Hawking opened the semi- Portal del Coneixement) are the “I’m sorry to disappoint followers nar “Information lost in black two Gaudí pavilions that stood at of science fiction, but if informa- holes”, before an expectant highlights

People you could have met at the UB A Glance from the Past: UB Welcomes Rectors Back

audience. The session was through the corridors of the UB coordinated by Jaume Garriga, during his visit to the University professor of Fundamental Phys- rector on Monday 26 February. ics and a former student of Einstein clearly admired Profes- Hawking. Hawking—winner of sor Terradas. During a conver- the Prince of Asturias Award for sation between Terradas and Concord in 1989 and one of the Einstein on relativity, the 1921 most prestigious theoretical winner of the Nobel Prize of physicists in the world—dis- Physics suddenly interrupted the cussed the global spacetime Catalan scientist, saying: “You structure and the physical laws see, Mr. Terradas, you know of black holes. more than I do”.

Albert Einstein When the scientist Albert Ein- stein arrived in Barcelona in February 1923, a small group of Catalan scientists had already opened up the way for the new conceptual territory of relativistic mechanics. The German scientist was invited by the Man- This March, the UB will host a conference of the European University comunitat de Catalunya via the Association (EUA). Back in 1993, the UB hosted a meeting of the Conference of European Rectors, one of the organisations that later merged scientist Esteve Terradas, pro- to form the EUA. At that time, the gathering focused on the emergence fessor of Acoustics and Optics of new categories of students and the challenges that they posed for in the UB’s Physics Department teaching methods and the management of universities. Fifteen years and one of the people who intro- on, the upcoming event will address the current challenges being faced in the “Bologna area”, under the rubric of The Governance of European duced relativist ideas in Spain. Universities Post 2010 (II): Enhancing Institutional Mission and Profiles. Terradas accompanied Einstein The profile: Barcelona: university and city Barcelona: university and city

Barcelona has grown into a large city, despite being after this city. The shared history of the university encircled—even constrained—by geographic fea- institute and the city goes back over 557 years. It tures: the Collserola mountain range to the west, the began with the classes of the Estudis Generals (the sea to the east, the river Llobregat to the south and term given to universities at the time), held in differ- the river Besòs to the north. The development and ent places in the medieval city, and continues today expansion of Barcelona, which has had to overcome as the UB undertakes projects in emerging neigh- these geographic barriers and the historic obstacles bourhoods of Barcelona and moves some of its cen- faced by the entire region, has been paralleled by tres beyond the boundaries of the city, into other the growth of the UB; the university that is named towns in the modern metropolitan area.

The University of Barcelona in the metropolitan area

5 14 18 9 16 1 17 15 6

3 10 4 2 7 8 11

7. The Historic Building 8. Faculties of Philosophy and Geography and History 9. The Sant Joan de Deu University Hospital 10. The Faculty of Library Sciences and Documentation 11. IL3-UB Insitute for LifeLong Learning 1. The Diagonal Campus Gateway to Knowledge 12. The CACI Building 2. The Humanities Campus 13. The Montcelimar Foundation 3. Medicine Campus-Hospital Clinic August Pi i Sunyer 14. The Republica Pavillon 15. Labour Relation Studies 4. The Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus 16. UB Sports 5. The Mundet Campus 17. The Maternitat Complex 6. The Torribera Food and Nutrition Campus (UB,UAB) 18. The Agustí Pedro i Pons Building The profile: Barcelona: university and city

The origins dents were considered rowdy, ences. This building was used King Martín the Humane was the they were also seen as a source until 1717, when all of the univer- The first official seat main driving force behind higher of income. Officially, the Estudi sities of Catalonia (Tarragona, was built at the top of education in the Barcelona of General was founded in 1450 by Girona, Solsona, Vic, Lleida and the late Middle Ages. In 1401, he King Alfonso the Magnanimous Barcelona) were abolished by the Rambla, and was founded the Estudi General of and was formed by merging the the first king of the new Bourbon Medicine (which was linked to a existing institutions, i.e. the Es- dynasty, Felipe V, winner of the inaugurated in 1536, School of Arts, where students tudi of Medicine and the Arts, War of Succession (1700-1714). during the reign of could prepare for entry to the the Cathedral School and the Catalonia, and all of the former Medical School). These were the municipal schools. Therefore, Crown of Aragon, was defeated King Carlos I first schools in Barcelona that the University of Barcelona had in this war. By virtue of the De- aimed to be recognised in the a marked municipal nature. This creto de Nueva Planta of 1715, entire western world. However, was in contrast to the major the country’s universities were the existing University of Lleida Castilian universities, which merged into one new university rejected the Medical School, as were highly controlled by the at Cervera (as a reward for this it wanted to keep a monopoly on Crown. Thus, the University of city’s support for the new king higher education in the Crown of Barcelona was open to the most during the war). Aragon. The School was also innovative knowledge in Europe rejected by the other Medical at that time. College, which considered the At first, the Estudi General Estudi an intrusion on its juris- did not have a seat. Classes diction in the city. For the same were held in different places: the reasons, the School of Arts was cathedral, the Franciscan con- not recognised by the municipal vent and the Dominican convent. schools and the cathedral. The first official seat was built at These reservations were the top of the Rambla, and was only overcome after a series of inaugurated in 1536, during the economic crises that affected reign of King Carlos I. The Arts Barcelona and the entire coun- were taught in this building. try from the second half of the Studying the Arts was a prereq- 15th century onwards. At that uisite for entering any of the time, the city wanted an Estudi three higher education faculties: General because, they argued, Law, Medicine and Philosophy, “it will create as much money as which at that time also included a fair”. Despite the fact that stu- the basic and experimental sci-

Below: print of the General Right: former cloister of the Convent Studies Building erected of Carme, UB premises from in the Ramblas in the its restoration in the academic year sixteenth century 1838-39 until it moved to its current home completed in 1882 in Plaça Universitat The profile: Barcelona: university and city

The UB has also recently launched projects in areas that are emblematic of 21st century Barcelona

Left: offices of the IL3-UB (Institute for LifeLong Learning) in the 22@ district, with the Torre Agbar skyscraper in the background

Right: photograph of the cloister in the Historical Building

Amongst its students, the as the Historic Building, and is ed to build a new campus. After and services. This will increase University of Cervera included situated in Plaça Universitat. It considering a location in the the visibility and improve the op- important thinkers and jurists, was one of the first buildings Montjuïc area of the city, the au- eration of this area of Barcelona, such as Jaume Balmes and constructed outside the 14th thorities decided on the Pe- known as the Campus Diagonal- Josep Finestres. However, the century city walls. In the 1800s, dralbes area, through which Gateway to Knowledge. More institution was far from excellent. it housed all of the faculties ex- runs a major road called Avin- research and knowledge activi- The University was not restored cept the Faculty of Medicine, guda Diagonal. In 1957, the Fac- ties are undertaken on this cam- to Barcelona until the middle of which was based at the Hospital ulty of Pharmacy was the first pus than anywhere else in the the 19th century. The move took de la Santa Creu. Medical class- building to be constructed on south of Europe. five years: from 1837 to 1842. es were held at this hospital un- this new campus. This campus In the mid 1980s and during The restored university was ini- til just over one hundred years now houses the Faculties of the 1990s, some of the UB’s tially housed in the Convent del ago. In 1906, the current Hospi- Pharmacy, Fine Arts, Physics, faculties moved to the new Bel- Carme, which was freed from tal Clínic and the neighbouring Chemistry, Biology, Geology, lvitge and Mundet campuses. encumbrance in 1835. This Faculty of Medicine buildings Economics, Business Studies The Bellvitge Health Sciences building was situated in the Car- were constructed. Due to the and Law, as well as the Scien- Campus is situated between two rer del Carme, just a hundred expansion of the UB during the tific and Technical Services, the benchmark hospitals: the Prín- metres from the original Estudi second half of the 20th century, Pavelló Rosa, the University ceps d’Espanya and the Duran i General building on the Rambla. only Philology and Mathematics Sports Centre, the Montserrat, Reynals. It houses the Faculties This was to be the University’s classes are still taught in the His- Penyafort and Sant Jordi Halls of Medicine and Dentistry and location for twenty years, until toric Building. of Residence and the Barcelona the University School of Nursing. the dilapidated state of the build- Science Park—a centre of excel- One of the characteristics of this ing led to the construction of a The expansion begins lence for research that brings campus is its capacity to ex- new seat. The architect Elies The University expanded rapidly together scientific groups from pand, particularly as a major Rogent was commissioned to during the second half of the universities, businesses and component of biomedical re- design the new building. The 20th century. For example, the public research organisations. search in Spain. The other main construction work began in 1863 number of students at the UB Currently, work is underway to hospital associated with the UB and was completed in 1882. doubled between 1960 and reorganise the South and North is the Hospital de Sant Joan de This building is now em- 1968 (from 11,500 to 22,900). Diagonal campuses, and to con- Déu. This institution is highly blematic of the UB. It is known As a result, the University need- struct new buildings for faculties specialised in paediatrics, gy- The profile: Barcelona: university and city

75th anniversary of the Autonomous University of Barcelona

This academic year marks the 75th anniversary of the Second Spanish Republic’s approval of the UB’s Stat- ute of Autonomy. This represented the beginning of a period of autonomy for the University, in which liberty and democracy were linked to a desire for renewal, high goals and academic excellence. At this time, the UB was called the Autonomous University of Barce- lona (which should not be confused with the current Autonomous University, created as an independent institution many years later). A new governing body was created for the university. This board was made up of important individuals in academic and scientific fields. Simultaneously, political milestones in Catalo- nia’s history were reached, such as the recovery of self-governance through the approval in 1932 of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. This was a short period in the University’s history (it was cut short by Franco’s victory after the Civil War in 1939). However, it is reflected today in the way that the UB faces current challenges.

naecology and obstetrics, and is Campus, in Santa Coloma de The UB has also recently situated in the town of Esplu- Gramenet. Currently, this houses launched projects in areas that The UB has also gues de Llobregat in the metro- the Centre for Superior Studies are emblematic of 21st century politan area. in Nutrition and Dietetics (CES- Barcelona, such as the technol- recently launched The Mundet Campus inclu NID). In the future, this campus ogy district 22@ or the Raval projects in areas des the faculties of Psychology, will bring together university neighbourhood, which is being Education and Teacher Training. centres, companies and other revitalised by intense cultural ac- such as the Raval It is also the seat of the Institute organisations linked to food-re- tivity. The University of Barcelo- neighbourhood, which of Education Sciences. The cam- lated disciplines. na’s IL3 (the Institute for LifeLong pus is housed in the premises of In Badalona, another town Learning, created to promote is being revitalised by the former Llars Mundet, which in the metropolitan area, the UB policies in the area of continuous was one of Barcelona’s best- is converting the former CACI education) is located in 22@. intense cultural activity known boarding schools in the (Companyia Auxiliar del Comerç Thus, the UB has a centre in an 1960s. It is the only UB campus i la Indústria) factory into a cen- emerging area of the city. A lot that is based on the English tre for intensive cooperative of money is being invested in model: a well-organised space education and a hall of resi- this area, which concentrates that contains teaching centres, dence related to mobility and scientific, technological and the university’s administrative intensive master’s courses. The general organisations and com- Plaça Universitat. Humanties units and services and expansive setting of this building is impor- panies working in the field of courses are taught on this cam- lawns so that students and staff tant. The aim is to create a knowledge. In 2006, a new pus. As if to close a circle, these can enjoy being outside. space that will attract UB blend- building was opened in the new Faculties are located just a ed masters (intensive) students Raval—a neighbourhood in the hundred metres from the site of Beyond the city limits to Badalona. The renovation of heart of the medieval city—to the original University building, In addition to its campuses in the building, which is one of the house the Faculty of Philosophy at the top of the Rambla, only a Barcelona, the UB now has cen- most important remaining ex- and the Faculty of Geography hundred and fifty metres from tres in other towns in the metro- amples of industrial architecture and History. The UB’s presence the former Convent del Carme politan area. One of the Univer- in Badalona, is part of the urban in this area has consolidated an where the restored university sity’s emblematic projects is the transformation of the seafront in urban campus which also in- was housed in the early 19th Torribera Food and Nutrition this town. cludes the Historic Building in century. 10 the analysis: Building the University of Europe

In recent years, the interviews published in this magazine have spotlighted issues such as the debate over the role played by universities in Building the today’s society; their involvement in scientific and economic progress; and the transformation being undertaken to sharpen their competitive- University ness while, at the same time, strengthening the collaboration and exchange needed to meet their fundamental aim, the creation and sharing of knowledge. In these pages, we have brought of Europe together the opinions and beliefs of some of the players from across the political and university landscape who are engaged in building the new Text: European University. Ester Colominas

