[28/11/2008]
ICT in minority languages, a new Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism lecture
“Information technologies in minority languages: how can we increase their use?” is the title of the lecture to be given by Jeremy Evas, head of research and language technologies at the Welsh Language Board, on December 1. The lecture is open to anyone interested. It is organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism and is to be held in the Residència d’Investigadors, carrer Hospital, 64, Barcelona, at 7pm.
[27/11/2008]
The UOC present at the meeting to constitute the Euro-Mediterranean University
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) took part in the inaugural meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean University, which took place in Barcelona on November 25 and 26. The Vice President, Academic Organization, Pere Fabra, attended on behalf of the UOC, which is one of the founding members of this new international institution designed to spread – principally though postgraduate and lifelong learning courses – scientific and academic knowledge in the Mediterranean region.
[27/11/2008]
The UOC holds its graduation ceremony in Madrid
This Saturday, November 29, Madrid’s National Music Auditorium (Príncipe de Vergara, 146) is to host the latest UOC graduation ceremony. Nearly 4,600 students from around the world completed UOC undergraduate, masters, postgraduate or PhD studies last year, 2007-2008. The President, Imma Tubella, is to officiate the ceremony, which will also be attended by members of the University’s Governing Council. The patron will be Alberto Durán, chairman of the Fundosa Group and Deputy CEO of the ONCE Foundation. The graduates will be represented by Guillermo María Sanz Junoy, a graduate in Management IT.
[24/11/2008]
A delegation from the UOC to take part in the international ICDE conference on distance education
The President, Imma Tubella, the Vice President, Research, Eduard Aibar, and the Director of International Development, John Zvereff, are to take part in the International Council for Open and Distance Education’s (ICDE) annual international conference. It is to take place from today onwards in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
[21/11/2008]
The new Service Science is the focus of a course involving UOC experts
Research, design and application of systems that develop and improve the service sector have, over recent years, seen the rise of a new academic discipline known as SSME (Service Science, Management and Engineering). A course coordinated and led by experts from the UOC and UPC aims to outline this new approach and identify its key elements.
[18/11/2008]
The Polish sociologist and thinker Zygmunt Bauman analyses “education in the world of the diasporas”
The sociologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds, Zygmunt Bauman, is to give a lecture entitled “Education in the world of the diasporas” as part of the Debates on Education organised jointly by the Jaume Bofill Foundation and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC). The talk forms part of a series of debates to analyse and reflect on education and is to take place on Thursday, November 20 at 7pm in the FAD Auditorium (Plaça dels Àngels, 5-6). This lecture is to close a seminar organised by the Objectiu Inclusió Association on the same day which focuses on the fight against social exclusion.
[17/11/2008]
The UOC UNESCO Chair in E-Learning joins the fight to overcome the digital divide
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) has closed the Fifth International Seminar “Fighting the digital divide through education” organised by the UNESCO Chair in E-Learning. Some of the conclusions reached by the international experts included the fact that technology should not look to take the place of the educator and that there is also the need to train educators in the use of ICTs.
[17/11/2008]
The UOC sets the foundations for an EcoUniversity
A seminar on ecology is to take place on November 19, 20 and 21 to look at climate change, ecological problems and the unsustainability of industrial societies. It is to assess the importance and urgent need to find scientific and technical solutions – an area in which universities have a vital role and responsibility.
[12/11/2008]
The UOC organises a get-together for more than 2,600 postgraduate students
The get-together for the start of the semester is to take place on Saturday November 15, with more than 2,600 UOC postgraduate students coming together at the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Geography and History, c/ Montalegre, 6. Throughout the morning, students on masters, postgraduate and specialisation courses and their lecturers and tutors will be able to take part in the different talks and activities scheduled. A new development this year are the lectures that will be open to anyone interested in attending.
[06/11/2008]
Experts from several countries will analyse how to fight the digital divide through education on November 12, 13 and 14 in Barcelona, Av. Drassanes, 3-5. The discussions and talks have been organised as part of the UOC UNESCO Chair in E-Learning’s Fifth International Seminar.
