Mas-Colell encourages UVic-UCC to strengthen its research, internationalisation and lifelong learning in the coming years

The University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) held the closing ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the federation agreement between the Balmes University Foundation (FUBalmes) and the Bages University Foundation (FUBages), which gave rise to the university in its current form, in Vic yesterday evening. The event, which took place in the Paranymph at UVic-UCC, was attended by around 120 people, including Andreu Mas-Colell, the former Minister of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and a key supporter of the federation agreement, institutional representatives and politicians of the past, who played a leading role in the agreement in 2014, and of the present, the presidents and general managers of the centres that are today members of the UVic-UCC federation, the rector of UVic-UCC and members of the university community, among others.

During the event commemorating the tenth anniversary, Mas-Colell encouraged UVic-UCC to rethink all three major areas in the face of the challenge that the demographic decline will pose for all European universities in the coming years. First, he said, "we have to engage in more research and knowledge transfer, linked to the needs of the territory, with high quality people." Second, it will be necessary to attract students from outside Catalonia, "which we need to do in order to be competitive." And, third, promoting lifelong learning will be crucial: "we have to place it on the same level as initial University training."

As for the role of UVic-UCC within the Catalan university system, Mas-Colell said that ten years ago, the university remedied Catalonia's lack of territorial balance in higher education, and that the federation was possible "because there was sufficient initiative." Likewise, he said he was convinced that in Barcelona "sooner or later there will be a private, face-to-face and non-confessional university which we do not currently have there now," and that the university could be based anywhere in Europe, "including in Vic or Manresa." 

As for public-private legal status of UVic-UCC, the former minister recalled that all universities were municipally owned before the Spanish Nueva Planta decrees of the eighteenth century, and as such, "UVic-UCC has gone back to its roots." He said that being a public university with private funding has advantages, "since the federation would not otherwise have been possible," but the ideal model in his opinion is one of social pricing, in which enrolment fees are adjusted according to household income. At the end of his speech, Mas-Colell encouraged the audience to face the challenges of the future without fear, bearing in mind that "the agreement was reached at a time of economic crisis and it was something of a baptism of fire; so any crises that may arise in the future will be small beer in comparison."”.

The University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) held the closing ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the federation agreement between the Balmes University Foundation (FUBalmes) and the Bages University Foundation (FUBages), which gave rise to the university in its current form, in Vic yesterday evening. The event, which took place in the Paranymph at UVic-UCC, was attended by around 120 people, including Andreu Mas-Colell, the former Minister of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and a key supporter of the federation agreement, institutional representatives and politicians of the past, who played a leading role in the agreement in 2014, and of the present, the presidents and general managers of the centres that are today members of the UVic-UCC federation, the rector of UVic-UCC and members of the university community, among others.

During the event commemorating the tenth anniversary, Mas-Colell encouraged UVic-UCC to rethink all three major areas in the face of the challenge that the demographic decline will pose for all European universities in the coming years. First, he said, "we have to engage in more research and knowledge transfer, linked to the needs of the territory, with high quality people." Second, it will be necessary to attract students from outside Catalonia, "which we need to do in order to be competitive." And, third, promoting lifelong learning will be crucial: "we have to place it on the same level as initial University training."

As for the role of UVic-UCC within the Catalan university system, Mas-Colell said that ten years ago, the university remedied Catalonia's lack of territorial balance in higher education, and that the federation was possible "because there was sufficient initiative." Likewise, he said he was convinced that in Barcelona "sooner or later there will be a private, face-to-face and non-confessional university which we do not currently have there now," and that the university could be based anywhere in Europe, "including in Vic or Manresa." 

As for public-private legal status of UVic-UCC, the former minister recalled that all universities were municipally owned before the Spanish Nueva Planta decrees of the eighteenth century, and as such, "UVic-UCC has gone back to its roots." He said that being a public university with private funding has advantages, "since the federation would not otherwise have been possible," but the ideal model in his opinion is one of social pricing, in which enrolment fees are adjusted according to household income. At the end of his speech, Mas-Colell encouraged the audience to face the challenges of the future without fear, bearing in mind that "the agreement was reached at a time of economic crisis and it was something of a baptism of fire; so any crises that may arise in the future will be small beer in comparison."”.

Mas-Colell made his comments during a conversation with the journalist Albert Om, who presented the entire event.

Conversation between the four general managers 

During the event, a conversation also took place between the general managers of the four institutions that currently make up the UVic-UCC federation: Jordi Baiget (FUBalmes, the institution which owns the University), Toni Llobet (FUBages), Marina Geli (Foundation for Advanced Health Sciences Studies - FESS), and Javier Peña (Elisava Private Foundation).

