Agenda
06/11/2008
Media Practices and Cultural Producers. EASA Media Anthropology Network Second Workshop
News
04/06/2008
Today’s travellers want more than to just visit somewhere new, they want to discover destinations that meet all their needs, paying special attention to sustainability in tourist activities in the host country, both in terms of the social and the environmental. It is in this new context, where rigorous knowledge and information are vital for authentic journeys, that the UOC has set up its Travel programme.
Interview
03/06/2008
“Nationalisms smother attempts to educate to prevent past mistakes”
Those who know him well stress that former general Divjak is one of the most charismatic men in Sarajevo. It is impossible to walk with him through the Bosnian capital without people constantly stopping him to greet him and thank him for his contribution to the city, during the Bosnian war. In the midst of the horror, he showed a great talent for mediation and brought a great deal of humanism to it. He now heads an organisation that awards grants to the orphans of this sad chapter in history. The UOC invited him to talk about how the post-war generation is building a new future from a divided society
Agenda
02/06/2008
4th Internet, Law and Politics Congress. Social Software and Web 2.0: Legal and Political Impl.
News
02/06/2008
Fernand de Varennes, world expert in language rights and minorities, gives a lecture in Barcelona
Dr Fernand de Varennes is to give a lecture in Barcelona at 6.30 pm on Tuesday June 3 at Barcelona’s International Press Centre (Rambla de Catalunya, 10, 1er). In this lecture, entitled Hope and Despair: Language Rights in a Multilingual World and organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism, Professor Varennes is to analyse initiatives linked to the promotion and publicising of the world’s languages from a legal and political perspective. Varennes is also to assess the effectiveness of the treaties and agreements affecting this subject, coinciding with 2008 being the International Year of Languages.
News
28/05/2008
Western perceptions of the East have evolved over the years. A number of authors look at these changing views in the latest issue of the UOC’s Digithum e-journal, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
News
27/05/2008
Development, education and training in Ghana
The President of the UOC, Imma Tubella, is to take part in the Third ICT for Development, Education and Training Conference, eLearning Africa 2008, taking place in Accra, Ghana, from May 28 to 30, 2008.
Report
26/05/2008
Chatting about sexuality in Second Life, receiving a text message from your doctor to remind you to take your medication, checking on your position in a hospital waiting list online... All of these actions are already possible thanks to the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the health sector. The internet is a very powerful tool that gives users greater autonomy and control over their health –which surveys around the world have shown to be the greatest concern in people’s lives. As with all processes involved in the rapid changes in the information age, ICTs open up very interesting possibilities –but not without certain risks.
Interview
22/05/2008
"In Mostar and Kosovo, civilians welcomed Spanish soldiers with relief"
José Antonio Gil, a soldier in the Spanish armed forces, did two tours of duty in areas in conflict in Europe. The first was in the Kosovo, where he spent six months in 2002. Later he was in the Bosnian city of Mostar, where he worked for five months in 2004. When he returned home, he decided that he wanted to learn more about conflicts and to understand their causes for future missions. He completed the UOC’s Masters in Conflict Resolution and says that he would do it again.
Agenda
21/05/2008
Presentation of the 2008 Horizon Report
The UOC and the New Media Consortium (NMC) are to publish the renowned report in Catalan and Spanish for the second time. The report analyses the impact of new technology in the field of higher education each year. This fifth edition highlights grassroots video and collaboration webs, mobile broadband and data mashups, or collective intelligence and social operating systems. Participants in the presentation include Larry Johnson, NMC’s CEO, via videoconference; Begoña Gros, Vice President, Innovation, UOC, and Eva de Lera from the Learning Technologies team.
News
20/05/2008
The UOC inaugurates the International Graduate Institute with more than 225 programmes
The UOC is holding an event that is open to the public to present the International Graduate Institute (IGI), which has been created with the aim of becoming a benchmark centre for quality distance lifelong learning, offering a range of open postgraduate programmes and in-company training. Its courses are multilingual and with a clear international scope, in terms of both academic alliances with a number of universities and students and lecturers from around the world. The event is to take place at Barcelona Activa (c/Llacuna, 162-164), from 9.30 am to 2 pm.
