Building Knowledge to Build Citizens to Build Cities
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2010 International Campus of Excellence Programme UPF CAMPUS ICÀRIA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT Building knowledge To build citizens To build cities Report on the project UPF CAMPUS ICÀRIA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT UPF CAMPUS ICÀRIA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT Building knowledge To build citizens To build cities Report on the project Candiday for the 2010 International Campus of Excellence A much more detailed and complete version of this document can be found at: www.upf.edu/icaria CONTENTS RECTOR’S MESSAGE 7 1. OVERALL PROPOSAL 9 1.1 Perspective and mission 1.2 Theoretical framework 1.3 Campus model and SWOT 1.4 Summary of associates and goals 2. PROJECT REPORT 17 A) Teaching improvement and the EHEA 17 Actions B) Scientific improvement and knowledge transfer 57 Actions C) Transformation of the campus into a comprehensive, social model and its integration 93 within its land setting Actions D) Specialist fields 111 E) Associates 117 F) Internationalisation 135 G) Participation in a sustainable economic model 141 H) Alliances and networks 147 Annexes: List of actions List of tables and diagrams 3. ECONOMIC REPORT 157 3.1 Summarised budget 3.2 Detailed budget 3.3 Chart of actions RECTOR’s message Communis omnium sapientia The Icària International Campus of Excellence project presented by Pompeu Fabra University is based, first and foremost, on the experience the university has gained in the twenty years since it was founded. During this short period, UPF has yielded a successful combination of quality and prestige in teaching whilst upholding an unrelenting commitment to become a leading research institution. The results lay testimony to the fact that the university has embarked on precisely the right course. Teaching and research indicators place it among the top universities in Spain and, in recent years, UPF has begun to make a name for itself on the international stage, for instance, figuring promi- nently in the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times Higher Education ranking. The university model is primarily based on a policy of being an international institution that is open to the world, incorporating prominent researchers and lecturers in order to strengthen the international range of postgraduate programmes, master’s degrees and doctoral studies offered. Furthermore, the university is centred on three main fields: biomedicine, social sciences and humani- ties and communication and information technologies. Accordingly, this project focuses on specific areas rather than adopting a general approach. The output attained in these three fields demonstrates that by pooling and focussing efforts in this manner UPF has unquestionably adopted the appropria- te strategy. Moreover, a host of interdisciplinary areas have been established among these three fields, giving rise to some of the most innovative scientific initiatives the world has witnessed in recent years; for instance, the field of neurosciences and human behaviour is one initiative that constitutes a fusion of all three fields and is one of the main actions envisaged in the project. The 2010 project strengthens the university’s associates. These include the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), an institution with which UPF has already been collaborating successfully – ex- periences in this regard include the first edition of certain specialist areas in the master’s degree for training secondary education teaching staff. Moreover, this cooperation also provides a bimodal teaching format (involving face-to-face education and virtual learning) which is set to become an ever-increasing feature in higher education. In addition, the project also unfolds on the context of an ambitious interuniversity cooperation scheme; namely, the 4 Universities Alliance (A4U) – formed by UPF along with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Carlos III University in Madrid. The aim is to forge an outstanding spiral of academic excellence in Spain. The project also benefits from the involvement of a host of research centres, technological centres and postgraduate platforms that are linked to UPF. These include the newly-established Bar- celona Institute for International Studies (IBEI) and Barcelona Beta centre, promoted by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. The project’s ultimate calling is to create knowledge based on the understanding that knowledge will help to lend our society greater wellbeing and equality. Pompeu Fabra University has always helped to generate knowledge in keeping with the pace of Barcelona’s development. The university is intimately tied in with the city fabric: it was a key player in lending a new lease of life to the Ciutat Vella district and in opening up the city to the sea in the nineties in preparation for the Olympic Games. Even now in the 21st century, the institution continues to contribute, for example on the overhaul being carried out in the 22@ knowledge district. Icària International is a project with a highly urban vocation, un- folding right in the heart of the Catalan capital: Mediterranean, Hispanic and international Barcelona, a city that has opened its doors to the world. The project is founded on the firm conviction that, in addition to being a popular location for leisure and business, Pompeu Fabra University can transform Barcelona into an extremely appealing world destination for research and postgraduate education. JOSEP JOAN MORESO Rector of Pompeu Fabra University 1 OVERALL PROPOSAL 1.1 Perspective and mission The UPF25 YEARS Strategy looking ahead to 2015 was drawn up and approved in the year between the two calls for the Campus of International Excellence programme. This is important because the Icària International project is nurtured by this theoretical framework and, accordingly, both the project and the strategy share the same vision looking ahead to 2015. UPF shall become one of the leading European universities developing a unique identity of its own characterised by quality teaching, proximity to students, a high level of internationalisation and emphasis on research and innovation. The university’s three specialist fields – social sciences and hu- manities, communication and information technologies and biomedicine – place the individual and the relationship between the university and its setting at the heart of the university project. UPF25 year perspective The goal of the Icària International project is to speed up this process for attaining excellence and international outreach to which the university has been committed since it was founded. Indeed, it forms the basis of the UPF25 YEARS Strategy and this goal is strengthened thanks to the strategic associates highlighted in this project. 1.2 Theoretical framework The UPF25 YEARS Strategy lays the theoretical foundations for the Icària International project. The strategy focuses on four areas of action – which are efficiently governed and managed – which coincide with the priority areas for action set out in the CEI 2010 programme. The five strategic goals of the UPF25 YEARS Strategy are detailed below under each specific area along with the framework for governance: Knowledge creation: research Establishing UPF as a research institution with a calling for international excellence enabling it to attract talent and strengthen its current standing by improving research infrastructure. UPF CAMPUS ICÀRIA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT 9 Knowledge transmission: teaching Consolidating the current teaching model in line with the European education framework with an innovative teaching and learning model that underlines the quality and competitiveness of the stud- ies offered by UPF, focusing particularly on setting up suitable support systems. Knowledge transfer Planning and developing teaching and research to favour knowledge transfer and innovation in soci- ety in conjunction with the main social and business players within the university’s setting. Internationalisation Designing a global strategy to enable the university to achieve the international presence, stand- ing and prominence characteristic of an institution with such high quality in terms of research and teaching. Framework of governance and efficient management( internal action) Strengthening an institutional structure that helps to reach the goals set out in the UPF25 YEARS Strategy, reviewing internal governance and the structure of the UPF group. The instruments for management shall also be adapted, promoting greater cohesion in the university model. The goal is also to define a more varied, sustainable funding model. 1.3 Campus model and SWOT 1.3.1 Introduction The Icària International project sets out 22 actions aimed at reinforcing the goals included in the UPF25 YEARS Strategy. These include fostering the involvement of the university’s associates in the projects (strategic partners in each field: teaching, research and knowledge transfer) and placing greater emphasis on the integration of the campus into its setting (by working with the urban devel- opment associate: 22@Barcelona). With respect to the associates, their involvement in the project is vital to heightening this proc- ess for ensuring excellence. For instance, in terms of teaching they make it possible to incorporate new bimodal teaching models (ensured by the association with UOC) and to enhance the range of postgraduate studies offered (through postgraduate platforms). In terms of research, making a more efficient use of the synergies afforded by the associates is essential in order to build competitive