Jordi Baiget pointed out that the federation has created "a university that provides a service to the country, but which is in the territory," which means that young people wishing to study do not have to leave to do so. Despite acknowledging that the current federal structure "is complex and requires a great lot of understanding," he added: "We are four foundations with very different objectives, but as we are diverse we can seek common objectives." The general manager of the FUBalmes emphasised that "the University wants to provide a service, and to be useful to the territory and to people.” In the future," he maintained, "I am sure that the University will continue to be useful," and he argued that for this reason, it must be able to attract talent and retain it in the territory.

According to Antoni Llobet, the federation agreement meant coming together and growing "in a way that we would never have been able to do separately; we all gained from it, in terms of strength and critical mass." Looking towards the future, Llobet said that it will be necessary to show that UVic-UCC is a university with common goals. Discussing the change in the demographic cycle that is taking shape from 2027 onwards, he argued for a very clear focus on policies, especially those related to lifelong learning, the correlation between training cycles and university training, "and for a clear understanding of which new studies we can offer," without overlooking the fact that "we must show we have enough quality for people to place their trust in us."

Marina Geli said that "the federation agreement is the catalyst without which the Faculty of Medicine would not have been possible." This faculty, which has teaching units on the Vic Campus and the Manresa Campus, has been a force for change in the territory, especially in the healthcare field, and also, according to Geli, "it has a unique characteristic that is a connection with the Second Republic - we are heirs of Catalan university model." Over the next few years, "the most important thing is to enhance our reputation, including in the international arena." To that end, "we must provide teaching at high levels of quality, and we must demonstrate that we can help the Catalan health system to attract and retain talent and improve research."

Afterwards, Javier Peña followed on from Mas-Colell's proposals and pointed out that "the federation with Elisava has been the cornerstone for a private and non-confessional university." Peña emphasised that with the federation agreement Elisava "has become a university and the largest Faculty of Design in Catalonia has been created," in addition to providing the opportunity to be a founding foundation of a research centre like the Institute for Research and Innovation in Life and Health Sciences in Central Catalonia (IRIS-CC), "which is a fantastic opportunity because it builds bridges with an area like health." He said that the aim must be "to grow the UVic-UCC brand and strive to attract students and talent, and we will only be able to do this if the UVic-UCC brand is very strong." 

The institutional speeches

During the round of institutional speeches, Albert Castells, president of the FUBalmes and mayor of Vic, said that the federation agreement "provided continuity for a university project that had been a long time coming, and turned it into a university that filled a void in the country: a territorial university in Central Catalonia that guarantees equal opportunities for the people who live there, that contributes to economic balance, and that provides knowledge." Castells also recalled that the agreement of ten years ago, which was completely new and unprecedented, was possible thanks to the support of public administrations. And he concluded his speech by saying that the future must be approached "based on our inherent vocation for public service and the responsibility and sense of duty towards the two institutions, the people, the territory and the country."

Marc Aloy, president of the FUBages and mayor of Manresa, emphasised that the federation agreement was possible thanks to "two cities that decided to set aside misgivings and individualisms, and the result has been marvellous, because union is strength." As a result, Aloy said, "we have a university that is stronger, bigger, more robust, with more studies, more research and more economic impact; a university at the service of the country." The president of the FUBages placed the university tradition of the Bages in context, and highlighted "the unstoppable growth" that becoming part of UVic-UCC has entailed, "in which we combine our efforts with an unswerving commitment to public service." Aloy concluded his speech by saying that it is necessary to address the improvement of governance, and predicting an "even brighter" future for the university.

Josep Eladi Baños, the rector of UVic-UCC, emphasised that "UVic-UCC combines the efforts of federations representing different histories and cultures which have decided to become a single University." And he continued: "Our job now is to enable recognition of the UVic-UCC principles for all of them, while respecting each one's own decisions. The indisputable principle involves moving in the same academic direction while maintaining the character of each foundation." In his speech, the rector highlighted three milestones achieved with the federation, which were the consolidation of a unique university project in Central Catalonia, a substantial quantitative and qualitative change, and in the field of research, the creation of synergies in the fields in which the University works.

The celebratory event included the screening of an institutional video which set out the origins of the federation agreement, and what it has meant in various areas. A video containing twenty testimonials that assess the federation's past, present and future was also screened, and it can be viewed through the following links: video 1, video 2 and video 3. The ceremony also featured performances by the Manlleu-born singer Paula Valls, who studied at the Vic School of Music and Conservatory, an institution that is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year. 

At the conclusion of the event, twelve reproductions of a limited signed series of the artist Enric Pladevall's painting Sincronia were presented to the former minister Mas-Colell, and to the past and present presidents and general managers of the four foundations of UVic-UCC.