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39 results | Page 1 of 1 : 1
[16/05/2013]
The internet of the future: 3D, more interactive, a staple service
The internet of the future will be 3D, more interactive and a staple service. These are some of the forecasts made by UOC IT, Multimedia and Telecommunications lecturers on the future of the web coinciding with the celebration on 17 May of Internet Day and World Information Society Day. However, they don't foresee improvements in computer security, one of the weak points of the web since the start.
[30/04/2013]
The UOC trains forty teachers from State of Mexico's Secretary of Education in mediation
The UOC has started an international blended learning specialization course on resolving conflicts in schools for forty Mexican teachers this May. The project was made possible thanks to a collaborative agreement signed between the UOC's Campus for Peace and the State of Mexico's Secretary of Education.
[16/04/2013]
Senior citizens can be just as good at searching for information on the internet as the young
Senior citizens can search for the same information on a web page as a young person and just as quickly. This is what Dr Eugène F. Loos, professor in the Department of Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam, said in his lecture at the IN3 last Thursday. According to Loos, with digital literacy and practice, senior citizens can be just as effective as the young.
[03/04/2013]
Josep A. Planell took over as the new president of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) on Wednesday in a ceremony held at the University's headquarters. Planell stressed that "the UOC has every potential of becoming one of the most effective instruments of ensuring that all the knowledge being amassed in Catalonia can be conveyed to the world" and, consequently, internationalization will be one of the cornerstones of his term in office over the next seven years. To achieve this, he stressed that collaboration with other universities, research centres and institutions will be key.
[27/03/2013]
Users consult personal websites more frequently than the official websites of tourism
"One of the problems faced by tourist destinations is that their websites are not the most widely used for obtaining information; for this reason they are becoming increasingly aware that it is of greater interest to invest in social networking sites than in economically costly websites". This is confirmed by the professor in Economics and Business of the UOC, Oriol Miralbell, reflecting on how social networks and online opinion communities have changed the tourism sector.
[20/03/2013]
The UOC to recognize students' professional experience as credits for their degree
Most of the UOC's 60,000 students work, and if they enrol at the University it is either for professional improvement or personal development. To recognize and rate this knowledge gained from professional experience, this semester, the UOC has begun the process to validate their professional experience as credits for their degree. Some 448 bachelor's, master's and postgraduate degree students have already applied.
[14/03/2013]
Algerian scholar and essayist, and the man at the UOC behind Spain's first online master's degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Mustafa Chérif has been awarded the UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, alongside the UK's Arab British Centre. They were selected by an international jury of experts for their commitment to showcasing Arab culture around the world. They will receive the award from Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova during a ceremony to take place at the organization's headquarters on 25 April.
[11/03/2013]
Josep A. Planell appointed president of the UOC
The Board of Trustees of the Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Foundation for the Open University of Catalonia, FUOC), in meeting held on Monday 11 March, unanimously decided to appoint Professor Josep A. Planell as the new president of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), having received a favourable report from the Advisory Board, which met with the candidate on 28 February. Planell had already met with representatives from the University's faculty. All that remains is for his appointment to be ratified by the Catalan government.
[21/02/2013]
The e-journal RUSC marks its 10th anniversary with a dossier on the informalization of education
Information and communication technology (ICT) has led to the creation of new scenarios that go beyond the limits of "formal" and "institutional" education and open new paths towards a more collaborative transmission of knowledge. In this issue, dedicated to the "Informalization of education", the UOC journal RUSC marks its tenth anniversary and enters a new stage in which it will be jointly published with the University of New England (Australia).
[20/02/2013]
Josep Anton Planell nominated to take over as the new president of the UOC
The Board of Trustees of the Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Foundation for the Open University of Catalonia, FUOC), in a meeting on Wednesday 20 February 2013, unanimously decided to nominate Josep Anton Planell to take over as the new president of the UOC, following a selection process involving a wide range of candidates.
[04/03/2013]
The UOC IN3 Women in Movement conference identified the problems highly skilled women face in the academic and scientific spheres
[23/01/2013]
Art and play aid conflict resolution
Peace cannot be achieved using abstract formulas or established models. The latest issue of the Journal of Conflictology, a journal published by the UOC, once again highlights the importance of analysis, cooperation, practical action and research. One of the articles details the specific experience of a social integration centre in Mexico, where creativity and games are used to develop a culture of peace among the children.
[23/01/2013]
The Library offers students all the resources they need to learn
University libraries are document collection services that aim to respond to the information needs of faculty, students and others at education centres. On occasions, they simply offer a complementary service to the academic functions. On other occasions, they have become key in the development of activities and the institution's successfully meeting its aims. This is the case of the UOC.
[15/01/2013]
On-demand video and online video rental, sectors on the rise
The rise and consolidation of information and communication technologies have led to a shift in the paradigm for the distribution and consumption of audiovisual products. Watching movies, documentaries or short films over the internet has become as popular as it used to be to go to the video rental shop. Likewise, video on demand (VOD) is also becoming increasingly popular via a range of different channels and devices, whether iPads, mobile phones, computers or videogame consoles, or more traditional channels like televisions, smart TVs and internet-connected TVs.
