News
[08/06/2006]
The UOC takes part in the European EDEN 2006 conference on distance education
The European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN), on its fifteenth anniversary, has organised its annual congress under the title "E-Competences for Life, Employment and Innovation", which is to take place from June 14 to 17 in Vienna (Austria). This conference forms part of the European Unionâ??s e-learning programme and is dedicated to the links between technological skills and employment.
[07/06/2006]
The Myway project of the UOC wins the IGC award for Digital Innovation
The Myway project, developed by professionals from the UOC, has won the IGC award for Digital Innovation in the category of projects by universities and institutions, granted by the Internet Global Congress. Myway is a made-to-measure content transformation system, which allows us to bring knowledge closer to people.
[06/06/2006]
Investiture of Jordi Pujol and William Mitchell as doctors honoris causa
The doctor honoris causa investiture ceremony of Dr William J. Mitchell and the Right Honourable Mr Jordi Pujol i Soley will take place on 9 June at the Open University of Catalonia.
[06/06/2006]
The UOC's PhD and Research Scientific Commission comes together for its annual meeting
The Open University of Catalonia's (UOC) PhD and Research Scientific Commission comes together on June 6 and 7. This commission, made up of top-level international academics, evaluates the research and PhD at the university and recommends strategic lines for development. The Scientific Commission meets annually, but its work goes on continually at a distance.
[29/05/2006]
The latest issue of Digithum, the e-journal developed by the UOC's Humanities and Philology Studies department, is now available on the web. This issue includes a dossier entitled "Cultural management, a new discipline" and a series of articles on subjects ranging from the .cat domain name to love and chats.
[09/05/2006]
UOC professors analyse the e-justice state in Latin America
Lecturers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) have elaborated a report on the state of eJustice in the twenty-two countries of Latin America. The project was commissioned by the leaders of the Latin American Judiciary Summit and will be presented at the Dominican Republic on the 22nd and 23rd of June.
[27/04/2006]
The UOC to invest Jordi Pujol and William J. Mitchell as doctors honoris causa
At the beginning of June the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is going to invest as doctors honoris causa Jordi Pujol, the former President of the Catalan Autonomous Government (Generalitat de Catalunya), and William J. Mitchell, the Head of the Design Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
[11/04/2006]
Artnodes publishes a series of interviews with international experts in digital culture and art
Artnodes, the UOC's area on the interrelations between art, science and technology, is to publish a series of interviews with renowned international experts on digital art in April. The aim of this first selection of interviews is to take stock of the current state of affairs in digital art and culture internationally.
[06/04/2006]
Hermeneia takes part in an international conference on digital literature in Greece
Hermeneia, the literary studies and digital technologies research group of the UOC, is collaborating at the International Conference on Literary Studies in Open and Distance Learning. Organised by the openLit group of the Hellenic Open University, the conference will be taking place from 7 to 9 April in the city of Ierapetra, on the Greek island of Crete. Laura Borràs and Joan Elies Adell will be participating as representatives of Hermeneia.
[03/04/2006]
Manuel Castells receives an honorary doctorate from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Manuel Castells, Chair of the UOC's PhD and Research Scientific Advisory Board, has received an honorary doctorate from the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL). The ceremony took place on Saturday, April 1, at the institute in Switzerland.
[03/04/2006]
Miquel Strubell, professor of Language and Cultural Studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), has presented the results of the ADUM study on minority languages in the European Union to the Parliament in Strasbourg. The UOC, in collaboration with other European academic and research centres, has created a website to act as a meeting point and to offer information for specialists in the field. ADUM has been able to count on funding from the European Commission.
[03/04/2006]
A UOC research group takes part in creating an educational website on videogames
The inter-university research group JovenTIC, incorporating professors from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), has collaborated in the content for an educational website on videogames aimed at parents and teachers. JovenTIC has worked alongside other teams of professionals, such as Marinva, educational experts specialising in education, games and new technology, and the F9 Group, from the University of Barcelona.
