The Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB), founded in 1968, is one of seven higher education institutions located in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. It is centred in the heart of Catalonia, one of Spain’s most dynamic and entrepreneurial regions. UAB is one of the top three universities in Spain. It is a broad-based university, with a strong reputation in the social sciences. UAB offers study programmes at bachelor, master and doctoral levels for approximately 40,000 students. It employs around 3,600 academic staff and 2,500 administrative staff. Incoming international students make up 20% of its student body, while 7% of UAB students are participating in temporary study periods abroad. UAB is a key stakeholder of the Catalonian Knowledge Ecosystem. UAB has greatly enhanced its international position through the development of knowledge exchange activities. It has established over 1000 partnership links within Europe, was the first Spanish university to offer joint programmes with Asian universities and actively seeks out new networks and partnerships. 

Innovative Features

• The Entrepreneurial HEI as an internationalised institution

Mobility strategy/actions for university community (students, faculty and staff) and attracting talent

Historically UAB has led the HEI internationalisation debate in Spain. Within Europe, UAB has established more than one thousand bilateral agreements with more than 500 European universities (Table 1). On average, 2,000 students and staff from abroad participate annually in UAB’s teaching and research activities on campus. UAB and the University of Barcelona have been the most successful Catalonian universities for outgoing mobility of their students and teaching staff. 

Table 1: Incoming and Outgoing Members of the UAB’s University Community

Source: UAB official documents.

UAB has developed new offers to increase international opportunities for staff and students.

• International summer school events for short-term and project-based international exchanges, focused on Europe
• Six-month study and research stays in Panama, Columbia and Costa Rica as part of the E2NHANCE programme [http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/e...html]

Mobility of teachers, staff and researchers through fellowships sponsored by the Catalonian Ministry of Universities, Research and the Information Society, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, e.g., Salvador de Madariaga Programme. 

Alumni mobility, with a focus on labour market integration, e.g., EUROACCIÓ Leonardo da Vinci programme. 

UAB promotes staff mobility as a core component of knowledge exchange and human resource development. Mobility allows for the development of better thinkers, who are more flexible and creative and who adapt to and learn from other cultures and organisational set-ups. 

As part of the Erasmus programme, 216 teaching staff and 67 administrative staff benefited in 2011-2013 from international activity. For administrative staff, this promotes learning from best practices from other European institutions and HEI staff and enhances organisational change. May 2017 sees the 10th Erasmus Staff Week held at UAB. This event operates as a training week for administrative staff working in the field of International Relations. Two representatives from each partner institution will attend. 

Lessons learned

• It is important to promote both out-going and incoming mobility.
• Introducing more short-term and project-related mobility schemes can help to overcome cutbacks in funding.
 
• Short term offers help to create new interest in internationalisation and reach parts of the university community which have not previously been involved.
 
• The university needs to create more opportunities for staff mobility, especially for administrative staff.
 
• Administrative staff mobility can trigger new international projects and partnerships. 

UAB internationalization strategy: Presence in different strategic countries around the world through alliances, creating international campuses in foreign countries, research offices, etc.

In 2008, severe resource constraints and unpredictable conditions created challenges for organisational survival and development. UAB responded by re-focusing its internationalisation strategy. At the centre of this has been the ‘Campus of International Excellence’ project, with a total investment of approximately 96 million EUR. The ‘Campus of International Excellence’ project is supported by Santander Universidades. 

UAB’s internationalisation agenda builds on the following three main axes:

1.      International transformation to allocate resources and attract talents. This includes: 

o   An institutional policy to attract and retain talent through pre and post, doctoral fellowships, mobility and training programmes. 

o   The creation of a unit dedicated to the management of international educational projects and on-line courses 

o  Subsidised English language courses to increase the number of courses taught in the English language. 

2.      International research and knowledge exchange initiatives to attract partners and new financial resources, including: 

o  The research office in Brussels OPERA (Office for the Promotion of Research Activities). OPERA is considered a major tool in opening doors to new funding opportunities for co-operation agreements and mobility grants, in particular with universities in India, Turkey, Russia and South Africa. 

o   UAB office in Seoul facilitates exchanges between UAB and Korean universities in health care, environmental technologies and biosciences. 

3.      Internationalising teaching strategies and learning environments to attract foreign students. This includes investment in blended learning and the production of on-line courseware. 

Lessons learned

• Any internationalisation strategy requires a strong investment of resources and under difficult economic conditions educational budgets are reduced.
 
• A balanced short-project internationalisation strategy, including teaching, research, third mission and entrepreneurship promotion, can help to overcome financial bottlenecks. 

Involvement & promoting international collaborations at institutional or research group levels focused on competing funds

UAB developed a range of strategic partnerships with overseas HEIs to enhance its research activities.

• UAB has many collaboration agreements with Latin America, especially with the Technological Institute of Monterrey.
 
• UAB has been spearheading partnerships with HEIs in Asia. It is the first Spanish university to implement teaching and research exchange agreements and partnerships with Asian universities, and with open local offices in Shanghai and Seoul. 
• Double degree programmes are implemented with the University of Pyeungtak (Korea), the University of Hankuk (Korea), and the University of Renmin (China).
 
• Santander Universities Global Division is supporting UAB’s internationalisation strategy. 

UAB’s internationalisation strategy recognises that collaboration and networking are individual processes which require time, empathy and trust. They rarely follow pre-defined templates. 

UAB departments actively welcome researchers who are part of international networks in their specific field. UAB has incentives in place to increase the participation of the entire university community in the internationalisation strategy. 

Lessons learned

• Traditional geographical areas of collaboration are important starting points for internationalisation. Creating thematic areas can be effective in opening up new opportunities
. 
• The commitment and involvement of university leadership and faculty management is important in consolidating partnerships and alliances with foreign HEIs.  
• The support of university leadership and faculty management for individual researchers who are actively participating in international networks is important
. 
• Competitive advantage can be created through clusters that attract foreign talent and investors taking advantage of the B30 road-link and the university’s position at the heart of Catalunya. 

Contact

David Urbano and Maribel Guerrero 

Business Economics Department

david.urbano@uab.cat