The Balmes University Foundation anticipates a budget of over 60 million Euros for the first time, and it will increase by 8% next year

The Board of Trustees of the Balmes University Foundation (FUBalmes) approved the provisional settlement of the budget for the 2023-2024 academic year, which ends on 30 June, at its plenary meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The budget is balanced once again, with a total income of 58.7 million Euros and a final carryover of 11,195 Euros. The initial estimate for next year's budget anticipates an 8% increase in income, to 63.3 million Euros.  

This figure means that the Balmes University Foundation will exceed the threshold of 60 million Euros for the first time, and it will do so ten years after the beginning of the federation between the institution and the Bages University Foundation, which was a significant boost for the project of the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC). The income in that academic year, of 2014-2015, was 33 million Euros, practically half of the current level forecast.

The items in the income column that have experienced the most growth are bachelor's degree courses and lifelong learning, which have increased due to the effects of volume, fees from associated and affiliated centres, and research. The wider range of courses, the implementation of the new Academic Dedication Plan for teaching and research staff at UVic and the salary adjustment are the items that have experienced the largest increases in expenditure.  

New facilities and improvements to infrastructure

The academic year that is now coming to an end has seen 1.9 million Euros allocated to investments. These include the new laboratories for the bachelor's degree in Automotive Engineering at the Granollers centre, the launch of the new Remei building in Vic, and the creation of new teaching spaces at the Masia de la Torre dels Frares building, to become a unified environment for bachelor's degree programmes and training cycles related to education. The University has also invested in solar panels, to continue moving towards self-consumption, in establishing a new centre for the Postgraduate School, and in the refurbishment of several spaces and classrooms, which in total add up to 143 improvement actions. The expansion of the BETA Technology Center has also begun this academic year, and 777,392 Euros have been allocated to funding for research projects.  

A total amount of 1.6 million Euros is budgeted for the investments planned for next year, and those related to infrastructure will account for a significant proportion of this figure. The second part of the works to expand the CT BETA is planned, and new classrooms will be built in the integrated teaching space at the University Hospital in Vic. The Miramarges space will continue to change, with refurbishments in buildings E and F, and the sports area will also increase in size. Other plans include investments in new technological equipment for the Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare, and the continued deployment of the solar panels project and the implementation of new research management software.