Taken from an interview with Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Vice-President of the Spanish government (published in April 2006): “Everything we are doing will help the university to fulfil the role that society requires of it: serving as the place where ideas are created”

We have put on ment in research, development for our young people to study the table a very im- and innovation. anywhere in Europe or for their portant national reform plan that EU counterparts to study in any responds to the objectives of the Beyond hitting 2010 deadline, university here. (...) the Erasmus Lisbon Agenda, fostering greater will politicians, the university programme has been fantastic at welfare and increased productiv- community and Spanish soci- opening up cultural exchange. In ity in the EU, as well as promot- ety at large be able to go far- light of the process currently un- ing stable employment and ther and integrate fully with derway, I’m very confident that higher quality jobs. It involves ba- European higher education we will be integrated and out in sic investment in innovation, and research? the forefront by 2010, because I knowledge and development, I’m convinced of it. We have believe that we have the capabil- and that’s where we’re lagging a achieved much tougher goals. It’s ity to do so. Of course, the Gov- bit behind and have to push for- certainly a complex issue and a ernment will be playing its part in ward. We need to make a quali- great deal of debate has been backing the effort and I think that tative leap forward. And we’ve generated, because it calls into with the rectors leading the way, started doing so by putting the question an entire system that has the professors, everybody is keen National Program of Reforms as been limping along for many years. to get things rolling. (…) In the one of our priority objectives. But the question will be dealt with same way, I’m convinced that we The program has received high in short order because the univer- must make every effort to return marks from the European Com- sities themselves are institutions the university to its leadership po- mission, especially the Govern- that are focused on taking change sition in thought and intellectual ment’s policy on research, devel- on board. I am absolutely convin activity. (…) That has always been opment and innovation. We have ced that we will complete the its function, and that’s what has a great deal yet to do and we process required by the universi- to get done. (…) Everything we need to take steps like sharply ties today in order to bring them are doing will help the university stepping up investment. One of up to date, integrate them and es- to fulfil the role that society re- our commitments in the general tablish common accreditation sys- quires of it: serving as the place budget was to increase invest- tems, so that there is no problem where ideas are created. the analysis: Building the University of Europe 11

In recent years, the interviews published in this The University of Catalonia is science parks and university promoting cooperation with all CRUE, which currently counts UB magazine have spotlighted issues such as the the umbrella initiative under hospitals. On the organisational levels of government. rector Màrius Rubiralta as one of debate over the role played by universities in which the eight Catalan public side, in 1997 the eight Catalan The Conference of Spanish its vice-presidents, was set up today’s society; their involvement in scientific and universities have come together public universities which fall un- University Rectors (CRUE) in 1994 to foster mutual coopera- economic progress; and the transformation to promote synergies and mu- der this academic, research and brings together the public and tion among its members and with tual projects in education, re- knowledge transfer umbrella for- private universities of Spain. other associations of European being undertaken to sharpen their competitive- search and knowledge transfer. mally instituted the Catalan As- CRUE exemplifies the strong rectors. In addition, the organisa- ness while, at the same time, strengthening the More than 200,000 students sociation of Public Universities growth in the number of univer- tion plays a pivotal role in relations collaboration and exchange needed to meet make the University of Catalonia (ACUP). A member of the Euro- sity centres seen in Spain in re- between the European University their fundamental aim, the creation and sharing one of the largest university pean University Association cent years, with current member- Association and the Ibero-Ame communities anywhere in south- (EUA) since 2007, it seeks to ship standing at 72 universities, rican University Council (CUIB). of knowledge. In these pages, we have brought ern Europe. On the science and foster effective cooperation be- compared to 54 members only Thanks to shared cultural ties with together the opinions and beliefs of some of the technology front, the central ele- tween member universities and fourteen years ago. The growth the countries of Latin America, players from across the political and university ments include the universities other organisations and institu- stems from greater diversification CRUE has become a strategic landscape who are engaged in building the new themselves, their high-quality tions at the local, national and of faculties and the higher number linchpin for communication be- European University. research centres, and first-rate international levels, while also of degree programs on offer. tween the two organizations.

Taken from an interview with Pasqual Maragall, former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and past Mayor of Barcelona (published in April 2007): “It’s time to denationalise the universities and make them more competitive”

In my view, the the Mediterranean, focused real map is where people actu- role played by the on sustainable development ally live. In my view, where we university in general, and by through innovation and geo- need to invest is in ensuring that the UB in particular, has been graphical and social inclu- these sparkling lights have quite significant in getting the sion. You were also president meaning. Normally, the thicker a Barcelona brand off the ground. when the Bioregion was set cluster is, I mean the denser it is Perhaps it ought to take an up to offer a fresh model for with points of light, the greater even greater role. Or if you pre- regional development aimed its relationship to excellence and fer, in future it will. Barcelona’s at coordinating biomedical knowledge... And we know that image today is tightly bound up and biotech research in Cata it’s in our power to act more in- with the Olympic Games, the lonia. Building networks, co- telligently than falls to us by vir- seafront and urban planning ordinating efforts, promoting tue of our size. That is the chal- projects. At the end of the day, alliances ... do these activi- lenge we face. however, the city and, more ties all grow out of an image having sorted out all the dramas broadly, the region have placed you have of Europe as a sys- The project Europa Pròxima, of two world wars, the struggle their bet on knowledge. Knowl- tem of cities, a constellation in which you talked about the between France and Germany, edge is what will bring people of lights without borders, as map of lights, was a collabo- and East-West relations, we can to Barcelona to build added you once said? rative effort with Aula Barce finally turn our attention to the value here. (…) I’m confident Exactly. The headquarters of the lona, a knowledge-manage- Mediterranean. (...) What will be that the identification between World Federation of United Cit- ment initiative that you pro- needed is a Mediterranean poli- the region and knowledge will ies is here in Barcelona, in Avi- posed jointly with the then cy on security, the economy and continue moving forward … gnon Street. In their offices, they UB Rector Antoni Caparrós immigration, but also on knowl- have the map you referred to, in 1998. Have you got the edge and learning and, there- As President of the Genera showing the lights of the cities time now to put projects like fore, the universities. (...) I think litat of Catalonia, you drove as though they were stars and these back on your plate? that everyone understands that forward the Euroregion, a de- nebulas. That is the real map of (...) I don’t know if Europe is as it’s time to denationalise the uni- velopment region encom- the world, not the one that sepa- tightly knit as we’d like, but it is versities and make them more passing southern Europe and rates the land from the sea. The definitely getting wiser. After competitive. 12 the analysis: Building the University of Europe

Taken from an interview with Josep M. Bricall, a past Rector of the University of Barcelona and a former minister in the Generalitat of Catalonia (published in January 2008): “A great number of people are going to university and they have every right, when they finish, to find work. Here or abroad”

When I was leaving could be provided to a people mediate economic benefits. France, for example, a Tradition- my office after hav- or an economy. Would you Lastly, the third key point is the ally emotional country where it is ing written the Magna Charta add anything to that state- effect that the rationality of the difficult to do things without ex- Universitatum, Professor Ro- ment now that the represent- university has on us as human treme care. manzi, former Rector of the Uni- atives of the European uni- beings. That is something which Major concerns have been versity of Genoa and past Pres- versities are back at the UB? could define the University of Eu- voiced from time to time and I ident of the Conference of Euro- That’s right, but there are other rope, but it is also the element don’t think the reforms have pean Rectors said to me, “You things. I don’t think the university that might be in danger. Cer- been explained well enough. know, Josep, the university pro- should stray too far from what it tainly, all of us have a share in the The fundamental idea of the fessor is like everybody else; he has been historically. There is an blame for that, not simply the Bologna plan is that the univer- just doesn’t realise it.” I think that element of training, professional university community. sity systems in each country puts it quite well. In my view, this training, which is what the stu- should compatible with one an- is a job like any other job. dents protesting in the streets Why is convergence with other and that requires a com- have labelled privatisation. But Europe so problematic? Why mon approach. At the moment, When you welcomed partici- basically it’s being able to find does it draw fire from stu- a great number of people are pants to the Conference of work when you finish your de- dents? going to university and they have European Rectors in 1993, gree, and that’s a very different There hasn’t actually been that every right, when they finish, to you said that failing to re- matter. The second thing is that much rejection. At a European find work. If they don’t find a job spond adequately to the the university does research, and level, the concern was much here, then why not abroad? growing demand for educa- a significant chunk of it is applied greater but convergence hasn’t tion is the worst service that research, which can produce im- provoked rejection. Even in

Magna Charta Universitatum

Recently, the University of Barcelona hosted a planning meeting in preparation for the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the Magna Charta Universitatum, set to take place next September in Bologna. Attending the meeting was Roberto Grandi, Vice- Rector of International Relations at the University of Bologna, who reiterated that “the principles of the Magna Charta are still valid”. He added, “The charter is first and foremost a reaffirma- tion of the universities’ ability to address their own social obliga- tions positively as an engine for change, even where we are dealing with large-scale public universities”. The Magna Charta Universitatum was drafted in February 1988 by the UB Rector’s Office and it was signed in Bologna in September of the same year. The aim of the charter was to make the peoples and nations of Europe aware of the role of the universities in a constantly changing, increasingly international society. Grandi recalls, “In 2000, the University of Bolo- I don’t think the gna and the European University Association (the then-ERC and today’s EUA) created the Observatory of the Magna Charta university should (www.magna-charta.org/magna.html) to gather information, stray too far from express opinions and draft documents in line with the respect, the protection of values and the fundamental rights set out by what it has been the universities in the Magna Charta”. He added, “In addressing historically the difficult questions facing us, the observatory has the potential to become the premier university system of its kind”. the analysis: Building the University of Europe 13

Taken from an interview with Màrius Rubiralta, Rector of the University of Barcelona (published in September 2005): “The university of 2020 will stand on the foundations that we have been able to renew by 2010”

It was very evident versities—and the University of to date and on the enthusiasm tions involved and each of the from the European Barcelona is one of them—that of the young people yet to individuals who are so dedicated Commission’s discussions in are critical to achieving a Europe come. They will have to take the to making these institutions 2000 that Europe has a very that is united and together. (...) work forward. By 2010, howev- work. (...) Careful thought will clearly defined desire to be com- Much has been said about the er, we should have the rules of have to be given to the sustain- petitive in the world market. The importance of knowledge, but it play out on the table, and that ability of the university system University of Barcelona signed shouldn’t be forgotten that knowl- involves redefining the concept overall, with an eye on the hori- up to that goal when the newly edge is created by institutions, of the public university, securing zon of 2020. (...) What we should formed European Area for Re- institutions that need to be as- the funding needed for survival have is a strategic plan for the search and Higher Education set sessed properly but also provided and, from there, developing ap- Catalan university system as far its horizon at 2010. (...) One thing with appropriate safeguards. propriate identities by drawing ahead as 2020. (...) After all, is very clear: we can’t be good at on the autonomy of the institu- there is a great deal at stake. everything. That’s why we will Your election platform set the have to define our strengths and horizon at 2020. What sort of know how to link them to the de- university do you imagine fif- mand at any given moment, so teen years from now? that we can maintain the highest The university of 2020 will stand Horizon 2020 levels in teaching excellence and on the foundations that we have in the creation of new knowledge been able to renew by 2010, The University of Barcelona top to bottom. It contained three through research. (...) I think that building on the experience of the Horizon 2020 project is an initia- or four different pieces of work, there are a number of leading uni- people who have done the task tive driven by Rector Rubiralta. which were of good quality but The project’s objective is to con- needed to be linked. All my sug- tribute to making the University of gestions were accepted. I think Barcelona one of the most well- the result is fairly good.” known institutions in Europe, The Strategic Plan Horizon both in terms of its scientific and 2020 proposes two strategic academic level and its innovative objectives. The first is to pro- character. Horizon 2020 aims to mote a university that is recog- promote reflection about the Uni- nised by the university sec- versity’s long-term future in two tor—particularly in Europe— areas: undertaking real internal as having a strong research reform that enables the UB to capacity and postgraduate pro- consolidate its position as a Eu- grams of an international level. ropean institution of reference; The second is to strengthen and influencing the process of and increase the university’s so- government decision-making cial commitment, through qual- and policies related to the future ity continuous education pro- of the university system. grams and more knowledge and The Basic Document of the technology transfer. There is also UB Strategic Plan Horizon 2020 a third strategic objective, which was presented in February 2008. is related to internal issues. This It was drawn up by different consists of facilitating changes in work groups, coordinated by the human resources and in the or- lecturers Dr. Miquel Martínez, ganisation, so that the UB can Dr. Enrique Pedroso, Dr. Enric become more governable and Canela and Dr. Ramón Alemany. sustainable. Dr. Josep M. Bricall worked in After the presentation of the an advisory capacity, helping to Basic Document, a participative tie the contents together and process of communication and draw up the final document. He debate began, to enrich the states that this task was not Strategic Plan with new contri- easy: “I revised the draft from butions. 14 NEWS

Postgraduate courses with an international scope

Among the postgraduate programs offered at the UB are courses with a clear international vocation —a characteristic that the University of Barcelona aims to promote in this type of qualification. Two examples are Master of Law in International Economic Law and Policy and the lifelong learning program Transplant Procure- ment Management. These courses are in very different fields of knowledge. One is a new project that will begin in the 2008-09 academic year, whilst the other has been running for 16 years. However, both contribute to making Barcelona a European centre of university education.

