The UB, UAB, UPC, and UPF ally to promote Barcelona as a university city

The University of Barcelona (UB), the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) have joined forces to promote the Catalan capital as a university and research city, and gain greater international visibility and positioning. "It is an alliance to position the Barcelona brand as a university benchmark," explains the rector of the UB, Joan Guàrdia.

The Barcelona Knowledge Alliance must also serve to intensify existing collaborations and generate new synergies between the four public university centers, as well as establish strategic partnerships with higher education institutions worldwide. "We do not compete among ourselves, as many people believe, but we do collaborate," remarks Guardia.

It is the first initiative of its kind to be carried out in all of Spain. Cities such as Montpellier, London, Berlin or Gothenburg have promoted similar collaboration models. The new alliance will serve to bring together the more than 130,000 students, 15,000 teaching and research staff members, and 7,000 technical and administrative staff members that the four universities comprise.

The first examples of the Barcelona Knowledge Alliance will begin to be seen next year. The rector of the UB indicates that they plan to carry out cultural activities jointly, but also share spaces in areas where different universities coincide, such as in the upper part of Diagonal, with UB and UPC centers. Looking ahead to 2025, they want to go together to the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), the most important cultural event in Ibero-America, taking advantage of the fact that Barcelona will be the guest city of honor.

The alliance will have shared governance and an annual rotating presidency among the four participating universities. The first institution to hold this position will be the UB. Afterwards, it will be the turn of the UAB, the UPC and the UPF. Funding will be defined as the activities to be carried out are agreed upon.