Josep Anton Planell nominated to take over as the new president of the UOC

The candidate will have an audience with the Advisory Board and representatives from the University's faculty on 28 February. The resulting report will be sent to the Board of Trustees so that they can formalize his appointment. This meeting is scheduled to take place during the first two weeks of March. The proposed appointment of the new president will then be ratified by the Catalan government.

This will mark the end of a process that began last March when the Board of Trustees designated a commission to name a Search Committee to take charge of selecting a shortlist of candidates from those applying. After having assessed the projects presented by these candidates, they opted to nominate Josep Anton Planell as the highest authority at the University for the next seven years.

As soon as the appointment is made official, a period of transition will begin, ending when the new president takes over fully.

The Board of Trustees thanked Imma Tubella and the people who have formed part of her governing team during her time in office for their work and dedication over the last seven years (2005-2012), a period in which the University has consolidated its position as a great, pioneering and prestigious university.

Josep Anton Planell

Josep A. Planell Estany (Barcelona, 1951) graduated in Physics from the University of Barcelona in 1975 and earned a doctorate in Material Sciences from Queen Mary, University of London in 1983. Since 1992, he has been full professor in the Materials Science and Metallurgy department of the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Dr Planell is currently director of the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), established in December 2005 and linked to the UPC.