International Economic with a robust understanding of organ and human tissue dona- face-to-face courses, on-line Law and Policy the various forces shaping ap- tions and transplants. courses or blended-learning pro- The University of Barcelona’s proaches to international eco- According to the program co- grams (which include face-to-face new Master of Law in Interna- nomic governance in the Ameri- ordinators, the existence of well- and virtual courses, as well as tional Economic Law and Policy cas, Asia and Europe. trained professionals contributes placements in hospitals and un- (www.ielpo.org) is organized by The IELPO program is sup- to increasing the number of do- dertaking research programs). the International Chair WTO/Re- ported by the Spanish Ministry nors. In addition, the coordinators Courses are taught in Spanish, gional Integration. Codirected of Industry, Tourism and Trade, consider that their role as dis- English, Italian and French. by Ramon Torrent, a UB profes- the Department of Economy and seminators helps to develop and The TPM courses lead to UB sor and former Director of Ex- Finance of the Autonomous expand the “Spanish model” in qualifications in the framework of ternal Relations in the Legal Government of Catalonia, the the field of transplants. Different IL3-UB, such as the international Service of the EU Council, and Barcelona City Council, the Bar- training methods, adapted to local master’s degree in organ, tissue Pierre Sauvé, a recognised in- celona Chamber of Commerce realities, are offered within the and cell donation and transplant. ternational expert in the areas of and other public and private in- TPM program. Courses are even In addition, the TPM programme services and investment, IELPO stitutions. tailor-made for specific groups or is supported by the National LL.M.’s Faculty is composed by institutions. Students can take Transplant Organisation (ONT). many of the most renowned ex- Transplant Procurement perts drawn from the world’s Management leading universities, policy re- Spain is a world leader in trans- search institutes and interna- plants (with 33.8 donors per mil- IL3-UB: Institute for LifeLong Learning tional organizations. lion members of the population While the program’s core in 2006). In this context, the life- The University of Barcelona’s Institute for LifeLong Learn- foundation remains legal in char- long learning program Trans- ing (IL3) was formed to boost policies in the field of con- acter, IELPO LL.M. aims to pro- plant Procurement Management tinuous learning. It offers a wide range of courses in diverse dis- vide students with the means of (TPM) has been taught for over ciplines. Courses can be face-to-face, blended, or distance and applying a pluri-disciplinary ap- sixteen years at the UB. This are of different lengths (including master’s degrees and post- proach to problem solving, al- course is based on the experi- graduate courses as well as seminars). In addition, the IL3 offers lowing them to draw on the key ence of the Transplant Coordi- tailor-made courses to companies. The headquarters of IL3 are insights of legal, economic and nation Team, created at the in Barcelona’s 22@ district. This is an emerging part of the city, in international political economy Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, which heavy investment is being made and modern spaces es- approaches to the issues cov- under the direction of Doctor tablished to house a strategic concentration of scientific, techno- ered by the program. A unique Martí Manyalich. The TPM pro- logical and knowledge entities. feature of the program also lies gram aims to respond to the in its emphasis on comparative need for training the health pro- http://www.il3.ub.edu/ dynamics, providing students fessionals who are in charge of NEWS 15

University rankings

In an increasingly globalised vide information that cannot be mous University of Barcelona pañolas (2000-2004)” published world where values tend to be underestimated, given its effect (356th.) and finally the Technical by the Scimago Group, ranked simplified by just a few parame- on both the university sector and University of Valencia (388th.). the UB as one of the universi- ters, the appearance of univer- local society. One classification The rank is based on six in- ties with the highest scientific sity rankings is inevitable, but system is the Academic Ranking dicators that assess different production in the whole of also controversial. Ranking is of World Universities, which is factors: the number of relevant Spain. This study analysed the considered an erroneous con- published annually by the awards e.g. Nobel Prizes, Field research production of Spanish cept by some, who reject it out- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medals, etc. obtained by stu- universities from the beginning right. Other more pragmatic (SJTU). In the last two publica- dents and teaching staff; the of the process of convergence stances stress the difficulty of tions, the UB was the only Span- number of researchers who have towards the European Higher comparing universities that have ish university to be ranked been cited most in different Education Area. According to very different dimensions, orien- among the top two hundred uni- fields; the number of articles the report, the UB published tations, funds and social func- versities in the world. The UB published in Nature and Science more documents (10,596) than tions. Multidimensional classifi- was also listed in the hundred in the 2002-2006 period; and any other university in Spain. cations assess different aspects best European universities. The the total number of articles in- The standardised productivity of universities. They help stu- University of Harvard is at the cluded in the Science Citation index (Iprod), which assesses dents to choose the university top of the SJTU’s rank, which Index Expanded (SCIE) and the the internationally visible scien- that best suits their needs. Al- assesses the 500 best universi- Social Science Citation Index tific production of each centre though numerical rankings sim- ties in the world. The European (SSCI) in 2006. This last indica- in relation to its number of full plify all the factors that represent University with the highest rank- tor is a balance of the other five time lecturers, shows that the a university, they also give an ing is the University of Cam- indicators, and is calculated ac- leading institutions in Spain are indication of the external per- bridge, in fourth position. cording to the number of aca- the UNAV (1.00), the UAB (0.94) ception of an institution in com- In the last report, published demic staff at the university. and the UB (0.92). The original parison to other similar institu- in 2007, the University of Barce- In the Word University source of data used to draw tions. They assess the volume of lona ranks internationally as the Rankings, published in Novem- up the bibliometric indicators scientific production and chang- first Spanish university, occupy- ber 2007 by The Times Higher for the report were the Web of es in this volume, as well as the ing the 171st. position, and is Education Supplement, the UB Science, and the databases the international position of science followed by the Autonomous was the only Spanish university Science Citation Index Expan- in terms of its impact and the University of Madrid (249th.), the to be ranked as one of the 200 dex (SCIE), the Social Science efforts and extent of national re- Complutense University of Ma- best universities in the world. Citation Index (SSCI) and the search potential on an interna- drid (256th.), the University of The study “La productividad Arts & Humanities Citation In- tional scale. Thus, rankings pro- València (294th.), the Autono- ISI de las universidades es- dex (A&HCI)

Pioneering Degree in Students from the most prestigious US Science Leadership and universities study in Barcelona Degree students from the uni- lan language and culture. This Management versities of Brown, Chicago and initiative was made possible by Northwestern, in association an agreement between the BG This year marks the debut of century. Officials at the three with the universities of Cornell, and the Consortium of Ad- the Master in Science Leader- universities working together on Harvard and Princeton, can vanced Studies of Barcelona ship and Management, a de- the program highlight the re- study for a semester or up to a (CASB). gree growing out of the col markable leap forward that has year in the Group of Universities laborative efforts of the Univer- occurred in policies supporting of Barcelona (BG). This group sity of Barcelona, the Autono- the recruitment of new resea includes the University of Barce- mous University of Barcelona rchers and the creation of lona, the Autonomous Univer- and Pompeu Fabra University. structures led by people carry- sity of Barcelona and the Pom- The three universities jointly ing out both research and peu Fabra University. wish to promote the training of management responsibilities. As a result of this interna- professionals who will be re- Drawing on the backing of the tional mobility program, around quired to lead and manage the non-profit social action fund of forty US students are attending institutions which are to pro- the Caixa Catalunya, the new classes in these three Catalan duce the scientific and techno- Master’s program is the first of universities, after having taken logical advances that will trans- its kind in Spain and one of the an introductory course in Cata- form society in the twenty-first first anywhere in Europe. 16 science notes

Malaria: a vaccine is close at hand

The efficacy and tolerance of malaria and the number of deaths the malaria vaccine, manufactured it causes”, stated Pedro Alonso, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona by GlaxoSmithKline (RST, S/ the lead researcher and senior ASO2D), has been tested for the author of the paper. In 1906, just over a century ago, the formal opening was first time in a study involving Afri- The efficacy of RST, S in the celebrated for the building that now houses the UB’s can newborns. The vaccine was newborn trial is consistent with Faculty of Medicine, an institution dating back to 1760. A year shown to be safe and well-tolerat- that found in a study involving Mo- later, in 1907, the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona opened its doors in ed. It reduced the number of new zambican children aged from 1 to a neighbouring building. One of the foremost scientific and health- malaria parasite (Plasmodium fal- 4, in which new infections were care institutions in the country, the Hospital Clinic has created a ciparum) infections by 65%. It also reduced by 45 % (data from centre in Barcelona that is dedicated to biomedicine, research reduced the number of cases of 2004), and clinical complications and treatment. Currently, the August Pi i Sunyer Campus for Clin- clinical malaria by 35%, according by 58 % (data from 2005). The ical Medicine is also home to the August Pi i Sunyer Institute for to a paper published in The Lancet main aim of the research was to Biomedical Research (IDIBAPS), which is a leading centre in bio- in October 2007. assess whether RTS, S could medical research formed by the UB, the Hospital Clinic, the Gen- “For the first time, we have safely be administered to new- eralitat of Catalonia and the CSIC. shown that the vaccine can re- borns, who are most vulnerable to duce the risk of malaria infection severe complications and death in African newborns exposed to from malaria. This phase II study, invented and initially developed by Health Institute, the Clinic Foun- intense transmission of Plasmo- involving 214 newborns aged be- scientists from the pharmaceuti- dation for Biomedical Research dium falciparum”, explained Pedro tween 10 and 18 weeks, was car- cal company GlaxoSmithKline (Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic) and Alonso, professor of the Univer- ried out at the Manhiça Health (GSK) in 1987. If the results con- former Mozambican prime minis- sity of Barcelona’s Department of Research Centre (CISM) of Mo- tinue to be promising, a phase III ter Pascoal Mocumbi. Public Health and director of the zambique by scientists from the study will be carried out in the At the end of 2007, the African Barcelona Centre for International UB, the Hospital Clínic, and the second half of 2008. A successful Institute of Catalonia (ICA) was Health Research, whose team Mozambique Ministry of Health. phase III trial could lead to the presented in a ceremony at the comprises the UB’s Centre for The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initia- vaccine being presented to the UB. Pedro Alonso is a member of International Health and the Hos- tive, which has led technological relevant authorities in 2011. In this Institute’s Honorary Commit- pital Clínic de Barcelona, among and financial contributions to the February 2008, the Manhiça tee. The aim of the ICA is to boost others. “These unprecedented clinical development of RTS, S, Foundation was launched. It was teaching and education related results strengthen the vision that funded this study by means of a jointly constituted by the state of activities in Africa, by means of the vaccine could contribute to donation from the Bill & Melinda Mozambique, the kindom of collaboration between European reducing the intolerable burden of Gates Foundation. RTS, S was Spain, the Mozambique National and African universities.

Photographs taken in Mozambique on the occasion of the constitution of the Manhiça Foundation. Left: Pedro Alonso. Right: Marius Rubiralta (first on the right).