[14/12/2012]
The growth of online entertainment raises new legislative challenges
As new forms of entertainment, such as online videogames, develop on the web, there is a need to review and adapt current legislation to make it compatible with the rights and interests of those involved. The latest issue of the UOC's IDP, Internet, Law and Politics E-Journal has a selection of articles looking at specific cases and offering in-depth analysis of the state of the question.
[11/12/2012]
Imma Tubella: "The UOC has gone from being a great project to being a great university"
UOC President Imma Tubella said that during her term of office "the UOC has gone from being a great project to being a great university". Tubella was summing up the seven years that she has been at the helm of the institution as on 31 December her term of office comes to an end, in accordance with the limitation set out in the Statutes of the FUOC that she herself promoted.
[27/11/2012]
The rapid rise of MOOCs shakes up the debate on online education
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are free online courses offered on a massive scale by top universities, which, for the first time, are offering specific certification to students who successfully complete them.
[23/11/2012]
Thanks to ICTs, games are no longer to be played alone but social and participative
Videogames are another area that information and communication technologies have revolutionized. One of the main changes is that ?we have moved on from traditional games played by individuals against the machine to social games where we share the gaming experience with other users anywhere else in the world?, said Carlos Blanco, an expert in digital entertainment. He and Liam Patton were the two guest speakers at the recent UOCmeet, a meeting organized for UOC graduates to debate a subject of interest to them. On this occasion they looked at gaming at a meeting held at Barcelona's FAD Forum on 15 November.
[20/11/2012]
Alliance with Australia's Deakin University to share e-learning experience
The UOC has signed a collaboration agreement with Australia's Deakin University. The agreement will see both institutions champion use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in higher education and share experiences in the use of e-learning platforms, assessment tools and cloud learning.
[05/11/2012]
International elite athletes offer their experience in the UNESCO-FFCB-UOC master's degree
The master's degree in Sport for Social Coexistence and Conflict Resolution, organised by the UOC Campus for Peace, is to start on 6 November with renowned professionals from the world of sport explaining their personal experiences of the transmission of sporting values in groups at risk of social exclusion, and the promotion of equality and peaceful coexistence through the practice of sport.
[19/10/2012]
Older people scarcely use SMS, apps or smartphones
Older people use mobile phones very differently from the rest of the population as they are not usually users of text messages, apps or the all-popular smartphones. This is one of the conclusions of the work session, organized by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), that was held on Wednesday at the MediaTIC building and which brought together international researchers studying the use of mobile technology among the elderly.
[18/10/2012]
European universities have to make a greater commitment to multilingualism as it enhances student creativity and competitiveness. This means that not only must they make better use of existing ICT tools to aid learning and online work in different languages, but they should also consider developing these technologies. This is one of the principal conclusions of the European Union funded EUNoM project, which the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) has been coordinating for three years and in which numerous European universities and acclaimed international experts have participated. The final recommendations are being presented to the European Parliament today, which will mark the culmination of the project.
[17/10/2012]
Child poverty in cities should be a political priority
Today, 17 October, is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This summer, the UOC spoke about child poverty in cities with Tomás Jiménez Araya, a tutor with UNICEF and on the UOC's Master's Degree in Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization.
[05/10/2012]
Experts agree on the need to attract talent to organisations
Entitled 'Talent, an Engine of Growth', the UOC's 5th International Graduate Institute (IGI) Conference brought together different experts in Barcelona on 2 October to debate how to transfer talent to organisations. The conference, deemed "very inspiring and interesting" by UOC Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning Josep Maria Duart, involved speakers from the academic, business, artistic and scientific sectors who provided their expertise and experience in the subject from a wide range of different and original standpoints.
[28/09/2012]
Experts say vaccine for TB still "a dream" and call for more funding for research
The fight to eradicate tuberculosis needs the case of those affected to be publicised; it needs work for social change to improve healthcare conditions for those most affected - mainly in Africa, and it needs concentrated efforts in research to find drugs that improve treatment and a the vaccine to stop contagion. These are some of the leading opinions expressed by the different international experts taking part in the first TB Watch-Can We Eradicate TB? International Symposium, which took place on Thursday 27 September at the Moisès Broggi Hospital, Sant Joan Despí. The symposium was organised by the Health Studies department at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) and Dr Pere Joan Cardona, who is in charge of the UOC's new Clinical TB Management specialisation course.
[27/08/2012]
University management: towards greater interaction with the environment
The rapid, far-reaching changes in the social, economic, technological and political arena over recent years have given rise to new scenarios and challenges for university management and government. The new dossier in the RUSC journal, a publication of the UOC, features six articles that not only reflect on new management models, which are more pluralist in nature and more closely linked to an institution's environment, but also present specific examples of good practices in the application of technology to management.
