UOC President signs agreements with Mexico's leading universities

The president of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) Josep A. Planell said during his working trip to Mexico that he thought the majority of universities in 2050 would be online, not just because of the technological advances, but also because they require lower levels of investment, because worldwide demand will rise and because they can provide values, knowledge and competitiveness for businesses.

During his trip, Planell signed collaborative agreements with the Open and Distance University of Mexico (UnADM), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the University of Guadalajara (UdeG). The agreements will serve to foster grants, academic exchanges and learning activities to promote new information technologies in higher and continuing education between these universities, their communities and the UOC.

These agreements also cover courses, seminars and other academic activities to be developed by the universities aimed at increasing their collaboration in teaching and strengthening their training and research work.

Planell said that "these agreements consolidate the work that the UOC has done with different institutions in Latin America and strengthen our desire to expand and internationalize". Likewise, "support from these universities helps us reach a larger number of students (over 60,000 around the world), join forces and share knowledge and experience, and adapt to the changing social, professional and business needs".


University and society

In the talks he gave at the UnADM, the Catalan Business Club and the UdeG, and at the 2012/2013 graduation ceremony, Planell stressed that the online universities of the future have to link knowledge to the needs of new markets, social settings and business environments while strengthening the union between research and teaching.

"They must contribute to social progress and increase people's employability and organizations' competitiveness," he said.

"Universities have to adapt to the competitive environment and organizational culture, and focus on strategic thinking – moving from the activity to the process – and align the whole organization with the strategy through an intense and dynamic process of participation," he said.


Graduation 2012/2013

The UOC also organized its graduation ceremony for the 2012/2013 academic year. 111 students received their postgraduate and master's degree certificates, which takes the total number of students completing their studies at the UOC in Mexico to 1,190.

These graduates in Mexico number among the 46,281 UOC graduates from around the world who have completed their undergraduate, postgraduate, master's and doctoral degree studies. The UOC is present in more than 80 countries.

At the ceremony organized at the Memory and Tolerance Museum, Planell talked about a study into transferable skills acquired by online graduates in Business Administration and Management and how they had adapted to the context of financial crisis.

The study concluded that the leading companies looked for profiles like those of graduates from online universities, both because they knew how to work in virtual environments and understood new technologies, and because they were professionals with high levels of commitment who are able to organize and plan their work. Thus, he said, as he addressed the new graduates, "you have set your sights on making progress in a labour market that demands versatile professionals with a solid academic training and ability to adapt".

The UOC President presided over the graduation ceremony accompanied by UOC Latin America Director Julieta Palma; Education Secretary at the Spanish Embassy in Mexico Agapito Maestre; Advocate General at the UNAM Luis Raúl González Pérez, and UdeG President Itzcóatl Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla, the patron for the 2012/2013 graduates.

The UOC is based in Barcelona and was founded 18 years ago at the initiative of the Catalan government to offer top quality distance education. As the world's first internet-only university, it is a pioneer in Europe and has a strong presence in Latin America supported by its Mexico office.