Bill Gates’ acknowledgement

“Never in the history of malaria have so many cet published the results of the study led by and people of Mozambique, the Hospital scientific approaches been used to research Pedro Alonso. In reference to the study, Clínic and the University of Barcelona, the new vaccines,” said Bill Gates during an in- Gates stated: «Melinda and I wish to ac- Spanish Agency for International Coopera- ternational forum on malaria in Seattle (USA) knowledge the different groups who have tion (AECI), PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative in October 2007. During this forum, The Lan- worked jointly on this study: the government and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.” science notes 17

New Data on the Evolution of Alzheimer’s Disease

ing out the joint study are Albert Costa, Mireia Hernández and University Hospitals, Bellvitge Núria Sebastián of the Research and Sant Joan de Déu Group in Cognitive Neuroscience University Hospital in capable of delivering first-de- (GRNC), which is attached to the Bellvitge is located on gree courses in medicine, UB’s Department of Basic Psy- the UB’s Bellvitge Health Sci- dentistry and psychology and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) taken of the brain of a 56-year-old Alzheimer’s chology and the PCB, and ences Campus, along with the diploma courses in nursing patient, showing global atrophy in the Montserrat Juncadella and Ram- Bellvitge Institute for Biomedi- and podiatry. temporal and frontal lobes. ón Reñé, who both work at the cal Research (IDIBELL), which In addition to the Hospital Photograph courtesy of University Hospital, Bellvitge. Dementia Diagnosis and Treat- integrates research carried out Clinic of Barcelona and the Dementia Diagnosis and Treatment Unit. ment Unit at University Hospital by University Hospital, Bel- Bellvitge hospital, the third in Bellvitge. lvitge, the University of Barce- major university hospital that To date, controversy has ex- lona, the Catalan Institute of is part of the UB is the Hospi- In Alzheimer’s disease, the loss isted in the scientific community Oncology, the Institute for Di- tal of Sant Joan de Déu, a of knowledge of the objects and over whether the memory loss agnostic Imaging and the centre specialising in pediat- living beings in our surroundings suffered by Alzheimer’s patients Transfusion Centre and Tissue rics, gynecology and obstet- does not occur uniformly. There exihibits different patterns for the Bank. Also found on the cam- rics. At present, all of the is a difference between the con- conceptual categories of living pus are the Faculty of Den- courses taught in pediatrics ceptual categories of living be- beings and inanimate objects. tistry, the University School of offered by the Faculties of ings and inanimate objects, and The main aim of the new study Nursing and a part of the Fac- Medicine and Dentistry are the category of living beings ap- was to check for category-spe- ulty of Medicine. The centre is held there. pears to be better able to with- cific conceptual deficits in the stand the brain damage caused memory of Alzheimer’s patients, by the disease. That is the finding looking at their capacity to recall One of the findings is that in Their recollection of living beings, of a study that has been pub- the meaning of words belonging patients who have already suffered however, persists. The information lished in the February 2008 issue to different semantic categories, a considerable loss of semantic could be valuable in designing new of the journal Neuropsychologia. such as tools, means of transport, information, that loss occurs main- memory stimulation programs for Researchers on the team carry- and animate living objects. ly in concepts relating to objects. Alzheimer’s patients.

The Laws of Language

Understanding how language onstrating that bilingualism pro- rapidly and forms distinct rules UB’s Faculty of Philology has led is learnt or transmitted has motes the retention of some in- based on what words have in a team working on a project en- been and remains an object of nate perceptual abilities. The common. The team conducting titled Language Transmission in study for a wide array of disci- study was carried out by Núria the study was made up of Ruth Bilingual Families in Barcelona: plines, ranging from neuro- Sebastián Gallés, Salvador So- de Diego Balaguer, ICREA Jun- Using Catalan or Spanish with science to sociology. Now, re- to-Faraco and Jordi Navarra at ior researcher with the UB’s the Children? In the study, the cently published papers by UB the UB’s Research Group in Department of Basic Psychol- team analysed which language teams have contributed new Cognitive Neuroscience (GRNC), ogy and INSERM U841 at the was used when seventy linguis keys to the understanding of attached to the Barcelona Sci- University of Paris XII; Antoni tically mixed (Catalan-Spanish) these processes. ence Park (PCB), and also drew Rodríguez Fornells, ICREA re- couples who generally spoke to Appearing in the journal Sci- on the collaboration of research- searcher also with the UB’s De- each other in spanish addressed ence in 2007, one of the papers ers at the University of British partment of Basic Psychology; their children. The study conclud- found that newborn babies are Columbia in Canada. Juan Manuel Toro of the Inter- ed that the couples predominant- capable of distinguishing be- Another study, written up national School for Advanced ly spoke Spanish to each other, tween two languages simply by last year in the journal PLoS Studies (SISSA) in Italy; and because they had nearly always watching the facial gestures of ONE, measured modulations in Anne-Catherine Bachoud-Lévi come to know each other using the people who are speaking the brain’s electrical activity with the Henri Mondor Hospital Spanish. However, it also found them. The skill persists over when a new language is being in Créteil, France. that the partners used their own time, however, only in children learnt. The paper concluded In the field of sociolinguistics, particular first language when raised in bilingual settings, dem- that the brain memorises words Professor Emili Boix-Fuster in the speaking to their children. 18 science notes

New Image of Nebuchadnezzar Unearthed in Lebanon

Rocío Da Riva, a researcher in the lief features the etched profile of Department of Prehistory, Ancient King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 History and Archaeology, un- BC), builder of the Hanging Gar- earthed a bas-relief depicting the dens of Babylon. To one side of ruler’s image in September 2007 the image, there are some in- in a site called Shir as-Sanam in scriptions in cuneiform, the liter- northern Lebanon. The discovery ary Babylonian language of the was part of a project jointly un- first millennium. The inscriptions dertaken by the UB’s Research praise Nebuchadnezzar as build- Group in Protohistorical Archae- er of Babylon, bringer of peace to ology and Lebanon’s National his country, and defender of its Board of Antiquities. Found at inhabitants against Egypt, Baby- 1600 metres altitude, the bas-re- lonia’s arch enemy. Bas-relief at the archaeological site of Wadi as-Saba.

First Hominids in Tanzania UB on the Silk Route

Olduvai has been a key archaeo- landscape and to determine the Ramon Llull, great Catalan phi- has already completed two ar- logical site since the fossils of use made of its plant resources losopher and writer of the Mid- chaeological campaigns in the Australopithecus boise were un- by two species of hominids that dle Ages, authored his first city as part of the Excava pro- covered there in 1959. Since coexisted there two million years book The Hundred Names of gram sponsored by the Gener- 2000, Rosa M Albert, director of ago: Australopithecus boisei and God in the thirteenth century, alitat of Catalonia. The project the UB’s Group on Emerging Re- Homo habilis. To do so, the re- inspired—perhaps unwitting- is also being undertaken with search in Paleoecology and Ge- searchers are utilising actualistic ly—by the works of the Sufi the collaboration of the Uz- oarchaeology (GEPEG) and re- studies of landscape. That is, mystic Hakim Tirmidi, who lived bekistan Institute of Archaeol- search professor with the Catalan they are analysing modern land- in the Central Asian city of Ter- ogy. With the help of georadar, Institution for Research and Ad- scapes that are analogous to mez and predated Llull by four the first dig unearthed the vanced Studies, has headed up the landscapes believed to have hundred years. This is one of Greek levels of the city, the ur- research efforts to reconstruct existed at Olduvai during the pe- the findings of a team of UB ar- ban systems were checked and the area’s vegetation and land- riod under study, then testing chaeologists digging in Termez, numerous ceramic shards were scape. Her project is part of the them against the archaeological a key geopolitical, commercial recovered. On the second dig, a Olduvai Landscape Paleoan- evidence. In 2008, the paleo- and religious enclave on the Silk new Buddhist monastery was thropology Project (OLAPP) and botany team plans to carry out Route, now located in Uz- unearthed. An inscription, now participating researchers come two further campaigns: one in bekistan near the Afghanistan being translated, was also found. from a variety of countries and April, during the rainy season, border. The team, which is led Written in Bactrian Greek, all in- disciplines. Their aim is to recre- and the second in summer, dur- by Professor Josep M Gurt and dications are that it dates from ate the area’s vegetation and ing the dry season. researcher Sebastian Stride, the second century AD.

Exploring the Ancient Kingdoms of Western Tibet

The UB’s Observatory on Tibet and Central Asia (OTAC), headquartered at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), has been on the trail of the ancient Central Asian kingdom of Zhang Zhung, located in the westernmost regions of present-day Tibet until the closing years of the seventh century. The research has, in part, focused on the ruins at two sites where the lost city of Kyunglung Ngulkar, Zhang Zhung’s capital, is thought to have stood. It has also investigated the ancient fortresses, monasteries and caves where you can still hear the meditating of elderly lamas who are attributed with supernatural powers. As borne out by researcher and OTAC director Josep Lluís Alay, western Tibet today, currently under Chinese rule, is a remote region, access to it is restricted, and it remains practically unex- plored beyond Mt Kailash near the border with India and Nepal.

Cave of meditation at the monastery of Guru Gyam. science notes 19

UB involvement in major international projects

The reality of climate from around the world partici- and is based on a large-scale called the Encyclopaedia of DNA change pated in the process of revising study of genetic differences be- Elements (ENCODE). The aim of The Intergovernmental Panel on the texts. These experts include tween HIV-infected patients. One ENCODE is to identify all of the Climate Change (IPCC) and Al the UB researchers Javier Martín of the researchers involved in the elements in the genome that Gore received the Nobel Peace Vide, from the Faculty of Geog- study was Josep M. Miró from have a biological function. Initial Prize in 2007. In its last report, raphy and History’s Department the Department of Medicine, data from this research, pub- the IPCC concluded that global of Physical Geography and Re- consultant for the Infectious Dis- lished in summer 2007 in Nature warming is an “unequivocal” fact gional Geographic Analysis, and eases and AIDS Service of the and in Genome Research, is that can be attributed—with a M. del Carmen Llasat and Ileana Hospital Clínic de Barcelona- based on a four-year study fo- high degree of certainty—to hu- Bladé from the of the Faculty IDIBAPS. In the study, 550,000 cused on 44 regions that repre- man activity. The 1,200 authors of Physics’ Department of As- variations of the complete human sent 1 % of the human genome of the report are experts nomi- tronomy and Meteorology. genome were analysed in 486 sequence that has a biological nated by governments and inter- patients. Variations were defined function. Among others, the re- national organizations, or re- The genetic key as differences in peoples’ ge- searcher Josep F. Abril from the searchers selected for their to AIDS nomes that only affect one nu- UB’s Department of Genetics prestige in their specialisation. A study published in Science in cleotide or base. Knowing which was involved in this study. One of these researchers is August 2007 provides new data nucleotide or base is affected is Results reveal that the hu- Xavier Rodó, director of the Cli- on the mechanism by which the essential for determining the dis- man genome has very few se- mate Research Laboratory of AIDS virus (HIV) remains natu- ease progression. quences that are not used and the PCB. He has focused on rally at almost undetectable levels that its structure resembles a studying the impact of climate in some individuals, whilst pro- Decoding the human complex network. The genes change on the incidence of in- gressing rapidly in others. This genome within this network represent fectious diseases transmitted by paper is the result of international In the year that the human ge- just one of the many types of food and water. In addition to collaboration between European, nome sequence was announced, DNA sequences that have a the authors, hundreds of experts Australian and US researchers, a new project was launched functional impact.

Excess of Sugar in Nerve Cells Identified as Possible Cause of Lafora Body Disease

A study has uncovered that ex- Published in the journal Na- cess glucose chains (glycogen) ture Neuroscience, the study in- trigger nerve cell death and vestigated Lafora body disease, a cause Lafora body disease, a fa- rare malady that causes irrevers- tal type of epilepsy afflicting ado- ible neurodegeneration in adoles- lescents. Unknown until now, cents. Transmission is hereditary the mechanism at work could and linked to the laforin and malin offer the key to understanding genes, which were examined by other neurodegenerative diseas- the team. The disease is charac- es. This is the conclusion drawn terised by the accumulation of by the research team headed by abnormal inclusions called Lafora Joan J. Guinovart, director of the bodies in nerve cells. How these Institute for Research in Biomed- bodies arise is described in the icine (IRB Barcelona) and profes- findings, as is how the neurode- sor at the University of Barcelona generative process of the disease (UB), and Santiago Rodríguez de begins. Córdoba, research professor with the Spanish National Re- search Council (CSIC). Joining Confocal microscopy image showing them on the team was Eduardo the accumulation of glycogen (yellow and red) in nerve cells, which causes Soriano, UB professor and re- these to deteriorate and activates the searcher at IRB Barcelona. cell death mechanism. 20 the report: Barcelona behind the seen Barcelona behind the seen

Roman aspects of the Eixample Unwittingly, Ildefons Cerdà drew his grid over axes that had been Travelling is an art used by Roman surveyors nine-

3 Art at tram stops aims to produce a teen centuries earlier moment of surprise and reflection for passengers 5

The green city Barcelona is one of the Eu- ropean cities that has the most trees in its streets the report: Barcelona behind the seen 21 Barcelona behind the seen

Tropical Collserola 1 Exotic plants compete with native species in this mountain range

6 Witnesses to a distant past A wall of rock exposed during urban development work shows changes in Barcelo na’s subsoil during the Palaeozoic Era, 500 million years ago

The state of the Gothic 4 Quarter University research reveals the state of the churches Santa Maria del Mar and Santa Maria del Pi

Text: The strong links between the UB and the city of Barcelona are not just based on over 555 Jordi Homs years of shared history, the fact that the UB is an integral part of the city’s urban fabric, Bibiana Bonmatí or that the University bears the city’s name. For the University and its researchers, Barce- Photographs: lona is also an object of research. Thus, this article approaches the city from an almost Marta Casellas unprecedented perspective: Barcelona as an object of research and investigation. Six UB researchers, from fields as diverse as archaeology and plant biology, have made different aspects of the city the target of their scientific analyses—thus confirming that research and innovation are imprinted on the city’s genetic code. This article has many different focuses. It describes aspects of the city that are usually hidden, marginalised, and little known by most of Barcelona’s inhabitants. Perhaps, by looking outside the field of view, we have grasped something of the city’s true essence. 22 the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Foto: J. C. Guix C. J. Foto:

Species of non-native plants dispersed by birds in the Collserola mountain range.

