Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain) has been admitted as the twenty-first member of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities – a prestigious academic network, whose main founding members include the Jagiellonian University.
In extending their offer of membership, The Guild’s Presidents were impressed by the University’s very strong performance against all the membership criteria. The Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) is ranked as the top university in the Iberian Peninsula and the 10th young university worldwide by the Times Higher Education Global Rankings (2021). The Presidents were also inspired by the UPF’s capture of European research-funding, particularly in breakthrough research, as the University has been the most successful Spanish institution in obtaining the European Research Council (ERC) grants since 2014.
Commenting on the UPF’s membership in The Guild, its Rector Jaume Casals stated that “being part of The Guild is a clear statement of the UPF’s drive to internationalisation and cooperation with some of Europe’s leading universities. Through The Guild we will leverage our excellence in teaching and research – both crucial to enhancing the UPF’s capacity to address societal challenges – by sitting at the heart of social and cultural progress and policy debates that shape the future of Europe’s Higher Education research and innovation landscape”.
Just three decades old, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) swiftly gained a notable position among the best universities in Europe and the world. Named after Pompeu Fabra i Poch (1868 – 1948), the engineer and grammarian who consolidated and systematised the Catalan language, the University was created in 1990 driven by the ambition to strengthen academic excellence and contribute to the development of society. Still at the core of its mission today, these aims guide the UPF’s innovative teaching model addressing over 12,000 students, whilst reinforcing its commitment to tackling global challenges through the institution’s multidisciplinary expertise.
Following its creation in 2016 with 18 members, The Guild admitted the University of Bern in 2017 and Babeș-Bolyai University in 2020, bringing together research excellence from some of the best universities from across the European continent. The Jagiellonian University took active part in initiating the network, with the then JU Vice-Rector Prof. Stanisław Kistryn as one of its originators.
The full press release from the Guild and the UPF is available at the link below.