[05/11/2008]
Nearly 4,600 UOC students graduate in Barcelona and Madrid
Barcelona’s Auditorium and Madrid’s National Music Auditorium are to host the graduation ceremonies for nearly 4,600 Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) students who completed undergraduate, masters, postgraduate or PhD studies offered by the UOC in Catalan and Spanish last year, 2007-2008. The President, Imma Tubella, is to officiate the ceremonies and the journalist Miquel Calçada is to offer a speech. These ceremonies are to be held on November 8 in Barcelona and November 29 in Madrid.
[30/10/2008]
The former general of the Bosnian army, Jovan Divjak, now Executive Director of Sarajevo’s Education Builds Bosnia and Herzegovina Association, stated at the UOC that “you can’t export peace, because if you export it, you impose it and if you impose it, it’s not peace”. These words formed part of the speech that closed the second conference on Conflict, Conflict Resolution and Peace organised by the UOC’s Campus for Peace. This event brought together professionals from the fields of conflict resolution, human security, mediation and conflict management over three days (October 27, 28 and 29) at the University’s headquarters. The aim of the meeting, chaired by Eduard Vinyamata, Director of the Campus for Peace, was to set objectives to contribute to the professional development and social implantation of initiatives to establish non-violent and effective ways of handling conflicts.
[27/10/2008]
A collaboration agreement signed by the Catalan Minister for the Interior, Institutional Relations and Participation, Joan Saura; the President of the Human Rights Institute of Catalonia, Jaume Saura, and the President of the UOC, Imma Tubella, has marked the start of the first Masters in Human Rights and Democracy in Catalonia (and the first online in Spain). Teaching is to begin on October 29.
[24/10/2008]
The UOC, the Catalan government and the United Nations to promote ICTs in Latin America
The memorandum of understanding signed today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD), the Catalan government’s Secretary for Telecommunications and the Information Society (STSI) and the UOC aims to promote e-learning and ICTs as tools for development in Latin America. The signing, which is to take place at noon at the ACCD’s headquarters (Via Laietana, 14), is to involve the Assistant Secretary-General of the UNDP and Director of its Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rebeca Grynspan.
[24/10/2008]
The UOC organises the 2nd Congress on Conflict, Conflict Resolution and Peace
The UOC’s Campus for Peace is to organise the 2nd Congress on Conflict, Conflict Resolution and Peace, an event that brings together professionals from the fields of conflict resolution, human security, mediation and conflict management. It is to take place on October 27, 28 and 29 at the University’s headquarters (Av. Tibidabo, 39, Barcelona). The aim of the conference is to set objectives to aid professional development and social integration of initiatives that establish non-violent and efficient ways of dealing with conflicts.
[22/10/2008]
How students create their own identity on the web, one of the subjects of the latest issue of RUSC
“Our students are on the web and create a richly nuanced digital identity that complements their learning and clearly shows us what they are like and what they like”. This statement from the Pontifical University of Salamanca (PUS) professors, Sergio Ortega Santamaría and Juan Carlos Gacitúa Araneda, is one of the examples that highlights the change universities have undergone in recent times. This change is the result of the emergence of information and communication technologies and the new 2.0 tools, and one of the phenomena examined in the latest issue of RUSC, the University and Knowledge Society Journal produced by the UOC-UNESCO Chair in E-learning.
[22/10/2008]
The UOC takes part in the Moodle community meeting
The UOC forms part of the group of co-organisers of Spain’s fifth Moodle user meeting, Moodlemoot 08. This conference is to take place in Barcelona and Cornellà on October 23, 24 and 25 and is to act as a forum for sharing knowledge on this free software platform for the creation of e-learning courses.
[21/10/2008]
Politics 2.0 is more than just having a blog, it requires actively taking on a 2.0 attitude. This is one of the main conclusions from one of the articles in the IDP (Internet, Law and Politics) journal’s monograph. IDP is a scientific publication produced by the UOC’s Law and Political Science Department. In this article, the specialist in web communication Roc Fages writes about how many politicians use 2.0 tools without making the most of the possibilities offered by this technology for sharing, listening and finding out more.