Above: Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). Family: Arecaceae. Origin: Asia (India, China, Japan)

Left: Glossy Privet (Ligustrum lucidum), Oleaceae Family, native to China

Photo: M. Martín M. Photo: and Japan

Tropical Collserola

Man has had an impact on the The municipal institute Parcs ers of the exotic plant species. and to convince those in charge landscape since first appearing i Jardins de Barcelona frequent- From then on, such species be- of Parcs i Jardins to plant native on the Earth. This has always ly plants exotic species in the gin to invade the native natural species, such as laurel, holm been and is likely to continue to city, many of which come from environment. In the words of oak, olive, oak and box, etc.” In be the case, for good or for bad, tropical countries. Such species Xavier Ruiz: “this leads to ‘ba- addition, Xavier Ruiz states cat- regardless of whether or not such are more adaptable, resistant nalization’ of the natural environ- egorically that we are “heading effects are intended. One little- and attractive than native spe- ment, as these foreign species towards an ecological change.” known example of man’s impact cies. Palm trees, Asian laurel are often highly invasive.” can be found very close to Barce- and Boswellia from Australia are Exotic and native plants com- lona, in the Collserola mountain particularly popular choices. pete with each other, not only for range. This example was analysed Problems arise when birds nest- their potential means of dispers- “Birds that nest in in research carried out in 2000 by ing in natural environments close ing seeds (the birds), but also for Joan Carles Guix and Xavier Ruiz. to urban areas feed on the fruits space, water, light and nutrients. natural environments Both of these researchers are of these non-native species. This competition leads to chang- close to urban areas from the Faculty of Biology’s De- Birds have fewer predators in es in the local fauna and the ap- partment of Animal Biology. The the city, and are thus free to feed pearance of new parasites. become unwitting study was undertaken jointly and without pressure. When they re- Therefore, Ruiz concludes exporters of exotic simultaneously in Barcelona and turn to their nests and regurgi- that “it is essential to manage na- Lisbon, with both groups reaching tate or defecate the fruits’ seeds, tive forests by eliminating or con- plant species” the same conclusions. they become unwitting export- trolling exotic plant populations, the report: Barcelona behind the seen 23

Foto: J. C. Guix C. J. Foto:

Chorisia speciosa. A notable characteristic of this Platanus hispanica. Commonly known as the Ginkgo biloba. A living fossil with fan-shaped leaves, tree is its bottle-shaped trunk. It can be found in the London Plane, this tree can be found in the this tree can be found in Via Augusta, between the Avinguda del Paral·lel, between the streets of Santa city’s main streets, such as the Ramblas. streets Bosch and La Granada del Penedès. Madrona and Nou de la Rambla.

The green city

There are over 150,000 trees in It includes illustrations of 81 of sil, as it is the only survivor of a Department of Plant Biology, the streets of Barcelona, which the most common species in family that existed over 200 mil- and Antoni Sànchez-Cuxart, makes it one of Europe’s most the streets of Barcelona (out of lion years ago. curator of the Herbarium at tree lined cities. In a hypothetical a total of 120). One of these is The book Els arbres dels the UB’s Centre of Documen- ranking of different neighbour- the Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta), carrers de Barcelona contains tation of Plant Biodiversity. It hoods, Sant Martí has the most which has orange flowers in high quality, actual size photo- is based on the book L’herbari: trees in its streets: 20.4% of all May and June and can be found graphs, with great depth of field. arbres, arbusts i lianes (Edi- trees in the city. The species that in Carrer les Corts, between In addition, aspects of the trees cions UB, 2004) by the same is most frequently found in Bar- Eugeni d’Ors and Taquígraf that are usually found in different authors. A herbarium is formed celona is the Platanus hispanica, Martí. Another unusual tree is seasons are brought together in by collecting samples of spe- commonly known as the London the Chorisia speciosa, which single images. For example, in cies for preservation and study. Plane. This species adapts well is from South America and is nature, the flowers of the Black It is a classic system. How- to the climate and is highly resist- notable for its curious trunk in Poplar (Populus nigra) appear ever, the disadvantages are ant to pollution and knocks, the form of a bottle covered in before its leaves. There are that the samples deteriorate which is why there are over spines. It is also known as the around 5,000 Black Poplars in with time and copies cannot 50,000 specimens in Barcelona. Floss-Silk Tree, due to the down Barcelona. Some of these can be made. The techniques used To discover this green city, that covers its seeds when they be found in carrer Bilbao be- in these publications reinvent a book titled Els arbres dels are released. Another unusual tween Ramon Turró and Llull. this basic botanical tool and carrers de Barcelona (Edicions species is Gingko biloba, which The book is by Jaume Llis- make it available to the gen- UB, 2007) has been published. botanists define as a living fos- tosella, lecturer in the UB’s eral public. 24 the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Travelling is an art

The idea of travel is often asso- group has redesigned the tram activity and the effect that this ciated with long journeys in dis- stops Espronceda, Sant Martí “We wish to surprise has always had on the human tant countries. Of all the forms of de Provençals and Besòs on the imagination.” transport, the train has always covered Gran Via stretch of the passengers and give Continuing along the route, exerted a powerful attraction. Trambesòs line. The general title them an opportunity the phrase chosen for the Sant Since the invention of the rail- given to this work is En Linea (In Martí stop was the paradox “Chan way, travelling whilst watching Line). The artists used texts, de- to reflect” ge is permanent”. This is illustrat- the landscape pass by outside signs, typography, drawings and ed by images related to the devel- the window has captivated the furniture in their pieces, to attain opment of the tram line. imagination of millions of travel- a common objective in each At the Besòs stop, full-scale lers. Catching the Orient Express space. According to Valera, the silhouettes of people identify a or the Trans-Siberian railway is group’s aim is “to surprise pas- is real”. This is written in large new paradox, with the phrase not the same as getting on the sengers, and to give them an letters across the station wall. In “Silence talks”. Trambesòs. However, the idea opportunity to reflect.” In each order to link an image to this The En Plural group has of the public art group En Plu- station there is a short phrase, idea, the group has made use of wide experience in creating art ral—comprising the Fine Art lec- an invitation to reflection, written the visual impact of the light that in public spaces. In 2005, they turers Albert Valera and Lluís on a sign that is linked to the ar- enters the station through an undertook a similar project for Doñate and a lecturer from the chitecture. The colours of the oval opening in the roof, by the Trambaix stop at Cornellà Escola del Treball, Maria Josep images and the large format ty- marking on the floor the winter Centre. Since 1999, they have Forcadell—was similarly ambi- pography are also features of and summer solstices. Valera been designing a major park at tious: “the creation of a different the three renovated stations. considers that this represents a Parets del Vallès. They are also moment,” in the words of Valera, The text at Espronceda way of entering into the “mysteri- drawing up a project related to “to provoke daily reflection”. This states: “That which is imaginary ous and magic world of cosmic the river Besòs.

The platform of the Besós station. the report: Barcelona behind the seen 25

The state of the Gothic Quarter

Visitors to Santa Maria del Mar are Maria del Mar may have arisen wards. However, there is no risk Thus, the current state of these unaware of the crack in the roof, during the church’s construc- of the wall falling. monuments can be discovered, which runs right across the left tion. At the end of 1379, on Apart from some specific and a diagnosis made to deter- nave. At some points the gap is St. Stephen’s day, a fire burnt the areas, it appears that the two mine which conservation activi- seven centimetres wide. In Santa vault-bearing pieces and the buildings are in relatively good ties are required in the future. Maria del Pi, faults have been scaffolding of this church. As condition considering their age Professionals from different fields found in the roof and in the vault. Vendrell indicates, this may have (both were built in the fourteenth are participating in this project, Barcelona has an important caused one of the vaults to move, century). One of the secrets of including engineers (UPC), histo- southern-style Gothic heritage, leaving its mark in the form of a their conservation lies in the rians (Veclus, S.L.), electronics which should be preserved. crack. Nevertheless, to date the stone used in their construction. technicians (Elicsa) and geotech- Thus, studies have been carried results of the project are reassur- This came from the old Montjuïc nologists (Batlle i Mascareñas out to determine the state of the ing. There are more structural quarry that, as Vendrell states, Geoprojectes). monuments and to diagnose problems at Santa Maria del Pi has saved much of the Gothic what actions need to be taken in than at Santa Maria del Mar. Quarter and many modernist the future. However, faults in the former buildings, as it is highly resistant The group Patrimoni UB (UB church are less evident. One cu- to the elements. Heritage), led by Màrius Vendrell, rious feature of Santa Maria del The group Patrimoni UB uses lecturer in the UB Department of Pi is related to its facade. If the the latest technology to assess Crystallography, Mineralogy and church is observed from carrer the condition of some of the Mineral Deposits, is coordinating Cardenal Casañas—situated on Gothic jewels. The aim is to make a project on Santa Maria del Mar the right when looking at the a complete structural study of the and Santa Maria del Pi. The fis- main entrance—it can be seen buildings and discover the proc- sures that can be seen in Santa that the facade leans slightly out- ess used to construct them.

A crack running right across the left nave of Santa Maria del Mar was one of the Looking at Santa Maria del Pi from carrer Cardenal Casañas, it can be seen that the reasons for beginning a study on the state of the church. facade leans slightly outwards. However, there is no danger of the wall falling. 26 the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Right: is a reconstruction of some of the axes of the Roman cadastre. Some of these coincide with current roads and streets, such as the Travessera de Gràcia 3 and the Travessera de les 2 Corts (1), Torrent de l’Olla (2) and Major de Sarrià (3). 1 Below: aerial view of the Eixample as it appears today.

Roman aspects of the Eixample

Ildefons Cerdà, a rational genius, According to this research, the same Roman army engi- date this fact). Gurt describes did not know that his Eixample Barcino was founded just after neers and surveyors. “The mod- fossilised elements of the Ro- design had a classical precedent: Augustus had ended his cam- ulations in the plans are the man cadastre that were still in Rome. Indeed, Cerdà was to un- paign against the Cantabrians (19 same,” he states, “and reflect a use in the mid 19th century. wittingly draw his well-known grid AC). Barcino’s founders were clearly imperial mentality: to or- In addition, the size of the over the axes of rural plots that probably the same legions that ganise the whole region, plan- blocks of houses in Cerdà’s had been created by the efficient had established Cesaraugusta ning both city and countryside, plans is very similar to the Ro- Roman surveyors nineteen cen- (Zaragoza): the legion III Mace- devoting entire hectares to agri- man agrarian unit, the Iugerium. turies earlier. Streets such as the donica, the legion VI Victrix and cultural production.” This unit is a rectangle made up current Torrent de l’Olla, the Pas- the legion X Gemina, who also The Roman division of land of 1 x 2 actus, i.e., the area that seig de Gràcia, the Carrer Major built the well-known Pont del Di- in Barcelona was carried out in one man with one ox could work de Sarrià or the Gran Via were able (Devil’s Bridge) at Martorell. accordance with the topography in a day. This is currently equiva- constructed, many years later, on This bridge was a key point in of the terrain. Before beginning lent to 70 x 35.5 m. the original demarcation lines of the road network (the Via Au- his plans for the Eixample, Cer- Although it is still not known the Roman cadastre. The recent- gusta) that began in Rome, joined dà, like any good engineer, also who the first inhabitants of Ro- ly-discovered survival of this ca- Barcina and Cesaraugusta, and carried out an exhaustive topog- man Barcino were, Gurt sug- dastre was studied by the ar- linked the entire region. raphy. This reflected surviving gests that they were probably chaeologist Josep M. Palet in his Gurt supports this theory aspects of the Roman era (un- similar to those of its twin city thesis Estudi territorial del Pla de with evidence of similarities in wittingly, as it is stressed that Cesaraugusta, i.e. colonists and Barcelona (Regional study of the the planning of Barcino and Ce- Cerdà never knew about the ca- veterans of the legions. However, plan of Barcelona), supervised by saraugusta. He considers that dastre; if he had he may have no evidence has been found to the lecturer Josep M. Gurt. both cities were constructed by altered his plans to accommo- support this hypothesis to date. the report: Barcelona behind the seen 27

Left: an exposed rock wall in carrer Farigola. Right: information panel describing the talus slope on the avenue República Argentina.

