UOC celebrates 25 years - Anniversary of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

25 years promoting talent,
generating and connecting knowledge

25th anniversary news
Agenda

Democratizing knowledge and guaranteeing people's access to high quality online education.

A BBC Storyworks production

25 years in images

1994

1995

1996

1997

1999

2000

2003

Click here for more pictures

Opening doors

trans- fer

1 tr. v. To convey from one person, place, or situation to another. He was transferred from Weston Hospital to Frenchay.
2 1 tr. v. To pass over possession or control of. He transferred the house to the new owners. The company will transfer the money tomorrow.
2 2 tr. v. An act, process, or instance of transferring.

"Online education is incredibly democratizing"

Elizabeth Salmon

Course instructor for the University Master's Degree in Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization

Elizabeth Salmon is a lawyer and holds a PhD in Public Law. In 2018 she become the first Latin American woman to chair the Advisory Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a post she still holds today. She also heads the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, as well as being amicus curiae of the Special Justice for Peace in Colombia.

Meet other members of the UOC community

The world's first online university

The idea behind the founding of the UOC, back in 1995, was not for a distance university, but to take advantage of the incipient World Wide Web to create the first ever distanceless university.

students

graduates

course instructors and tutors

The UOC has students in 138 countries

+ than

Catalonia

+ than

Spain (without Catalonia)

+ than

Rest of the world

Figures from the 2021/2022 academic year

Lifelong training

bachelor's degrees

university master's degrees

doctoral programmes

UOC-certiﬁed master's degrees and postgraduate courses

204

postgraduate courses and specializations

language courses

courses, profession-focused specializations and professional development programmes

summer seminars

vocational training courses¹

214

open courses

Programmes and courses offered in the 2022/2023 academic year (tentative)

Find the programme that best suits your needs

¹Higher-level vocational training courses (Jesuïtes Educació in collaboration with the UOC)

A global university with societal impact

The UOC is strongly committed to being open to the world, on a basis of respect and collaboration. It favours learning that is globally and socially responsible, promotes knowledge that is open to all, is committed to gender equality and seeks responses to society's challenges, as per those defined in the 2030 Agenda.

trans- versal

1 adj. Crossing from side to side. It was a study with a qualitative and transversal approach, based on constructivism and transversality.
2 n. [Mathematics] A line that intersects a system of lines.

Leaders in quality e-learning

The UOC's learning model puts students centre stage, seeking to constantly improve their competencies. It is based on continual support, finding solutions to activities, and collaboration between students. With a diverse range of courses available at the UOC, the learning model adapts to students' varying personal and professional profiles.

How to study at the UOC

Find out about it in this video

Who studies at the UOC?

women

between the ages of 25 and 34

study and work

want to study and broaden their knowledge

choose the UOC because they can combine work and study

work in the private sector

students with a certified disability of 33% or more

Mobility students

2020/2021 academic year

The online mobility programme makes it possible to open up access to international educational experiences and strengthen peoples' global competencies.

84% of graduates would choose to study at the UOC again

A great team

544

faculty and researchers

185

full-time researchers

873

administrative staff

5,800

course instructors and tutors

The right question

trans- form

1 1 tr. v. To change in character or condition. Transform a mathematical equation. Transform an alternating current or voltage.
1 2 intr. v. To become transformed, to change. The tadpole transformed into a frog.
2 1 tr. v. To convert into a different substance. The alchemists tried to transform lead into gold.
2 2 tr. v. To radically alter. He completely transformed his house during the renovation.
2 3 intr. v. Only in fairy tales do frogs transform into princes.

"Playing
our part"

Josep A. Planell
President of the UOC

Reflecting on the future: universities post-COVID-19

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what challenges do universities face? How should the role of higher education evolve? What difficulties will our new scenario bring? How will we overcome them? How does adapting to digital transformation fit in? What should our research model be?

Universities must change, and spokespeople, faculty members and researchers from the UOC have been sharing their reflections on where a roadmap for the coming years should take us.

See all the reflection articles

Other examples of disruption

The eLearning Innovation Center's mission is to evolve the University's learning model to guarantee a unique, high-quality, connected and networked learning experience. It works with other leading experts in this field from around the world to share innovative educational experiences.

La Reina Roja.

Docuseries on educational innovation.

The UOC
is research
and innovation

Research is an essential part of the UOC's mission. There is particular interest in interdisciplinary research, with a focus on areas where technology and human & social sciences converge. The UOC's research and innovation centres and its academic faculties lead these activities, and its Doctoral School also plays a part.

trans- disciplinary

adj. [Education] Involving two or more academic, scientific or artistic disciplines.

"We're studying how collaborative and co-creative research methodologies can reinvent the way research is conducted"

Mayo Fuster

Principal investigator of the IN3's Digital Commons group

Anthropologist, economist and doctoral degree holder in Political and Social Sciences, Mayo Fuster is an expert in collaborative economies and is the principal investigator of the Digital Commons (DIMMONS) group at IN3. She is an adjunct professor at Harvard University and a consultant to institutions including Barcelona City Council and the European Commission.