[31/03/2006]
The second issue of UOC Papers is now available. This publication includes the article "Creative Commons licences: an alternative to copyright", by Raquel Xalabarder, professor of Law at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). The aim of the article is to examine the technological and legal context that has led to the appearance and implementation of the Creative Commons project, as well as the adaptation of these licences to intellectual property law in Spain. UOC Papers includes further articles on free software or the knowledge economy, among other subjects.
[30/03/2006]
Today, the Telefònica Foundation and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) have signed a collaboration agreement for the carrying out, development and monitoring of three projects linked to studies of the effects of the spread of ICT in the Spanish school education system, the analysis of the impact of mobile communications in Latin America and research into digital literacy from the point of view of humanitarian activities.
[30/03/2006]
The governing body, led by the rector Imma Tubella, aims for the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) to become a point of reference in terms of academic and research quality, within the framework of the European Higher Education Area, whilst maintaining its founding principles. The UOC, a project which began some eleven years ago, wants to reinforce its roots in the cultural, social, scientific, linguistic and national reality of Catalonia.
[20/03/2006]
Second City of Vinaròs Digital Literature Award announced
Hermeneia, the UOC's literature and digital technology research group, and the Culture and Education Department at Vinaròs Town Council have announced the second City of Vinaròs Digital Literature Awards. The aim of these awards is to encourage literary creativity in new forms of writing. Those interested in taking part should present their work by July 20.
[06/03/2006]
The UOC takes part in annual Sun Microsystems Conference
The Open University of Catalonia's Computer Science and Multimedia Studies department has been invited to take part in the 2006 Worldwide Education and Research Conference, organised by Sun Microsystems from March 6 to 9 in New York City.
[02/03/2006]
The UOC releases new material from the International Master's in Free Software
The Open University of Catalonia's International Master's Degree in Free Software has published more course materials on the internet. Nearly 80% of its contents are now available in printable PDF format, with links to the source code that allow for its modification and the distribution of these modifications. The new titles released are Legal Aspects, Databases, System Introduction, Software Engineering, An Introduction to Software Development, Computer Networks and Advanced Aspects of Network Security.
[26/01/2006]
Rector Imma Tubella launches her blog
One of the first initiatives of the newly appointed Rector of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has been to launch a blog. The reason for creating this web space aimed at the university community (students, teaching staff, management staff...), as the Rector herself states in her blog's homepage, is that she is "convinced that a blog is a very effective tool for communicating with all of you because of its interactivity and dynamics".
[24/01/2006]
Professor Manuel Castells has been awarded the 2005 Godó Journalism Prize
Professor Manuel Castells received the 2005 Godó Journalism Prize on Thursday 19th January. This prize is one of the most prestigious in Spain, and was awarded to him for his article "Movil-ización política" (Political Mobile-isation), an article that appeared in La Vanguardia newspaper in March 2004.
[14/12/2005]
The UOC and the Instituto Cervantes will provide Spanish teaching in China
The UOC has signed a collaboration agreement with the Instituto Cervantes to provide worldwide online Spanish language teaching and DELE exam courses (Official Diplomas in Spanish as a Foreign Language). These courses will be given over the UOC's Virtual Campus, and China is to be the first country where Spanish courses will be offered. The agreement was signed on 14 December by the Rector of the UOC, Gabriel Ferraté, and the Director of the Instituto Cervantes, César Antonio Molina.
[12/12/2005]
New issue of the e-journal RUSC devotes a monographic to content management
The third issue of the e-journal on the University and Knowledge Society (RUSC), promoted by the UOC's UNESCO Chair in e-learning is now available for consultation. This issue includes the monographic "Use of digital content: information technologies, knowledge society and university", by Pablo Lara, professor of the Information and Communication Science Studies of the UOC. The objective of the monographic is to offer tools to solve problems in content management and design faced by teaching staff.