News
16/05/2008
The UOC’s My Way project wins a Gold Award at the IMS Learning Impact Awards
The UOC’s My Way project, which allows for the custom transformation of content into different formats, has won a Gold Award at the Learning Impact Awards organised by the IMS Global Learning Consortium. The prize-giving ceremony took place on May 14 in Austin, Texas, and was attended by Llorenç Valverde, Vice President, Technology; José Manuel Rivera, Educational Technology, and Eva de Lera, a collaborator from this same area.
Agenda
15/05/2008
The first in a series of lectures on information and communication technology (ICT) and health. This first session aims to offer a precise view of Web 2.0 in the field of health and in the context of the Information Age.
- 11:00. Opening remarks: Josep M. Duart (Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, UOC).
- Talk by Joan Cornet (Executive Director of the TicSalut Foundation).
- Talk by Josep Esteban (Director, Health Sciences Programme, UOC).
- 11:35. Professor Rita Espanha (Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia and Observatório da Comunicação, Portugal): Health and the Information Age.
- 12:10. Professor Michael Hardey (Hull York Medical School, UK): Health and Web 2.0.
- 12:45. Colloquium and Q&A session.
- 13:15. Closing remarks: Joan Guanyabens (Secretary for Strategy and Coordination at the Catalan government’s Department of Health).
*The lectures will be in English. A simultaneous interpretation service will be available.
Report
15/05/2008
Positive results from the UOC’s presence in Mexico
Since 2002, the UOC has consolidated its presence in Latin America by signing agreements with university institutions in Mexico, the country with the fastest growing student community.
Agenda
13/05/2008
Multilingualism in schools in the Basque Country
The results of the application of trilingual school programmes in the Basque Country are the focus of the lecture to be given by the Vice Rector for International Relations at the University of the Basque Country, David Lasagabaster. He is also Full Professor in the English and German Department at the university, as well as Full Professor of Translation and Interpreting in the Languages, Geography and History Faculty.
Entitled "Multilingual school programmes in the Basque Country: landmarks, successes and attitudes", this is the second lecture in the series organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism this academic year, which seeks to contribute to reflection on and analysis of the role of languages and multilingualism in the European context and in the process of societal globalisation, as well as offering a framework for international cooperation for academic training in the field.
News
05/05/2008
Horizon Report 2008 available in Spanish and Catalan
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) and the New Media Consortium (NMC) publish for the second time the translation into Spanish and Catalan of the renowned Horizon Report. Every year, it analyses the impact of new technologies in higher education. In this fifth edition the highlighted technologies are grassroots video and collaboration webs, mobile broadband and data mashups, as well as collective intelligence and social operating systems.
Interview
05/05/2008
“There aren’t any Romany university presidents, but everything will come in time”
April sees the celebration of International Roma Day, a day that looks to commemorate the history, language and culture of a group that has suffered discrimination and social stigma for many centuries. One of the most famous faces in Spain standing up for the rights of the Romany is the President of Unión Romaní, Juan de Dios Ramírez-Heredia. He is well known, among other reasons, for being the first Romany member of the Spanish parliament and his thirteen years in the European parliament. In February 2004, this Romany graduate in Law from the UOC was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Cádiz for his outstanding career.
News
05/05/2008
Companies using ICT are more competitive
A report from the UOC reveals that workers at knowledge companies earn 35% more
News
30/04/2008
The economics of e-learning in the latest issue of RUSC
The relationship between the economic value of the use of technology and university education and how ICT can help achieve the objectives set by distance education institutions form the basis for the latest issue of the journal.
Agenda
30/04/2008
The founder of the International Ecotourism Society, Megan Epler Wood, is to offer a seminar on ecotourism on Wednesday, April 30. The event is organised by the Laboratori del Nou Turisme (New Tourism Laboratory) group of professors, led by UOC Economics and Business Studies lecturer Francesc González, who is also to chair the seminar.
Agenda
29/04/2008
Dr Albert Costa, from the University of Barcelona, is to give a lecture entitled "Benefits and costs associated to bilingualism" as part of a series organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism.