"Experts have been warning of a pandemic for years"

Salvador Macip

Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences

Salvador Macip is a doctor of medicine and a professor at both the UOC's Faculty of Health Sciences and the University of Leicester's Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. His area of research, both at the UOC and at Leicester, is cancer and ageing.

"Someone once said to me: 'But you're a girl, how come you're doing a doctoral programme in information technologies?'"

Samia Oukemeni

Doctoral degree holder in Network and Information Technologies

Samia Oukemeni is an expert in internet security and privacy and earned her PhD from the UOC's doctoral programme in Network and Information Technologies. Her doctoral thesis dealt with privacy on social media. Her advice: "Before you post anything on social media, stop and think a minute."

"We create virtual and augmented reality experiences, especially for education, culture and tourism"

Luis Villarejo

Co-founder of the spin-off Immersium Studio

How do you bring a triceratops to life in a museum? Ask the UOC spin-off company developed by Luis Villarejo, a computer engineer and expert in natural language processing. Villarejo had been working for over a decade in the field of educational technology before the know-how and experience he had gained in augmented reality led to the creation of Immersium Studio.

"A scientific journal is not just a publication; with time, it also becomes a knowledge community"

Pau Alsina

Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is promoting the next International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA), an annual congress that is coming to Barcelona in 2022: "It spans nations, sectors and institutions, and connects art, design, science, technology, thought and society through a theme that is more relevant today than ever: possibles," explained professor Pau Alsina.

Meet other members of the UOC community

A hub for open knowledge

A hub for open knowledge 50% of original papers by UOC researchers are published in open access.

... for its academic publications to be open access by default.

The UOC's commitment for 2030

... to ensure that all research data created at the UOC follows FAIR principles.

The evolution of research at the UOC over the last 8 years

2014

2021

Funding won

2M €

6,7M €

Scientific papers per year

275

642

Research groups

Chairs

Valid patents

The fruits of innovation: university spin-off companies

The UOC's R&I activities have led to the creation of four spin-off companies:

Open Evidence Care Respite Immersium Studio Xatkit

2 research centres, 1 doctoral school and 1 learning innovation centre

Internet Interdisciplinary Institute eHealth Center Doctoral School eLearning Innovation Center

Engaging, outstanding, meaningful

When it comes to R&I at the UOC, we strive to be engaging (capturing the best talent and projects), outstanding (publishing and showcasing more and more high-quality research) and meaningful (conducting research that has an impact on society) in the three strands of this triple helix. Our research is, by definition, both transdisciplinary and translational (taking into account the people who could benefit from it).

Faculty research groups

Reinventing the future

The UOC's courses place an emphasis on employability: ensuring graduates have all the knowledge, skills and capabilities they need to work professionally in their chosen fields.

trans- cend

1 1 tr. v. To rise above or go beyond the limits of.
1 2 intr. v. To triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of.
2 intr. v. To rise above or extend notably beyond ordinary limits.

"The Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia has furthered my career"

Anna Ferry

Alumnus. Course instructor and tutor at the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications

After a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design at the BAU university design centre in Barcelona, Anna Ferry decided to take the Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia at the UOC. She received special recognition for her academic record and the National Prize for Excellence in Academic Performance. Now combines her work as a front-end and back-end developer with her activity as a course instructor and tutor.

Meet other members of the UOC community

Alumni: a lifelong relationship

Alumni offers its community lifelong learning to help people continually refresh their professional skills and ensure the tools they need to develop their careers, while also nurturing entrepreneurial initiative and competitiveness. The UOC Alumni community is made up of people who go a step further: people from around the world, committed to social progress and change, who achieve what they set out to do: #whatyouwanttobe.

What is the profile of our graduates?

Most outstanding capabilities

Programmes

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree and postgraduate studies

Studying at any time and in any situation

Under 25

From 26 to 35

From 36 to 45

From 46 to 50

Sectors and areas of study

Economics and Business

Communication

Technology

Psychology and Education Sciences

Law and Political Science

Arts and Humanities

Health

UOC community: 200,000 connected people

Students, alumni, faculty, affiliated teaching staff, administrative and research staff, entrepreneurs, stakeholders, honorary doctors and more… over 200,000 people always within reach.

"I decided to acquire the tools needed to help save my generation and the next"

Hisham Al-Omeisy

Alumnus. Graduate of the Master's Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security

"The UOC represents the greatest change in the definition of a university."

Martin Carnoy

Professor of Education and Economics (Stanford University) who gave the inaugural lecture of the UOC's 2004/2005 academic year, "ICT in Education: Possibilities and Challenges."

"The UOC is an exceptional university. Indeed, it is unique."

Tony Bates

Recipient of an honorary doctorate from the UOC in 2005.

"Doing the Master's Degree in Cultural Management was one of the smartest decisions of my life"

Sabela García

Alumnus. Graduate of the University Master's Degree in Cultural Management

"The UOC's flexible model means students can study and work anywhere and wherever they want"

Nati Cabrera

Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences. Member of the Edul@b research group

Volunteers from the welcome programme for refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons.

"You were visionary"

Sanjay Sarma

Vice President for Open Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who gave the inaugural lecture of the UOC's 2020/2021 academic year, "The future of education".

Download the PDF copy

Learning. Transforming. 25 years promoting talent, generating and connecting knowledge.