[01/12/2005]
Graduates rate their experience at the UOC with 8.2 out of ten
Students graduating from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya rated their experience with an average 8.2 out ten and 98% of them stated that they felt satisfied with their time at the university. Indeed, 90% of them said they would recommend the UOC to friends and relatives. These are just three of the findings from the Report on the Impact of UOC Qualifications 2005 which the rector, Gabriel Ferraté, presented to the press at the Avinguda Tibidabo headquarters.
[28/11/2005]
Derrick de Kerckhove, an expert in digital culture, will speak on the influence of technology throughout history in this year's inaugural lecture entitled 'The Biases of Electricity'. The lecture, which begins on 24 November, will be accompanied until 12 December by an online debate, moderated by Pau Alsina, Professor of Humanities and Philology Studies, and Gemma San Cornelio, Professor of Information and Communications Science Studies.
[14/11/2005]
Cristovam Buarque, former Minister of Education in Brazil, will speak on "How education can change Brazil. Present state and future perspectives" at the next Education Debates. The talk will take place on 17 November at 7.30 pm at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB, Montalegre, 5). Access is open to all. To coincide with his visit to Barcelona, Buarque will be taking part in work sessions at the UOC to speak on "The post-university. Thinking of the future of education" on 16 November.
[14/11/2005]
[10/11/2005]
The Department of Universities, Research and the Information Society - through the Secretariat of Telecommunications and the Information Society (STSI) - has come to an agreement with the Catalan universities to foster the CAMPUS Project (http://www.lafarga.org/campus/), which will permit the creation of a virtual campus based on free programming and under free GPL licence (General Public Licence) both to provide higher education exclusively online and to provide it semi face-to-face. The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya will be in charge of the coordination and technological leadership of the project, while the other Catalan universities will be responsible for other areas of development, contributing their know-how and experience.
[10/11/2005]
The UOC is awarded the National Telecommunications Prize by the Generalitat de Catalunya
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has been awarded the National Telecommunications Prize this year by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Regional Government). The jury awarded it this prize 'for having been able to place telecommunications at the service of higher education, making universal access to the university more possible than ever. The award ceremony will take place on 16 November at 12.30 pm at the Palau de Pedralbes and will be presided by the First Minister of the Generalitat, Josep Bargalló.
[10/11/2005]
[10/11/2005]
The UOC is awarded the National Telecommunications Prize by the Generalitat de Catalunya
[24/10/2005]
[24/10/2005]
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, through the Content Management Department, has developed an application that allows contents to be syndicated, taking into account the abilities and skills of students, teachers and the UOC. The project, which starts in February 2006, is financed by convocations from the Ministry of Education and Science and by the Catalan Regional Government.
[20/10/2005]
The European Commission appoints the UOC to carry out a project to improve language teaching
Foreign language teachers in Europe still have to face up to a series of obstacles to their spending time abroad to improve their language skills, which has an effect in the long term on the quality of their teaching. For this reason, amongst others, the European Commission has started up an action plan that includes a study of these obstacles. The UOC won the tender to carry out this project.
[20/10/2005]
The European Commission appoints the UOC to carry out a project to improve language teaching
[13/10/2005]
The UOC receives the Generalitat's Award for Technological Innovation and Quality
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has received the Award for Technological Innovation and Quality which the Catalan regional government, the Generalitat, grants through the Cidem, its Centre for Business Innovation and Development. This year the two separate awards (Technological Innovation, and Quality) have been amalgamated into one. The prize-giving ceremony is to take place on October 25 at the Palau de la Música as part of the Forum for Innovation 2005, organised each year by the Cidem.
[10/10/2005]
The Republic of Colombia's National Ministry of Education has called on the UOC's Unesco Chair in e-learning to organise a seminar: Quality in e-learning: institutional excellence in training programmes involving intensive use of technology, which is to take place from October 10 to 14 in Villa de Leyva (Colombia). Likewise, from October 9 to 14, the Chair is to give another seminar entitled Change management, challenges and prospects for the UNAD in terms of the tests faced due to the knowledge society, commissioned by the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), which is to take place in Paipa (Colombia). This second seminar is to count on the participation of the UOC's Vice-Rector for International Relations and Director of the Unesco Chair in e-learning, Francisco Rubio.