[20/10/2008]
The UOC is to train students from around the world in e-governance for a week
Lecturers from the UOC’s Law and Political Science Department are to train a group of executives, PhD students and high-ranking government officials from around the world. They are all students on the Executive Master in e-Governance at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and interested in new institutional designs and organisational change using ICTs. The training sessions are to take place from October 20 to 24 at the UOC.
[16/10/2008]
European Conference on Games-Based Learning
Barcelona is to play host next Thursday and Friday to the Second European Conference on Games-Based Learning. The centre of debate is the educational potential of videogames and the new approaches to teaching. The conference brings together researchers, academics, videogames professionals and those linked to the field of education from around Europe to present their ideas and the results from their research. It is to be held at Barcelona’s Hotel Silken Diagonal on October 16, from 9am to 5.30pm, and October 17, from 9am to 3.30pm.
[13/10/2008]
“Technology is created in the service of humanity, rather than for its own sake”
“When millions of computers are connected, millions of people are connected. Humanity connected by technology.” These words form part of the speech given by Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, this morning at the headquarters of the UOC during his honorary doctorate ceremony.
[13/10/2008]
The UOC’s International Graduate Institute (IGI) has expanded the training on offer for the academic year 2008-2009, which begins on October 29, with more postgraduate courses in the Health area and the creation of Global Executive Education (GEE). While Health incorporates a new range of courses in the health and hospital field, Global Executive Education strengthens the postgraduate teaching in the field of business and economics.
[09/10/2008]
The President of the Fundación Metrópoli, Alfonso Vegara, has been chosen by the UOC to give the Inaugural Lecture for the new academic year 2008-2009. Vegara is to talk about “Planning and Beyond in the Globalising World” and he will do so virtually with the publication of his paper in the academic e-journal UOC Papers. The Inaugural Lecture will be published on the internet on Thursday, October 9.
[07/10/2008]
The UOC confers Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, father of the World Wide Web, with an honorary doctorate
Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, is to be confered with an honorary doctorate by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) on October 10. This is the highest honorary academic award in recognition of an individual’s merits and work. The UOC’s President, Imma Tubella, and Manuel Castells, Chair of the University’s Research and PhD Scientific Committee and patron of the new honorary doctor, are to take part in the investiture ceremony which is to be held at the UOC’s headquarters at noon.
[06/10/2008]
The IEMed and the UOC organise a series of lectures on countries with an Islamic culture
The Institut Europeu de la Mediterrània (European Mediterranean Institute, IEMed) and the UOC have organised a series of films and lectures entitled “New realities in Mediterranean countries: revisiting Islam”, with the aim of introducing people to sociocultural aspects of Mediterranean societies, and those with an Islamic culture in particular. The sessions are to be held between October 7 and 30 in the IEMed’s auditorium.
[30/09/2008]
The UOC debuts at the International Film Festival of Catalonia
The UOC’s Information and Communication Science department has organised a workshop on collaborative film-making for October 4. They have invited the Finnish director Timo Vuorensola to lead it. His film, Star Wreck: in the Pirkinning (2005), was one of the first to be distributed freely over the internet, being downloaded over three million times. This workshop, which is to take place in the Melià Hotel’s Tramuntana room from 11.45am, forms part of the International Film Festival of Catalonia, held in Sitges from October 2 to 12.
[29/09/2008]
Seven more degree specifications pending approval by the Universities Board
The Catalan government’s Universities Board has now received the specifications for the seven new degrees that the University wants to offer for the academic year 2009-2010. The specifications for the seven degrees adapted to the Bologna Process are for Business Administration and Management; Marketing and Market Research; Tourism; Communication; Information and Documentation; Catalan Language and Literature, and Multimedia. The UOC is also to send some more EHEA-adapted degree and masters proposals by October 31 with the aim of being able to offer them in the next academic year. By presenting these degree specifications, the UOC aims to continue leading, alongside other universities, the process to create the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), planned for 2010, and meet the landmarks and deadlines set.