Witness to a distant past

A team from the Faculty of Ge- opment work. This outcrop was ochre, Devonian limestone to the seminate information about this ology’s Department of Geody- studied by Sàbat’s team. The west, i.e. to the right of the wall site to the people of Barcelona. namics and Geophysics, coordi- results of their research were (400 million years old); next to The team considers that geo- nated by the lecturer Francesc subsequently disseminated by dark, Silurian slate on the left logical outcrops should be incor- Sàbat, were contracted to carry means of educational platforms. (440 million years old). porated into the urban landscape out a geological study of the hills The City Council collaborated in These materials are separat- and their importance explained. of Barcelona. This contract was the dissemination activities. ed by a fault, in which deformed awarded by the company in Although there are other ex- red and greyish materials can charge of constructing line 12 of posed rock walls in the city, none be found. There are also some the metro system. The team was of them have the same charac- samples of young rocks from the able to draw up a complete map, teristics as this one. It is 10 me- tertiary period (25 million years due to the large amount of data tres wide and four metres high ago). The plain of Barcelona was collected in over 50 years from and shows changes in Barcelo- formed in this period. numerous outcrops (the fruit of na’s subsoil during the Palaeo- The rock wall will be enclosed “Exposed rock walls previous engineering studies, zoic Era, i.e. the period between in a green area that is part of a construction projects etc.). 500 and 300 million years ago. Municipal Housing Plan improve- have revealed the In this context, in spring Old substrata can be seen in the ment, involving the construction 2006, a rock wall was exposed outcrop that are characteristic of of 42 dwellings. changes in the city’s in the Avinguda de la República the higher parts of the city, such The aim of Sàbat’s team is subsoil” Argentina (downhill from Vall- as the hill Putxet or the Collse- twofold: to ensure that this geo- carca, on the right hand side), rola mountain range. In addition, logical heritage is preserved by as a result of some urban devel- Palaeozoic rocks can be found: the local government; and to dis- 28 the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

The Olympic Games The UB counts on over 4,000 researchers working across Manel Ollé (MO): The Beijing Games this year will primarily be aimed at boosting Chi- a wide range of disciplines. na’s international image, putting a modern Frequently, they provide country on show that is capable of hosting a analysis in the media, brin- major international event. The impact on the capital itself, however, is negligible if we bear ging context and insight to in mind how vast the city is. An outlying area the news of the day. This has been developed, but the city has not year, the celebration of the been affected much. Olympic Games in Beijing Tomàs Moltó (TM): The effect that hosting (on 8/8/2008) is set to put the Games has had on Beijing bears no com- parison to what happened in Barcelona be- China squarely in the lime- cause the Chinese infrastructure projects are light. In the pages that hugely ambitious and have been a long time follow, we offer you an coming.

exchange of impressions MO: I agree that the Games will be sig- Official emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Photo: AP Photo / Ng Han Guan. Guan. held together by three rese- nificant from the point of view of China’s im- archers who have studied age as a nation. In this sense, the international media will be digging around and Chinese society from diffe- bringing up subjects that the government ring perspectives. Together, doesn’t want to hear about. In the run-up to the Games, no organized internal dissidence they bring us closer to the has appeared, but some movements have contrasts and paradoxes already used the media to voice strongly that come into play over worded criticisms. Text: Núria Quintana more than 9,300 sq km, in Cesáreo Rodríguez Aguilera (CRA): Given today’s media, mobile phones with built-in Photographs: the most populated country cameras, and the Internet, it will be incred- Marta Casellas on the planet. ibly hard for the regime to exercise total control. Obviously, however, they can clamp

Manel Ollé Tomàs Moltó

Manel Ollé is a researcher and lectu- Tomàs Moltó holds a chair in the De- rer at the Jaume Vicens i Vives Uni- partment of Economics and Public versity Institute of History at Pompeu Finance at the University of Barcelona. Fabra University (PFU). He is a pro- In recent years, he has devoted him- fessor in the Master’s programs in self to studying and sharing knowled- Asia and Pacific Studies and in His- ge on China’s development. tory of Religion at the University of Barcelona. the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play 29 Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

down pretty heavily and, in principle, I think grounds to support the view that China has Taiwan, that isn’t the case. About fifteen there will be very few incidents. Trouble the resources it needs to sort out its prob- years ago, they set up a system along the can’t be completely ruled out but, to be lems, at least potentially. European model and it is working perfectly. frank, I think it will be quite unlikely. The The Chinese system, however, has created image that the regime wants to portray is CRA: Talking about health care, one thing severe distortions. One anecdote: the Chi- one of stability, progress and social cohe- that truly astounds me is that, in the Mao nese government gave out free medication sion, offering up the Games as a big shop era, free minimal health care was available, against AIDS and the hospitals were respon- window to show what has already been but now you have to pay for it, even in poor sible for administering it. Do you know what achieved and what is yet to be done. areas. For poor families, this is a disaster or some of the hospitals have done? While the it’s almost out of reach. For a country that medicine is free, tests have to be done first. calls itself socialist in theory, it’s the most The Success of Economic anti-socialist thing in the world. When ex- CRA: So the tests had to be paid for. Growth actly did the problem start? TM: Exactly. And there are more and TM: The entire Chinese growth model is MO: At the time of Deng Xiaoping’s more stories like that. In China, health care based on external demand—on exports reforms, in the eighties. will have to be overhauled completely. The and on what we call globalisation. Now the US system has serious problems at home model appears to be running out of steam TM: Before then, health care workers in despite being a highly affluent country. In a bit. There are resource problems as well: the countryside knew how to immunise and China, though, it has been a disaster. the aquifers are completely drained and the how to refer people to hospital and that rivers are very polluted. What is different translated into excellent healthcare figures. MO: One of the unsustainable factors of now is that they are aware of all this. In fact, the current growth model, apart from the re- one of the marks of Hu Jintao’s leadership CRA: And it was free. sources issue, is the social tension caused is just this awareness. The alternative is to by a gradually polarising society, and this is refocus the model more towards internal TM: It was free because, for instance, something that the leaders are aware of. demand and that isn’t easy to do. It means those “barefoot doctors” were paid in terms That’s why in their plans they have begun to creating consumer purchasing power and a of points of work done, in the context of pro- speak of social harmony, although so far it’s number of conditions that don’t exist at the duction teams, and commune hospitals were more rhetoric than reality. Overall, more than moment. For the most part, the outside financed collectively. In the cities, each pro- half of the population has lost social privi- world sees the positive face of growth—the duction unit or business created or had ac- leges like health care and education. At the Europeanisation of the coast. But in the in- cess to a set of institutions that were part of same time, there is the emergence of all terior, “African” conditions still persist. Health the welfare state. That is what has been the sorts of new taxes. As a result, local, isolated care is highly precarious and so is education. focus of privatisation. One of the biggest mis- conflicts have begun to flare up. The tight The state has rolled back many of these takes made by China is copying the US sys- control on information keeps any of them services. I do think, though, that there are tem, based on user payment. Interestingly, in from picking up momentum, but they are still

Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera

Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera de Prat holds a chair in Political Science at the University of Barcelona. His major published works include: Gramsci y la vía nacional al socialismo, Madrid: Akal, Poster displaying 1984; La crisis del Estado socialista. the symbol of the China y la Unión Soviética durante los Communist Party años ochenta, Barcelona: PPU, 1994. of China.

Photo: AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko. 30 the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

The UB in China

The Chinese government is putting a very high priority on the development of higher learning, investing heavily in it. That is the context in which the University of Barcelona went to Beijing last October to take part in the European Higher Education Fair Beijing- China (EHEF) 2007 and later participated in the Second Spain-China Forum of Univer- sity Rectors in Shanghai. Higher education in China is available through nearly 4,500 measures to promote a more international tion Association for International Exchange public and private institutions and access to approach to higher learning. Currently, (CEAIE). Topics debated at the Second the roughly 2,000 public universities is high- roughly 100,000 Chinese students are ta- Spain-China Forum of University Rectors ly competitive. In 2005, the number of stu- king up studies abroad each year and held at Shanghai’s University of Internatio- dents enrolled in public universities and 75,000 of them are choosing European uni- nal Studies focused on higher learning in colleges totalled 15,617,000. Five million of versities. More than 200 universities from China and Spain, on the impact of mutual them were enrolling for the first time, while the 27 members of the European Union (in- recognition of degrees, and on policies to 364,831 were enrolled in postgraduate stu- cluding 17 from Spain) took part in the EHEF attract foreign students to the two countri- dies. Of the post-graduate students, 2007 meeting, which was organised by the es. In parallel with these events, the Univer- 54,794 were pursuing a doctorate and the European Commission to promote Euro- sity of Barcelona conducted visits and me- remainder was studying for Master’s de- pean educational systems in China. The UB etings with some of the most prestigious grees. In 2006, the number of Chinese stu- hosted its first stand at the fair, which was universities in China with the aim of seeing dents studying abroad was up 12% on the part of the wider China Education Expo whether cooperation would be possible, previous year, reaching 134,000. In fact, 2007, organised annually by the Chinese principally in the areas of student exchange, the Chinese government is adopting strong Ministry of Education and the China Educa- postgraduate study and research.

a matter of real concern to the elite. They called patriotic parties. If the regime legality. In my view, that would be a prerequi- add an element of uncertainty. wished, it could give these “micro-parties” site for any movement forward. a little room for manoeuvre. Farther in the future, it could even prepare the way for TM: The Chinese are keenly aware of what Is a Political Opening in greater democracy. Hu Jintao has already is going on around them and I think that this the Cards? dropped hints along those lines, and then has changed their outlook. One of the turning there is the experience of Hong Kong. Any points is what happened to Russia and one of CRA: Since 1978, China has followed a peaceful rapprochement with Taiwan will the things they are clear about is that the union two-pronged process of reform: econom- necessarily require changes to be made to between state and party in Russia stymied its ic reform and international opening. That the rigid structures of the political system. ability to develop effectively. What the Chinese has been untouchable and will remain so. I think the regime will undergo political are doing now is moving towards separation As a result, reform has given rise to a hy- change but farther in the future. of party and state, splitting political activity brid system. The system is a classical so- from management. For example, public com- cialist one, without any real spaces for MO: Actually, in the most recent Congress, panies now fall under a specific organisation pluralism. In the socio-economic sphere, two tendencies, two factions in the party, that manages them and that is accountable to by contrast, the opening has been spec- were talked about. One is populist, or social the State Council, but they don’t report di- tacular and the old state-run economy has democratic, and the other is elitist, or neolib- rectly to the State Council any longer. been turned upside down. My intuition eral. The succession process wasn’t left clear- says that in the medium- to long-term, the cut. It wasn’t completely resolved. It appears CRA: The legality that Manel Ollé men- Chinese Communist Party may well be- the Jiang Zemin, who represented the Shang- tioned is fundamental. Without it, foreign come something akin to how the PRI used hai Gang and its support for a model putting investors will lack trust and corruption is to be in Mexico. In other words, a party growth first, didn’t lose out entirely. The result another key issue. Corruption and the lack that is big-tent and ideology-lite, national, was a typically Chinese balancing of forces. of legality are two potentially devastating patriotic and popular. A party that can tol- As for an outlook on the future, it seems that factors for the development of China. erate a loyal opposition. That should be talk of reform in recent decades has always fairly straightforward for the regime, since sought to give institutions a political character MO: From my standpoint, corruption is an on paper they already have the eight so- and, in particular, to create a system based on issue that could stir up strong social tension. the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play 31

Tomàs Moltó: “China has the largest dollar reserves in the world–over one and a half trillion dollars”

A Chinese worker counts US dollars

and Chinese yuans in a Shanghai bank. Press. Associated Photo:

