Victòria Girona: "We want to position Catalonia as one of the most innovative and leading regions in Europe."

Last year, master's degrees offered at Catalan universities had a record year. Never before had so many students enrolled in this type of program. A total of 51,882 students chose to extend their studies beyond the bachelor's degree or the former bachelor's degree.

Despite the positive figures, the country's university system still has several outstanding issues: from increasing Catalan-language teaching in master's programs to accelerating the transfer of knowledge from the classroom to the business world. It is also halfway through the National Pact for the Knowledge Society, the national agreement approved by the sector and political parties in 2020, which aims to serve as a shared strategy between higher education, research and innovation, and the productive economy to build the Catalonia of the future.

At a time when master's and postgraduate programs across the country are already opening pre-registration for the next academic year, we discussed these topics with Victòria Girona, Director General of Universities in the Department of Research and Universities.

This past academic year, the number of master's degree enrollments has continued to skyrocket. How do you assess this?

— The Catalan government's assessment is very positive, given that this increase is accompanied by a strong attraction of international students. In fact, pre-pandemic enrollment figures have already been surpassed: there has been an overall increase of around 6.5% in the Catalan university system since the 2019-2020 academic year, with a total of 51,882 students enrolled in official university master's degrees. Currently, it can be said that the Catalan university system (SUC) has overcome the COVID-19 crisis, and supply, demand, and enrollment figures have reached optimal performance levels.

One of the topics on the table is the increase in Catalan in master's degrees. What is the current situation?

— The range of subjects taught in Catalan varies greatly between undergraduate and master's programs. In the 2023-2024 academic year, 74% of undergraduate and master's degree courses could be taught in Catalan, while only 32% of master's degree courses could be taught in Catalan. This difference is explained by the characteristics of these programs, and it should be noted that the language profile of enrolled students is also very different: undergraduate programs are geared toward a more local audience, while master's programs have a more international focus.

The Platform for the Language complains that the lack of university funding is what's forcing master's programs to adapt to foreign students and, consequently, the presence of Catalan is diminishing. What do you think?

— The low presence of Catalan in university master's degrees, as I mentioned earlier, is due to the specific characteristics of these programs, often with an international focus, high specialization, and research orientation, as there is a significant proportion of students from outside the Catalan language domain, whether from the rest of Spain or from abroad. In contrast, the number of subjects taught in Catalan in master's degrees is higher when the proportion of local students is the majority, as is the case with professionalizing or enabling master's degrees. The challenge is to make the use of other languages in universities compatible with the presence of Catalan, as the language of Catalonia.

What is the Generalitat doing to promote the language?

— Faced with this reality, the Government of Catalonia promoted in 2022, in coordination with universities and all agents of the university and research system, the Plan to strengthen the Catalan language in the university and research system of Catalonia that has been developing since then. This plan includes measures to increase teaching in Catalan in bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as actions to linguistically and culturally welcome people from outside the Catalan language domain, among others.

We're talking about knowledge transfer, a historic challenge. What tools are in place to enhance it?

— The Government's specific objectives are to strengthen the research system and position Catalonia among the fifty most innovative regions and leaders in the EU's knowledge society by 2030. This is achieved by strengthening and improving the role of the university system as a driver of economic and social transformation. Currently, various mechanisms are in place to increase knowledge transfer for the Catalan university system. The university microcredentials plan is a significant one that will bring about a change in lifelong university education and will also require us to adapt to the new demands of each sector.

And in terms of specific aid and programs?

— The Regions of Knowledge Appeal will mobilize €55 million to ensure that the knowledge generated in centers and universities can address regional challenges. These measures will be accompanied by calls for grants to promote and consolidate knowledge transfer projects at Catalan universities and for R&D&I networks to implement programs to valorize and transfer research results. Finally, the Knowledge Industry program aims to promote a knowledge-based economic model, incentivizing the transfer of research results to generate highly qualified jobs and significantly improve innovative activities.

In 2020, the National Pact for the Knowledge Society was approved. What's its current status?

— The National Pact for the Knowledge Society (2020-2030) is right on track. There is a system of consolidated monitoring indicators through which its progress and compliance are assessed year after year. The latest monitoring showed that these indicators showed a positive trend and were progressing very favorably toward achieving the 2030 target. These indicators include the number of public-private partnerships, public funding dedicated to R&D, the number of researchers in R&D, and the number of companies.spin-off, which have increased significantly compared to the first year, among others.

Is the pact still a priority for the new government?

— Yes, but a review and update to current times is necessary. Work is currently underway to develop various areas. In the area of knowledge systems, a new FI-STEP predoctoral grant program is being promoted in strategic technologies across Europe. Regarding the talent of individuals in the application of the new accreditation criteria for university professors—and in relation to financial investment—a generational renewal program for teaching and research staff is being rolled out, and work is being done to progressively reduce tuition fees for undergraduate and master's programs.

In the last session, the CCOO (Working Council of Workers' Parties) reiterated the need to review funding for public universities because "the current increase has only served to offset the reduction in revenue for the new tuition fees." What do you think?

— The department is working to develop a new funding model that is more suited to the needs of universities. Since 2020, there has been an increase in funding from the Generalitat (Catalan Government) to offset the reduction in revenues for tuition fees, but also to finance higher personnel costs, to improve the conditions of teaching and research staff and the PTGAS (Teachers' and Teaching Staff)—reducing precariousness, rejuvenating and modernizing existing positions, and creating new ones. It also covers the costs of maintaining and improving teaching spaces, energy efficiency, and information technology.