[19/09/2008]
Bottom of the Class, Debates on Education
The French writer and former secondary school teacher Daniel Pennac is to reopen the Debates on Education series following the summer break with a lecture entitled “Bottom of the Class”. The event is open to the public and is to take place on September 22 at 7.30pm at the MACBA Auditorium, plaça Joan Coromines, s/n.
[18/09/2008]
Annual meeting of the UOC’s Research and PhD Scientific Committee
The UOC’s Research and PhD Scientific Committee has met in Barcelona. This body, made up of academics of the highest level from around the world, assesses the research and PhD at the University and recommends strategic lines for their development.
[18/09/2008]
Seminar on best practices in the management of multilingualism
How should multilingual and multiethnic societies be managed? What role should ICTs play in linguistic diversity? These and other questions are to be debated at the European Universities Network on Multilingualism (EUNom) seminar organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism on September 18 and 19. The project brings together twenty European universities and two research centres that want to develop relevant multilingual structures and engage in a debate on the implications of multilingualism for Europe.
[17/09/2008]
The new academic year 2008-2009 begins with nearly 35,000 students
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) starts a new academic year with 34,927 students enrolled. These students have chosen to study one of the twenty qualifications offered by the UOC or one of the new degrees and masters that have been adapted to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
[15/09/2008]
President Tubella and the lawyer Roca Junyent inaugurate the 2nd postgraduate course in Company Law
The Chairman of the Roca Junyent law firm, Miquel Roca i Junyent, and the UOC’s President, Imma Tubella, are to inaugurate the second postgraduate course in Company Law today, September 15, at midday. The UOC has designed this in-company training for those working at the firm.
[10/09/2008]
Practising a language in tandem on the internet, a new teaching innovation project
The UOC Languages and Cultures lecturer, Christine Appel, has undertaken a teaching innovation project entitled Online Tasks in Tandem in Foreign Language Subjects at the UOC. The aim of this activity is to encourage collaborative networking with native speakers whereby each learns the other’s language.
[09/09/2008]
The UOC increases and focuses its presence in 2.0 networks
A new space on the UOC’s portal brings together all the 2.0 social and participative network tools used by the University institutionally. This page offers instant access to a range of information and collaboration services such as Twitter, Facebook or Netvibes.
[08/09/2008]
Conference on talent in digital companies
The UOC and the Barcelona Digital Foundation are to organise the Digital Companies and Talent conference, a vital tool for organisations to be able to meet their objectives. The event is to take place on September 15 at the CaixaForum auditorium (Av. Marqués de Comillas, 6-8), from 9am to midday, and will involve the participation of the UOC’s Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, Josep Maria Duart.
[01/09/2008]
More than 1,500 people have already enrolled in degrees adapted to the ESHE
A total of 1,618 students have enrolled in one of the three degree programs of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) adapted to the regulations of the European Space for Higher Education (ESHE) that will commence this coming semester. These degrees are in Law, Psychology and Humanities.
[05/08/2008]
The Chair of the UOC Research and PhD Scientific Committee, Manuel Castells, has been named as one of the 18 members of the Governing Board of the new European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This is a project led by the European Commission to promote research, training and innovation in sectors such as ICT, renewable energy and climate change. The Board is to hold its inaugural meeting in Budapest on September 15.
[30/07/2008]
“City of Vinaròs” Digital Literature prize open to entries
The deadline for entering the fourth International “City of Vinaròs” Prize is October 19. The Hermeneia digital technology and literary studies research group and Vinaròs Council’s Culture and Education Office have opened the period for entries to this the fourth holding of the prize, which aims to promote creativity in literature through new forms of writing.
[30/07/2008]
The UOC and UPC to train executives in emerging subjects in business management
September 25 will mark the start of Barcelona Active Learning Business Week, a week-long training proposal (up to October 1) organised by the UOC (Open University of Catalonia) and UPC (Technical University of Catalonia). Those taking part –principally directors, managers and executives– can immerse themselves fulltime in the emerging subjects in business management and factors directly applicable to the world of business.
