Agustí Cerrillo, professor at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, received an award from the Centre for Financial Studies (CEF) for his work titled: El uso de la firma electrónica en la Administración pública (The use of electronic signatures in public administration).
Joan Fuster, professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, received the City of Barcelona Award for History from Barcelona City Council for his thesis titled: Barcelona a la dècada moderada (1843-1854). El projecte industrialista en la construcció de l’estat centralista (Barcelona in the moderate decade (1843-1854). The industrialist project in the construction of a centralist State).
The UOC was named the Spanish company that best integrated the internet into its strategic development by the Spanish Internet Users' Association. The association's awards are given to companies and individuals whose activities and projects have contributed to the development of the information society.
The UOC was named a Centre of Excellence in 2003 as part of the Sun Microsystems Global Education and Research Programme. The UOC was one of five universities to receive the distinction in 2003 in recognition of their leadership in the computing and technical research arenas, and specifically in the creation of technological environments for promoting innovation in e-learning. The UOC was Europe's first Centre of Excellence for E-learning, and one of the first 15 in the world. As a member of this community of experts, the UOC has played a leading role in setting up the Global Education Learning Community's Curriki network, the purpose of which is to promote open access to knowledge and educational resources. Francesc Noguera, the University's Deputy Manager for Information Technologies, is currently a member of the network's advisory board.
Joan Campàs, professor at the Faculty of Art and Humanities, received the 5th Nadal Batle i Nicolau Prize from the Social Council of the University of the Balearic Islands for his book L’art en pantalla. La creació digital a Internet (Art on Screen. Digital creation on the Internet).
The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), which represents distance education institutions from more than 140 countries around the world, awarded the UOC the ICDE Prize of Excellence 2001 in recognition of its status as the world's leading online and distance university. The ICDE recognised the UOC as "a pioneering initiative in the world of distance education which proposes a new educational model within the framework of university education. It is an initiative for the future, aimed at offering maximum levels of teaching quality by applying innovative educational models and using interactive multimedia technology." The ICDE also stressed "the high level of quality of the educational and research programmes, above all in the field of IT and the knowledge society."
The World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), which brings together information technology and service business consortia from some forty countries around the world, awarded the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) the Digital Opportunity Award for the world's best digital initiative. The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) was proposed by the Spanish Association of Information Technology Businesses (SEDISI), the Spanish member of WITSA.
The EU awarded the UOC the prize for Europe's most advanced distance education remote technology project. The Bangemann Challenge, organised by the city of Stockholm, under the auspices of the European Union, aims to reward Europe's leading ICT projects. The UOC was awarded the prize in the distance education section, in which it was selected from among a total of 15 entrants.
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) won in 1996 the "Salvà i Campillo" award to the most innovative project for his Virtual Campus development on Infovía. This award, given by the Catalan Association of Telecommunication Engineers (ACET), was instituted to recognize projects undertaken by teams of telecommunication professionals.