It’s the one thing that most discredits the on other countries. Sizeable, to be sure. controls the regime may wish to impose, has government. The country is already investing in a led to an information revolution. Between the number of African and even Latin Ameri- actual country and the “official country”, can countries. As for political influence, there is a certain distance. The urban elites, China on the World Stage that is more limited, affecting only some especially the young people, have a good of the countries in its backyard, but it idea of the world and its cultural references. CRA: China as a state is completely does exist. China has already become a For them, it isn’t roped off. In China, one of open to the rest of the world. The abso- regional power in Asia. the dominant discourses of recent times is lute closure that occurred in the Mao era nationalism, patriotism. But that doesn’t keep has been totally lifted. The social open- TM: China has backed the Shanghai the Chinese from stepping up on the interna- ing, however, is much more limited, al- Group, which is a key factor in its gaining tional stage and playing a role in global insti- though a middle class has begun to status as a regional power. There is another, tutions, making a relatively responsible use emerge. I think that roughly 200 to 300 critical factor as well, which is that China has of their permanent seat on the UN Security million inhabitants of the country now en- the largest dollar reserves in the world—over Council. China isn’t a country that constant- joy a relatively good standard of living one and a half trillion dollars. With that, they ly threatens to use its veto power. and about thirty million live very well. This can invest just about everywhere and that’s is the nucleus of a middle class stepping what they are doing. China’s investments are TM: In fact, China has peacekeeping out into the world. China’s diplomatic re- very robust and on the upswing, because forces in Haiti and Lebanon. lationships span the entire globe and they haven’t got any liquidity problems. its commercial relationships nearly do the MO: In the Asian sphere, China is taking same. What the Chinese leaders are do- MO: In addition, although the Chinese on a leadership role but it appears intent on ing is diversifying their relationships, for don’t travel much, the arrival of cultures and not acting as a bully. As a result, I think that example, from an economic point of view. customs from abroad has been absolutely it’s necessary to keep China engaged inter- As a big consumer of energy, China buys vital since the eighties. All the translations nationally while also promoting a dynamic of petroleum from many countries, ranging made since then have had an impact on internationalisation and universalisation to from Iran and Nigeria to Venezuela. Then thinking in every branch of knowledge. The balance the nationalism that characterises there is the question of China’s influence appearance of the Internet, despite all the modernity in China. 32 NEWS

Barcelona Science Park, an Engine for Innovation

The Barcelona Science Park coming out of the public sector (PCB) has just celebrated its (CrystaX, Advancell, ERA Biotec, tenth anniversary with expansion Meteosim, Oryzon Genomics)— in full swing. The second phase three institutes (the Institute for of construction will nearly quad- Biomedical Research, the Bar- ruple its size, taking it from celona Institute of Molecular Bi- Photo: PCB Photo: 25,000 to 90,000 square me- ology [CECIC] and the Catalonia Nanotechnology Platform. tres. The enlargement will enable Institute for Bioengineering), and the PCB to increase space for over 70 research groups. By In addition, the PCB is home panies were graduated in 2006. research laboratories and bring gathering all these research to various bodies supporting in- The PCB now hosts the PCB- in a greater number of research group from universities and from novation from within the UB Santander Bioincubator, which institutes and centres, technol- the public and private sectors Group, such as the Agency for is located in space created by ogy platforms, and companies under one umbrella, the PCB of- Assessing and Marketing Re- the park’s enlargement. and support services in the area fers a dynamic setting for the search Results (AVCRI), the At present, the largest share of research, development and transfer of knowledge, encour- Bosch i Gimpera Foundation of the PCB’s laboratory space innovation. By the year 2011, the aging the creation of new tech- (technology transfer office of UB) (45%) goes to public research planned finish date for construc- nology-based companies, new and the Patents Centre. In 2002, centres, while 23% is accounted tion, the total number of republic-private partnerships (the the PCB welcomed Spain’s first for by companies, 27% by tech- search personnel working at the Almirall-PCB, Lilly-PCB and bioincubator to facilitate the set- nology units and services, 3% PCB is to top 4,000. PharmaMar–PCB joint research up of new biotech companies. to spin-offs that are part of the The Barcelona Science Park units), cooperative projects and The two driving forces behind its bioincubator, and 2% to public- is a research cluster set up in other forms of collaboration. The creation were the Generalitat of private research partnerships. 1997 by the University of Barce- efforts of the PCB focus on Catalonia, through the Technol- With the park’s enlargement, lona to bring together public re- emerging research areas in the ogy Springboard program of its the space occupied by compa- search centres, private enter- life sciences, biomedicine, bio- Centre for Innovation and Busi- nies is set to reach 28% and the prise and technology platforms. technology, chemistry, nanote- ness Development (CIDEM), and space given over to technology Today, the PCB boasts 1,500 chnology and pharmacology. the University of Barcelona, units and services is planned to professionals in R&D&I working Efforts also focus on the devel- through the Barcelona Science hit 31%. Companies in the bio- in more than forty-five firms— opment of further research areas Park and the Bosch i Gimpera incubator are also set to in- some from the private sector in the experimental, human and Foundation. The first bioincuba- crease their share of the space (Esteve, Ordesa) and a number social sciences. tor was wound up when its com- to 4%.

The new Helix Building

The Helix Building was put up based spin-offs, mostly from the as part of the PCB’s current en- UB, which focus on emerging largement plans. Already in op- areas of the life sciences (bio- eration before its official inaugu- medicine, biotechnology, chem- ration this January, the structure istry, nanotechnology and phar-

has added 6,500 square metres macology). PCB Photo: Facade of the new Helix Building. of laboratory space to the park, The creation of the new bio- and it houses more than thirty incubator is an initiative that has the Banco Santander. The aim the transfer of knowledge to so- public and private research been driven by the University of of the project is to encourage ciety at large. To this end, the groups and centres. The new Barcelona through the Barce- the development of new tech- bioincubator provides access to PCB-Santander Bioincubator is lona Science Park and the nology-based companies com- scientific and technological in- also located there and accom- Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, ing out of the public research frastructure and business man- modates over ten technology- and it has also the backing of environment in order to promote agement consulting. NEWS 33

Destination: University of Barcelona

Over 1,700 foreign students ar- programs such as Socrates-Eras- has thirteen million inhabitants. gins, familiarise themselves with rived at the University of Barcelo- mus, bilateral agreements, and However, the official language the Catalan that is commonly na last academic year, full of en- other specific agreements with of the University of Barcelona is used in the university by read- thusiasm to discover Barcelona the USA. Most students come Catalan. The UB’s Language ing the Conversation Guides, and its university life. Among oth- from the USA (320), Italy (314), Services offers a welcome pro- study in the self-access lan- er novelties, the UB offered these Germany (254) and France (175). gram to new students, providing guage centres, and participate students a new language: Cata- The centres that receive the most them with an opportunity to in the conversation exchange lan. Every academic year, the UB new students are the Faculty of study Catalan and to deepen service. This last proposal also welcomes numerous students Philology, the Faculty of Econom- their understanding of the soci- includes recommended cultural from other universities in Spain ics and the Faculty of Geography olinguistic situation that they will itineraries. Each term, many and abroad, who decide to study and History. find on arrival. Future students guided activities are organised for a short time in its centres. This Currently, the Catalan lan- can take free, intensive courses that actively involve the city of is achived through exchange guage is spoken in a region that before the academic year be- Barcelona.

Championing Language Learning public. Currently, it has roughly 5,000 students and more than 60 teachers. The EIM also has an External Language Service (SEI), cre- The Institute of Spanish Studies (ISS) at the UB offers ated to bring the EIM’s acknowledged high quality of teaching into the Spanish courses to visitors and organises activities and workplace, responding to the specific needs of each profession. courses that are also cultural in nature. It hosts exams for the diplo- Language Services provides multilingual resources and advisory mas in Spanish as a foreign language (DELE) which are sponsored services, including corrections of and translations into Catalan, in- by the Cervantes Institute and also provides professional advice on stitutional translations into Spanish and English, the editing of fac- the use of the Spanish language. At the same time, the ISS also ulty-written scientific papers, and the provision of specialised dic- provides practical classes for trainee teachers of Spanish as a for- tionaries and glossaries. In addition, Language Services offers eign language and publishes methodological material for SFL teach- Catalan courses at all levels under the common European frame- ers. The ISS is currently conducting a research plan on the teaching work, including official certificates. It provides online learning of Spanish to United States-born Hispanic students and is prepar- through Speakcat Intercat, six self-learning language spaces and a ing another to study the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language welcome program for new students, which includes a language to Chinese learners. exchange network, lower-level language courses designed for uni- In addition, the School of Modern Languages (EIM) provides courses versity students, multilingual guides in different languages to sup- in sixteen languages to the university community and to the wider port university conversations, and a host of cultural activities.

Diego Torres Violeta Nica Alexander Emmerich Mexican, 28 years old, studying a master’s Romanian, 21 years old, studying German, 22 years old, studying in degree in Environmental Sciences. Spanish and English Philology. the Faculty of Economics. “I speak Catalan with “I like how open “People spend more a Mexican twist” Barcelona is” time at the faculty”

“Since I got here, I have put my Catalan to use “I already knew that Catalan was spoken “The atmosphere I’ve found in the city is re- whenever I can, even though I speak it with a here and when I came to Barcelona last ally good and I plan to visit every corner of it. Mexican twist. They made help available to September, I took an intensive course in One of the differences, though, that I’ve found me at this end so that I could gain more fa- Catalan. I like how open the city is.” between the university system here and the miliarity with the language.” one in my country is that people spend more time at the faculty, and take more classes.” 34 AN ArCtic CHRONICLE

75º North: The UB sets sail for the Artic Ocean

2 To mark the 125th anni- More than 8,600 km of ocean The expedition set sail on 29 science Research Group at the floor mapped, 31 metres of July 2007 from the island of UB, research professor at the versary of the 1st Inter- ocean sediment extracted and Spitzberg in the Svalbard Archi- Catalan Institute for Research national Polar Year, almost 3,345 nautical miles of pelago (Norway), a traditional and Advanced Studies (ICREA) the UB has carried out navigation through Arctic wa- whaling area situated only 1,338 and the scientific director of the a research project in ters… These are some of the kilometres from the North Pole. SVAIS expedition. details recorded in the log of the Under the midnight sun, the The Poles are the motors of the north of the Arctic SVAIS expedition for the Interna- boat set a course for the Storf- the world’s ocean circulation: they Circle to study natural tional Polar Year (IPY), funded by jorden Trough, a little known ar- reflect solar radiation and help to climate change. the Spanish Ministry of Education ea on the southeast edge of the lower global temperatures. In ad- and Science. On board the BIP Svalbard Islands, dominated in dition, the Polar Regions provide Text and photographs: Hespérides, a scientific research the past by large ice streams unique information on the history Rosa Martínez ship belonging to the Spanish that have shaped the topogra- of our planet and store climate re- navy, the expedition spent the phy of the ocean floor. cords dating back millions of ye- boreal summer studying records ars. The Arctic is a delicate envi- of natural climate change and the The Polar Regions: ronmental sensor that highlights relief of the ocean floor in the endangered areas the effects of climate change. For Fram Straight —an area in which “The Arctic is the closest polar the geologist Roger Urgelés, “cli- the cold waters of the Arctic area to us and is much more mate change has a more dramatic Ocean come into contact with sensitive to climate change than effect at the Poles. The glaciers the warmer waters of the Atlan- the Antarctic, with the exception are receding and we are begin- tic— from three million years ago of the Antarctic Peninsula”, ex- ning to see that climate changes to the last deglaciation, between plained Angelo Camerlenghi, a in the past have had other very 20,000 and 10,000 years ago. geologist with the Marine Geo- significant effects on our planet.”

