[20/05/2008]
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.
The UOC inaugurates the International Graduate Institute with more than 225 programmes
The UOC’s President, Imma Tubella, and Vice President, Postgraduate Studies and Lifelong Learning, Josep Maria Duart, are to open the event with a presentation of the IGI. The President of Ibermàtica, José Luis Larrea, is also take part with a lecture entitled “Universities, companies and the challenge of innovation”.
The event is also to include the presentation of success stories arising from collaboration between the UOC and other companies and institutions. Thus, Joan Roca, partner of the law firm Roca Junyent, is to speak about “Specialist training as a tool for capturing talent” and Miguel Ángel Velázquez, Director, Tomas Pascual Foundation Centre for Research into Values, and former Director of Human Resources Development, Leche Pascual Group, is to talk about “A solution to generate commitment in the key and high potential company personnel”.
International Graduate Institute
The IGI has been created with the aim of promoting lifelong learning as part of the University’s commitment to society, offering a wide range of open, quality and university-standard in-company training, masters and postgraduate programmes. It offers programmes in new fields that had not been developed by the University to date, such as health and business –paying special attention to e-business, innovation and entrepreneurship. Likewise, it increases the offer in terms of subjects linked to cooperation or city management.
One of the goals set by the Institute is international expansion of this postgraduate e-learning by, on the one hand, establishing new collaborative agreements with international universities and, on the other, increasing the numbers of students and lecturers from around the world. Thus, in-company training is to be offered in countries such as Chile and Mexico.
This international expansion is also to be seen in the number of languages used in the courses. To date, these programmes were offered in Catalan, English and Spanish, but over the coming months courses are to be started up in French and Portuguese and there may well be others in Arabic or other languages in the future. The creation of multilingual classrooms means that each student can study courses in the language they choose.
The history of postgraduate education at the UOC
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) started working in the field of official and unofficial postgraduate e-learning 10 years ago. Over this time, more than 225 programmes and 900 in-company training proposals have been developed, involving nearly 30,000 students from 29 countries. The UOC currently has 1,100 students enrolled on postgraduate courses and more than 15,000 graduates, 8,500 of whom are residents of Catalonia.