[03/10/2005]
3,000 UOC graduates are invited to the graduation ceremony in Madrid on October 8
Madrid's Auditorio Nacional de Música (Príncipe de Vergara, 146) is to be the setting for the graduation of the 2,990 Universitat Oberta de Catalunya students who completed their studies last year (2004-05) and the year before (2003-04) for one of the recognised qualifications, postgraduate courses or the PhD course offered by the university. This year, the graduates can choose whether they wish to attend this ceremony in Madrid or that which is to take place in Barcelona on October 22. The rector Gabriel Ferraté is to preside over the ceremony.
[22/09/2005]
Artnodes reflects on art and calculability online
Artnodes, the UOC's area on the intersections between art, science and technology, presents its latest node on art and calculability. This node explores the interrelations between mathematics (and its potential for calculability), art and design, and the role of art and design in mathematics.
[19/09/2005]
Representatives of the NEEA to visit the UOC
From September 19 to 24, a delegation of high-ranking representatives from the Chinese National Education Examination Authority (NEEA) are to visit the Open University of Catalonia with the aim of continuing the agreement reached between the two organisations in October 2004. They are to be received on behalf of the UOC by, among others, the Rector, Gabriel Ferraté, and the Vice-Rector for International Relations, Francisco Rubio, who is to welcome them to the University.
[15/09/2005]
UOC Papers is born, the UOC's new e-journal on the knowledge society
UOC Papers is the latest e-journal to be created by the Open University of Catalonia, UOC. It aims to publish original university papers that focus on the conflux of the University's subject areas and the knowledge society. The journal is directed by the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Academic Policy, Joan Fuster, and has an interdisciplinary editorial board. It also looks to act as a platform for the publicising of new publications relating to this area.
[07/07/2005]
The digital publication IDP. Internet, Law and Politics Journal, was created by the Law and Political Science Studies and its aim is the scientific communication and dissemination of research work, analysis and investigation into the challenges and questions that information and communication technologies (ICT) pose in relation to both Law and the fields of Political Science that are more closely linked to democracy and e-administration. The magazine's editor is Pere Fabra, Director of Law and Political Science Studies at the UOC.
[20/06/2005]
The IN3's Scientific Committee is to meet at the UOC for the second time
On 22nd June next the second meeting will take place of the Scientific Committee of the IN3 (Internet Interdisciplinary Institute), the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya's Research Institute. It will be attended by Gabriel Ferraté, the Rector of the UOC; Francesc Vallverdú, the UOC's Vice Rector for Research, Innovation and Educational Methodology; Teresa Sancho, the Head of the UOC's Doctoral Programme; and the members of the Committee.
[09/06/2005]
Tony Bates, awarded doctor honoris causa by the Open University of Catalonia
On June 16, the Open University of Catalonia is to name professor Tony Bates doctor honoris causa. He is the former Director of Distance Education and Technology in the Continuing Studies Division at Canada's University of British Columbia. The ceremony is to take place in the auditorium at the IN3 building (Mediterranean Technology Park, Castelldefels) at 12 o'clock. Before this, from June 8 to 15, an internet chat is to be set up on the use of ICT in higher education, moderated by professor Albert Sangrà and open to anyone to take part.
[09/06/2005]
Artnodes and Sónar collaborate on Randonnée, a debate on the landscape of the 21st century
Artnodes, the UOC's area on art, science and technology, is to take part in this year's Sónar with a joint project called Randonnée. This involves a series of conferences to debate the concept of landscape in the 21st century. Pau Alsina, Artnodes' director, is to give the last of these three conferences, entitled "Transgressed Landscape". This series of conferences is to take place in the Santa Mònica Arts Centre at 13:00. The Sónar International Advanced Music and Multimedia Art Festival in Barcelona brings the public into contact with the new trends and leading artists from the national and international electronic scene. The festival is to take place in Barcelona from June 16 to 18.
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