[02/08/2012]
Child poverty in cities should be a political priority
UNICEF's report on The State of the World's Children 2012 reveals that close to 1,400 million people will live in slums by 2020. Tomás Jiménez Araya, advisor for the UOC Master in Human Rights, Democracy and Globalization and also for the UNICEF, indicates that "it is vital to prioritize the most vulnerable children in cities to break the vicious circle of poverty".
[27/07/2012]
The selection process for the new UOC president, now underway
With the term of the current President of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Imma Tubella, due to end on 31 December 2012, the Fundació per la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (FUOC) has begun the process for the selection of a new president, following the procedure outlined in its statutes. A special commission of the FUOC?s Board of Trustees has entrusted the selection of a shortlist of candidates to a committee of university professors of international renown. Candidates may put themselves forward for consideration until 30 September.
[17/07/2012]
The UOC is to provide conflictology training to UN workers sent on peace missions
As of October, the UOC School for Cooperation will validate subjects on the Master's in Conflictology in English for United Nations personnel who are studying on any of the courses on the UNITAR training programme. Thanks to this institutional collaboration, many of the workers on peace missions will be able to gain a UOC university qualification.
[06/06/2012]
Manuel Castells receives the Holberg Prize 2012
Manuel Castells, full professor and director of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), is to receive the Holberg International Memorial Prize 2012. This distinction is a recognition of his work which "has shaped our understanding of the political dynamics of urban and global economies in the network society". The award is to be presented on 6 June in Bergen, Norway, by Princess Mette-Marit at a ceremony where UOC President Imma Tubella is to give a speech in honour of the award-winner.
[30/05/2012]
725 citizen ideas to rethink the world at a time of crisis
Conceived by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) and 'thrown down' as a challenge to society on Saint George's day, in just one month UOC&PLUGGED has received 725 ideas and projects from entrepreneurs to rethink the world and combat the crisis through talent and creativity. The number of ideas received highlights the success and appropriateness of the initiative. Popular votes can be cast until 30 May, while the jury's verdict will be announced on 1 June.
[16/05/2012]
The challenges for the university sector in a multilingual society under debate
The 5th EUNoM European Symposium, organised by the UOC, spent two days analysing the role of universities in a society that is increasingly multilingual, globalised and technological, and facing the challenge of adapting to ICTs and providing students with the right tools. The symposium brought together academics from fourteen countries and focused on language e-learning and how ICTs can help overcome both linguistic and cultural barriers.
[27/03/2012]
UOC to research how surveillance technologies in Europe can be managed socially
Do video-surveillance cameras in the street undermine our liberties or provide greater security? What effects do all the images taken in public spaces and distributed via social networks have? These are some of the questions that are to be examined and answered by the Increasing Resilience in Surveillance Societies (IRISS) project developed by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC).
[16/03/2012]
A book about Wine Tourism wins Gourmand World Cookbook 2012 award
The international 2012 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, the twelfth such awards, held in Paris, selected Turismo del vino. Análisis de casos internacionales [Wine Tourism. International Case Studies] as the best international book of the year in the wine tourism category. The authors are F. Xavier Medina, Director of the UOC's Food Systems, Culture and Society programme, and Damià Serrano and Jordi Tresserras, members of the programme's academic committee.
[27/02/2012]
Jordi Borja: "Euro-Vegas will be a city of gambling, mafias, prostitution and easy access to drugs"
The Catalan government is promoting the possibility of bringing the Euro-Vegas project to Catalonia. "I think it is a fantastic idea to hearten people facing the crisis, unemployment, cuts, etc.," explains Jordi Borja, Director of the UOC's City Management and Urban Planning Area, "but the jobs announced sound like a pipe dream. No doubt, there will be many, but a lot less than those announced and not offering great conditions." Likewise, "Euro-Vegas will be a city of gambling, mafias, prostitution, corrupt activities and easy access to drugs. And that the developers are representatives of the conservative right, Catholic politicians and defenders of the country?s traditions only makes it more entertaining," he said.
[22/02/2012]
New digital technology transfer centre for education and knowledge in Barcelona
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) and the Barcelona Digital (BDigital) technology centre have set up the UOC-BDigital Technology Transfer Centre. The new centre will develop new technologies and methodologies in the field of education and knowledge with the aim of interconnecting social sciences, technology transfer and business to improve companies' products and services based on ideas to emerge in the ambits of education and learning.
[03/02/2012]
Advances in research into e-learning for mathematics
The focus for the latest issue of RUSC (Universities and Knowledge Society Journal) is e-learning for mathematics. Faculty and researchers from Spain and around the world offer in-depth analysis of the most important advances made in applying new technologies to the teaching of mathematics in higher education.
[16/01/2012]
The UOC unveils Spain's first master's degree in Psychology, Health and ICTs
Social healthcare professionals currently have to face a series of challenges that their original training has not prepared them for. Two of the most obvious challenges are people's increasing influence in the decisions made in terms of their own healthcare, and the intensive use of ICTs in different parts of their day-to-day life. Both of these issues require adaptation of the professional roles that have been developed to date. In response to the growing demand, the UOC is to start up a university master's degree in Psychology, Health and Quality of Life in February.
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