“Barcelona has a real chance of being the most important university center in the Mediterranean”

And why not? It is always good to be dynamic. Now is an optimal time because we have come out of the pandemic and, above all, because the landscape of higher education in Europe is now being reconfigured and defined. We have to see if Barcelona will be an important node in higher education in Europe. This is relevant also outside Europe. Barcelona has a real chance of being the most important university center in the Mediterranean. But you have to position yourself. We have many competitors.

Why will it be good for Barcelona?

There are three reasons. One, higher education is an industry, different from others, but creating quality jobs for qualified people and this has a great impact on other economic sectors. And it is an industry in which we have comparative advantages because we know that Barcelona is an attractive place and because there is a university base. Economic logic says that this advantage has to be exploited.

A second reason is that if we have many students we will be a world training center. That creates network. For example, the Boston University area has ambassadors and connections all over the world, and that network is very important.

And a third reason is that some of the students who come will end up staying and therefore you will end up incorporating talent. Experience indicates that economic dynamism is related to the ability to incorporate and capitalize on talent that comes from anywhere in the world. It seems to me that there are three compelling reasons to promote this internationalization.

Where should Barcelona influence to position itself?

Firstly, to facilitate the arrival of foreign students, not only from the EU, but also from outside the EU. This should also be done by Spain. This measure includes a multitude of regulatory dimensions. For example, visas. I must say that the draft of the new law on universities (Losu) takes a significant step forward on this issue. Now visas are for one year. The law proposes that they be for the duration of the studies and even proposes a small extension to facilitate incorporation into the labor market. Another element is the embassies and consulates of Spain abroad, which should be more sensitive and incorporate among their tasks the promotion of Spanish university destinations.

Another level where regulation is relevant has to do with access to university and selectivity. It is evident that if we insist that there be a minimal difference in the selectivity process for Spaniards and foreigners, we will make this access very difficult and complicated. It is worth moving forward on this point. I am not saying that there is free access, but the allocation of places, for example, must take into account that the foreign student must plan ahead. It cannot be that places are assigned in June for the month of September.

It is necessary that the selectivity and pre-registration mechanisms at the university are attractive to foreign students. So that they come to study degrees. We must aspire that our degrees and postgraduate courses are valued internationally. The Generalitat has a lot to say here.

The Community of Madrid and universities such as Carlos III are a little ahead in the process of facilitating access to foreigners. Is Catalonia losing opportunities?

Catalonia has to get its act together because the competition is strong and comes from many places. Not only from Madrid, but from other autonomous communities and countries such as Portugal or Italy. The great European higher education centers are going to be configured in the next ten or fifteen years. We should be there and get there soon. If we position ourselves quickly we have many advantages over our rivals. It is more than proven that the physical and urban environment of Barcelona attracts young people. And we have a strong university base. Surely, on average, our university system is the most powerful in the peninsula. And therefore it is something that we have to take advantage of.

Why do you think that Catalonia makes a more restrictive interpretation of the law than Madrid in regard to reservation of places or homologation of titles?

I do not dominate the subject, but I do know that Carlos III has been capable of implementing a dynamic policy in a regulatory context that is Spanish and that, therefore, is the same for Catalonia as well. I would recommend analyzing how they have done it. And this is true for the Government of the Generalitat and also for the governing teams of Catalan public and private universities.

Why does he refer to the rectors?

We all have to move. We have twelve universities. All twelve have to mobilize because if there is one that does not do so, it is as if 8% did not mobilize.

Do you think they don’t all go together?

I’m not saying don’t go to one. Competition aside, I say that they must have the same objective, to present themselves to the world as a great university center. Then each one will develop her initiatives. These initiatives must be powerful, competitive and attractive, but collaborative initiatives can be much more so. Sometimes you have to join. Many are focused on European alliances. It’s okay. But I would recommend that they work with both options: Europe and the rest of the world.

Internationalizing the university is not just about attracting students. Foreign teachers are also key.

Yes, but this issue worries me less. It is relatively easy to have international faculty. And in this the Catalan universities are ahead of the Spanish average. The attraction of international students must be based on teaching in English and I believe that we will have no difficulty in finding young teachers capable of developing this teaching. In part we already have it here, local teachers who have spent many years abroad, and we can also bring it from abroad. I repeat that one of the reasons to promote the higher education industry is that it creates jobs and helps to fix talent.

Point out the subject of English. Don’t you see it as contradictory with the Government’s plan to promote the use of Catalan at the university?

The Government’s plan does not put restrictions on master’s degrees, so here, fine. With regard to degrees, we are far from 10% or 20% being taught in English, and we have a long way to go. So let’s start down the road. And from here we will see if we have limitations or not. It is clear that we have to offer international students degrees in English, which there are very few. There is room to grow here.

How should access to university be? Is selectivity a valid way?

I wouldn’t want to question selectivity. In a system that has made it possible to assign places to local students in an effective, transparent and honest manner. We do not value enough what selectivity has represented to eliminate, for example, the culture of recommendation. Surely it can be improved, but it has been an adequate procedure. Yes, it squeaks to incorporate non-community students. A reasonable measure would be to reserve a percentage of places for these students and that their access would depend exclusively on the universities, bearing in mind that this percentage could not be very high because, after all, public university places are financed by taxpayers. But let’s also keep in mind that the local demographics will not be very expansive, so we have to attract students from outside.

Related news

What role will the decline in the birth rate play in the reconfiguration of the university map?

It will play a historical role. Some say that there will be plenty of university professors. I am convinced that this will not be the case because I believe that quality teaching in the future will be much more personalized, more in small groups. Therefore, I don’t think about teachers. I would like there to be many more professors because the more we have, the higher the intellectual tone of our country will be. This will give us an opportunity in our goal of serving the international student body.