News
28/04/2008
The Chair in Multilingualism analyses the pros and cons of bilingualism
Albert Costa, Professor in the University of Barcelona’s Department of Basic Psychology, is to outline a number of key factors with regard to the pros and cons for those who speak more than one language in a lecture organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism this Tuesday. He analyses what is involved in the mental process required by the bilingual when expressing themselves and the advantages and disadvantages this brings with it.
News
25/04/2008
The UOC, full member of the European University Association
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) has become a full member of the European University Association (EUA). This decision was taken at the association’s recent general assembly.
Agenda
19/04/2008
The UOC’s Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, Josep Maria Duart, has been invited to the 2nd Virtual Educa Meeting Ecuador, which brings together experts in e-learning from around the world and which has invited the University to draw on its expertise. The meeting is to take place as part of the 2nd CREAD Andes Congress being held in Loja, Ecuador, from April 21 to 23.
News
18/04/2008
The UOC is to take part in an international meeting of e-learning experts in Ecuador
The 2nd Virtual Educa Meeting Ecuador is to take place on April 19 and 20, bringing together experts in e-learning from around the world. The UOC has been invited to take part by offering its expertise. The Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, Josep Maria Duart, is to offer a talk on the results of the PIC Universities research, which studied the application of information and communication technologies in education.
Agenda
16/04/2008
The Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, Josep Maria Duart, is to take part in the 3rd International IMCL Conference taking place in Amman, Jordan, from April 15 to 18. Carme Anguera and Mildret Guinart, from the UOC’s International Graduate Institute, are also to speak at the event.
News
15/04/2008
The UOC and IBM sign a technological and scientific collaboration agreement
The UOC and IBM have signed a framework agreement for technological and scientific collaboration that envisions increased activities by both parties in terms of new technology training and research, as well as the development of two training projects. This agreement continues collaborative relations that date back to 1998 and the creation of a joint chair.
Agenda
15/04/2008
The President of IBM Ibérica, Amparo Moraleda, accompanied by the Manager for Catalonia, Lluís Núñez, is to visit the UOC’s headquarters in Barcelona. The visit is due to start at 11 am. The representatives from IBM are to be welcomed by the UOC’s President, Imma Tubella, the Vice President, Technology, Llorenç Valverde, and the Director of the IT, Multimedia and Telecommunications Department, Rafael Macau.
Agenda
11/04/2008
Online session on personal research portals
Ismael Peña, lecturer in the UOC’s Law and Political Sciences Department, is to offer an online presentation entitled "The personal research portal: the virtual faculty or the net behind the classroom", as part of the Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research’s CIDER sessions at Canada’s Athabasca University.
News
11/04/2008
Editorial UOC joins the Google Book Search initiative
Up to 800 publications produced by the University are to be made available to the world via the tools offered by the internet giant Google. The initiative allows users to view up to 20% of each book that Editorial UOC, the University’s publishing house, puts on the internet.
Interview
11/04/2008
"The Internet is the best place for learning"
The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI) is a council that comprises renowned professionals from the teaching profession, private industry, the military sector and world governments. The current chairperson, Barbara Grabowki, explains how this non-profit making organisation conducts research and advises us on the competencies we need to have for different professions. These include online teaching.
News
10/04/2008
The UOC Library takes part in the creation of an open science portal
The RECOLECTA portal is an open science harvester that promotes open-access publication of research work developed at the different academic institutions in Spain. It is a joint initiative between the Red de Bibliotecas Universitarias (Network of Spanish University Libraries, REBIUN) and the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, FECyT) as part of one of the strategic lines coordinated by the UOC’s Virtual Library.
News
09/04/2008
In the leading positions in a stock exchange simulation competition
With around a month to go in the inter-university stock exchange simulation competition, four of the teams of students from the UOC are among the leading five.
News
07/04/2008
An OLIBA research group project receives the Innova award
The Catalan Museum of the History of Immigration’s (MhiC) blog Fem un museu – Jo també he estat immigrant (Let’s make a museum - I’ve been an immigrant too), created by the UOC OLIBA research group, has received the 2008 Innova award in the services category. The Expodidàctica Show holds these awards to reward and promote the educational, creative and innovative facets of products and services. This year is the third time they have been held.