[30/07/2008]
The UOC now forms part of the ELI network
As of this July, the UOC now forms part of the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI). This organisation is part of the international Educause network, a non-profit association made up of different universities who want to improve learning using technology.
[21/07/2008]
More than 40,000 results sent to mobiles
The UOC sent a total of 42,596 final subject results for this second semester by SMS text message to the mobile phones of students who requested the service. This initiative began 8 years ago and lets people find out their test results.
[17/07/2008]
The UOC’s official masters in Education and ICT (e-learning) has been shortlisted for the seventh Excellence awards given out by the Catalan Guild of Technical Telecommunications Engineers (COETTC). The masters has been nominated in the Excellence in sustainable development category, alongside five other initiatives. The jury’s decision will be made known on September 30, during the Telecommunications in Catalonia Conference organised by the COETTC.
[15/07/2008]
The UOC organises a seminar on innovation in education as part of Virtual Educa Zaragoza
Experts from the UOC are to talk about “Open Innovation: a Bridge between Universities, Business and Cooperation” as part of the Virtual Educa conference that is to take place in Zaragoza from July 14 to 18. This Ibero-American initiative acts as a forum for the sharing of experiences and development of projects linked to the information society.
[15/07/2008]
International leaders to debate the future of free knowledge and information in Barcelona
The UOC is jointly organising the Free Knowledge, Free Technology Education for a Free Information Society conference in order to debate the role of free technology in the knowledge society and, in particular, in the field of education. This event, which is to bring together dozens of international experts, is to take place at Barcelona’s Exhibition Centre from July 15 to 17. The UOC is jointly organising the event with the SELF international project consortium.
[11/07/2008]
The UOC now offers services via the iPhone, iPod Touch and e-books
Mobile devices like the iPhone and e-books are now a key part of the innovative learning experience offered by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC). According to the University’s Director of Educational Technology, Magí Almirall, the UOC is “the first Spanish university to offer these kinds of services to students. Some of these students can already consult their teaching materials from these devices, and listen to and read them simultaneously.”
[09/07/2008]
The opportunity that may be offered by open-source machine translation for minority languages is the focus of the talk to be given by Dr Mikel L. Forcada in Barcelona on Monday July 14. The lecture, which is open to everyone, is organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism and is to take place at the Institute of Catalan Studies, carrer del Carme, 47, at 6.30pm.
[02/07/2008]
Catalan university presidents take part in international congress on women
The UOC’s President, Imma Tubella, alongside other university presidents from Catalan universities, takes part in an international congress on women in Madrid, organised by the Worldwide Organisation for Women’s Studies (WOWS). This body is a federation of associations that promote research into women and gender issues.
[30/06/2008]
The UOC organises a seminar on the behaviour of its students
Enric Mor, lecturer in the IT, Multimedia and Telecommunications Department, UOC, is to present the results from his thesis entitled Capture and Analysis of the Behaviour of Students in Virtual Learning Environments: the UOC Virtual Campus. This is to be one of the lectures on offer as part of the seminar organised by the UOC UNESCO Chair in E-Learning at the University’s headquarters, beginning at 9.30am on July 2. The aim is to find out more about how students behave in virtual learning environments.
[26/06/2008]
Tubella states that the UOC is also the Open University of Andalusia
The President of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), Imma Tubella, stated that “universities, like countries, are made by the people who take part in forming them and in Andalusia, we have a community of 1,500 people who have taken part in forming the UOC project. Thus, to a degree, the Open University of Catalonia is also the Open University of Andalusia.” Tubella added that “the UOC is a University that is open to everyone, to everywhere, to ideas and, in this case, to Andalusia and the other Andalusian universities who wish to cooperate and not to compete”. Imma Tubella made these declarations at Club Antares as part of the events to inaugurate the new UOC offices in Seville.