The most northerly project

The SVAIS expedition team comprised 21 scientists, including seven predoc- toral students, four journalists, two high-school teachers and five technicians from the Marine Technology Unit of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The team was based on the BIO Hespérides, a Spanish navy research vessel with a crew of 55, cap- tained by Commander Pedro Luis de la Puente. The institutions taking part in the project are the UB, the ICREA, the Chemical and Environmental Re- search Institute of Barcelona (IIQAB- CSIC), the University of Salamanca, the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) of Trieste and the Universities of Sval- bard and Tromsø (Norway). AN ArCtic CHRONICLE 35 The UB sets sail for the Artic Ocean

Mapping the ocean is processed to control for qual- an exciting day, the first sam- tify the microfossils —foraminif- depths ity and then converted into 3D ples of sediment from the ocean era and coccolithophorida— to Only 10% of the world’s ocean maps of the ocean topography floor were raised onto the deck determine an initial time scale of floor has been mapped in detail. using a specialized program of the research vessel using the the sedimentary strata, which “There are still many ocean re- known as the KINGDOM Suite. Piston Corer, a new hydraulic allows us to create a paleoenvi- gions across the world that need Shrouded in fog, the ship sailed coring device for extracting ma- ronmental reconstruction of the to be mapped”, explained Miquel through areas likely to contain rine sediment designed by Or- Arctic”, explained the paleon- Canals, head of the Marine Geo- oil or gas hydrates —molecules egon State University and the tologist José-Abel Flores. On 17 sciences Research Group at the of gases such as methane trap Marine Technology Unit of the August, after 20 days sailing UB, “We use multibeam and TO- ped in crystalline structures of CSIC. During the expedition, through ice-free waters, the BIO PAS echosounders to transform water molecules, and thought to the Piston Corer was used to Hespérides finally docked in the sound waves reflected by be the great energy reserve for obtain six samples of ocean Longyearbyen. This brought the the ocean floor into bathymetric the future. However, as the ge- sediment, which represent a polar expedition to an end, but information”. In addition to multi- ologist Ben De Mol pointed out, total of 31 metres of geological the work of the scientific team beam bathymetry, the seismic “Although they were discovered history from the glacial and will continue for several months. reflection technique can also be years ago, we still do not have interglacial periods of the Qua- They will examine the material used to produce topographic the technology to extract gas ternary Period in the Fram obtained to extract scientific maps of the Arctic Ocean floor: hydrates”. Strait. In the laboratory on the data relevant to different fields special airguns send seismic starboard side of the ship, the of study (such as biostratigra- waves to the ocean floor, which Ocean sediment dat- Marine Geoscience Research phy, sedimentology, paleocli- are reflected and recorded at ing back 10,000 years Group of the University of Sala- matology and environmental the surface by hydrophone ar- One of the most eagerly antici- manca conducted the first geomagnetism) and reconstruct rays fitted in cables known as pated moments took place on study of the cores extracted the geological and climatic his- streamers. The data information 4 August: on what proved to be from the ocean floor. “We iden- tory of the Arctic region.

Scars on the ocean floor

On board ship, work contin- by the large ice streams that ued uninterruptedly during flowed across the Arctic the crossing of the Barents 20,000 years ago, during the Sea. In order to maintain ac- last glacial maximum”, ex- tivity 24 hours a day, the plained Professor Antoni team worked shifts in groups Calafat, “to understand the coordinated by the geolo- intensity and the duration of gists Galderic Lastras, Ben climate processes originat- De Mol and Roger Urgelés, ed by the Poles”. Day by day under the supervision of An- the sonar screens revealed gelo Camerlenghi and Miquel icebergs, old glaciers and Canals. The objective was the scars of submarine ava- clear: to determine the evo- lanches that had disturbed lution of the polar continen- the calm of the ocean tal margins in this region of depths. On deck, the grey of the Arctic and to study the the sky merged with the wa- topography of the ocean ter and the light of the Arctic floor. “We want to examine sun at times disorientated the sediments transported the team. 36 NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

News in a nutshell

> Restaurateur Ferran Adrià has recently received high honours for his work. Star guest at the latest edition of the Kassel Fair, Adrià’s artistry earned him the UB’s highest academic distinction last December when he was given an honorary doctorate by the university. At the ceremony held in the UB’s Paranymph Hall, the head of the Department of Chemical Engineering Claudi Mans acted as the restaurateur’s sponsor. The award went to Adrià in recognition of his contributions to food science and food chemistry as well as for the international impact of his work. In addition to being a restaurateur, Adrià also serves as president of the Alicia Foundation, a research centre focusing on technological innovation in the field of gastronomy. Photograph showing how close the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (left-hand side), is to the UB’s new Raval-based faculties (right-hand side).

> Relocating the UB’s Faculties of Philosophy and of Geog- raphy and History to Ciutat Vella in the city centre has given a real boost to the already dynamic social and cultural life of the Raval, emblematic Barcelona neighbourhood and home to institutions like Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the Liceu Opera House and the Barcelona Centre for Contempo- rary Culture. The new site of the faculties, previously located in the university area of the Diagonal, serves to consolidate the city centre campus, joining the UB’s nearby Historic Building in Plaça Univer- sitat. In addition to institutions like the Historical Archives of the City and the Council for Scientific Research, the Ciutat Vella district also boasts significant associational activity from bodies such as the Raval Solidarity Foundation, which promotes cooperation projects, and the Ibn Batuta Sociocultural Association, which helps immi- grants who are resident in Catalonia.

> The UB welcomes fifty-five paintings from the Prado Museum as part of a program of temporary loans from the museum’s vast col- > The tomb of the phar- lection to other museums and public institutions. The Prado’s works on aoh Tutankhamen, whose loan to the UB basically belong to the various schools and currents of mummy was recently Spanish painting from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While removed from its sarcoph- the bulk of the works on agus and put on public display will hang in the view, housed three varie- UB’s Historic Building, a ties of wine in its burial number of them can also chamber. A study headed be enjoyed in the Facul- by Professor Rosa Maria ties of Medicine and Eco- Lamuela-Raventós of UB’s nomics. Nearly all the Department of Nutrition and paintings have been at the Bromatology has shown that UB for over a century, and the amphoras found along- twenty-nine of them have side the Pharaoh contained been restored thanks to a the residue of red wine, university-sponsored ini- white wine and a wine called tiative. shedeh, which was more Golden mask of the Egyptian pharaoh skilfully made and sweeter in Tutankhamen.

One of the paintings on taste. The findings are par- loan to the University of ticularly significant because they demonstrate that the Egyptians were Barcelona from the Prado making white wine 1,500 years before previously thought. When Museum is “The Adoration Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened on 4 November 1922 by the British of the Shepherds”, a work by the Valencian artist archaeologist Howard Carter, the world was thrilled by the find, and Mateu Gilarte. that fascination with the boy pharaoh is still alive today. NEWS IN A NUTSHELL 37

> In the period 2004-2007, the Solar Atrium, which is a photo- the museum’s jewels is the database of drugs used between 1800 voltaic installation at the UB’s Faculties of Physics and Chemis- and 1960 (http://www.ub.edu/crai/pharmakoteka/index.php). try, generated 223 MWh of electricity and in doing so avoided the In 1957, this museum was created in the Faculty of Pharmacy by Doc- release of 85 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The annual aver- tor Jesús Isamat. Dr. Isamat wanted to give the faculty a real university age net generation of 60 MWh is equivalent to the amount con- museum, far removed from the idea of “endless rows of neatly arranged sumed by thirteen households. The 50kWp installation is a single specimens, a soulless atmosphere, a mere butterfly depositary”. aerial structure suspended above the 375 square metre interior court- yard of the faculties. It manages to combine and embody in visual form the dual notions of technological innovation and sustainable development. The installation was constructed as part of the European Project UnivERsol (universities, renewable energies and solar energy), coordi- > Situated in the middle nated by the UB. UnivERsol involved 29 EU institutions and resulted in of the Collserola Park, 27 grid connected PV systems totalling 829 kWp installed capacity. By the Palau de les Heures technological demonstration, dissemination and training, the project is reminiscent of a French contributes actively to the EU’s stated objective of increasing the share chateau. It was built in of renewable energy sources to 20% by 2020. 1895 for José Gallart, an industrialist from Barce- lona who had made his fortune in Puerto Rico. During the Civil War, the difficulty of attacking this site by air contributed to making it a home for the president of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Lluís Companys. José Gallart’s son repossessed the estate at the end of the war and sold it in the 1950s. After a period of pillaging and deg- radation, it was acquired by the County Council of Barcelona in 1958. However, the Council could not decide on a use for it. In 1972, they proposed that the Palau should be demolished. This gave rise to a protest to save the building. During the 1980s, sev- > The UB Museum of Catalan Pharmacy’s collection includes eral different uses were suggested for the building, including mak- the Concordie Apothecariorum (dated 1511), which is the oldest ing it into the headquarters of a United Nations body or the Russian pharmacopoeia of the Spanish Kingdoms, and the second old- Consulate. Finally, in 1992, the County Council signed a contract est in the world after the Florence publication. In addition to this with the UB’s Bosch i Gimpera Foundation to establish lifelong learn- pharmacopoeia (which is a book containing the most common medic- ing and postgraduate studies on the site. Today, the Palau houses inal substances and methods of combining and preparing these), the administration for the Mundet Campus, and the administrative items from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries can be found in the UB’s offices for the faculties of Education and Teacher Training. museum. These include pharmaceutical ceramics, precision scales, laboratory tools, herbaria and advertising posters. Among the stills and mortars, there is also a small, Flemish school painting on board dated between the 17th and 18th centuries. The painting shows Saint > The UB’s library is home to over 2,000 manuscripts and 948 Cosmas and Saint Damian, patron saints of medicine. Whilst the incunabula (early printed books predating 1500 AD), which are painting was being restored, it was discovered that it was painted on stored in its reserve stacks. Among them, you can find invaluable the back of an even older painting from the 15th century. Another of works such as the oldest surviving copy in Catalan of the Chronicle of King James (1343), written by the foremost monarch reigning at the height and splendour of medieval Catalonia. As for later printed works, there are roughly 150,000 editions dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The library also contains collections such as the Grewe Collection, specialising in food and cooking, and a collection devoted to the phi- losopher and writer Ramon Book of Hours from the early sixteenth century, held in the UB library’s reserve col- Llull, a leading intellectual of lections. The illuminated miniature shows Old tools and instruments on display at the UB’s Museum of Catalan Pharmacy. medieval Europe. St John the Evangelist. 38 Publications

Conversation guides

The University of Barcelona’s “Conversation Guides” provide newly arrived students from abroad with a collection of Catalan phrases and vocabulary to help them in their first contact with Catalans. The aim is to make students’ time at the UB and ions their participation in different university areas and communica- t tive situations easy right from the start. To date, the UB has published thirteen guides in this collection, including the fo- llowing: guides in Russian, Italian, Amazigh, Dutch, Polish, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Arabic and English; a conversation guide in the five languages of the Spanish state lica (Catalan, Spanish, Aranese, Basque and Galician); and a Cata- lan-English-Spanish medical conversation guide. ub P

Some people consider that the The magazine Oecologia aquatica spirit of Europeanism found in the is published by the UB’s origins of the European Union has Department of Ecology. Issue no. been lost. However, this book 10 is a special edition: a tribute to presents a different view of the the UB professor Ramon Margalef. beginnings of the EU. It shows that It contains articles by researchers the aims of the European project in and followers of Ramon Margalef its current form were established and provides an overview of the Europa Unida. in the first four years of the EU’s Homage to Ramon most important aspects of each of Orígenes de un existence, and do not tally with the Margalef, or, Why the areas that he researched in malentendido concepts expressed by the public there is such pleasure aquatic ecology. Ramon Margalef consciente at that time. However, such aims do in studying nature (1919-2004) was one of the most coincide with the objectives of internationally renowned scientists Víctor Gavín Munté Several authors some current leaders. According in the fields of limnology (the study to this book and surprisingly, only of lakes and continental waters), the USA defended the real union of oceanography and theoretical the European continent beyond ecology. From 1967, he held the state borders. Chair in Ecology at the UB.

This CD-Rom contains a collection This book, published in Catalan of papers presented at the and Spanish, provides answers to International Conference “The Arts questions such as what the real in Urban Development. Waterfronts medical applications of cloning are, of Art II”, held in Barcelona in 2001. whether organs can be created in a Contributions were made by personalised way to replace The Arts in Urban researchers from different countries. damaged ones, or what stem cells Development CD-ROM The CD-Rom is divided into two are. The contents are presented in (Waterfronts of Art II), parts: the first analyses different a clear, readable way, with CD Òrgans a la carta. development activities in waterfront explanatory drawings and simple Antoni Remesar Cèl·lules mare, cities such as some urban areas in clonatge terapèutic i language that the non-specialised Japan, as well as Sydney, Rio de medicina regenerativa reader can understand. The author Janeiro, Lisbon and Barcelona; the David Bueno David Bueno is a lecturer at the second examines the production of University of Barcelona’s public art in current urban contexts. Department of Genetics, where he The CD-Rom was created within is currently leading a research the framework of the Public Art group on the study and treatment Observatory network’s activities, of mother cells in the nervous promoted by the CER POLIS system and their potential use in research group. regenerative medicine.

You may purchase these works by visiting the University of Barcelona’s web portal for publications at: www.publicacions.ub.es

the University of Barcelona 2007

3,000 scientific 80,000 students. publications. National 33% of all university leader in scientific students in Catalonia production

28,000 postgraduate and 76 million euros in lifelong learning 88 official EHEA income from research students. 50% of master’s degree and technology transfer the total figure programs. 25% of the for Catalonia total offered in the Catalan university system

575 doctoral theses 77 undergraduate presented. 40% of the programs (bachelor’s combined total for all degrees and university 45 companies Catalan public universities diplomas) and 70 research groups based in the Barcelona 12,000 new Science Park (PCB) Among the 200 best undergraduate students universities in the world and the 100 leading 8,000 graduates universities in Europe each year