Why the Catalan university system is in danger
At a time when the debate on the future of universities is once again on the political agenda, funding, governance, and jurisdiction are often discussed, but far too little is said about what is truly at stake: the model itself. Over the last two decades, Catalonia has built a university system with its own distinct profile, geared towards international competitiveness and attracting talent. The question is not only whether this model has borne fruit—the data suggests it has—but whether we are prepared to preserve it.
On more than one occasion, people from both the Spanish university system (SUE) and the Catalan university system (SUC) have asked me why I consider the SUC to be the best university system in Spain. Before answering, it's necessary to pause for a moment and ask: Is this really the case?
The Catalan University System (SUC) is a compact system: the percentage of public (seven) and private (five) universities in the country is lower than Catalonia's share of population and GDP. In contrast, the Community of Madrid, which benefits from being the capital and has six public universities, has seen significant growth in private universities (13) and has a strong capacity to attract students from almost all over Spain—with few from Catalonia. In terms of student numbers, the SUC is the second largest university system in Spain, second only to Madrid, with a student population exceeding its population size and also a net recipient of international students.
Despite the public funding deficit relative to Catalonia's economic weight, the scientific output of the Catalan University System (SUC) is the highest and most impactful in Spain. This leadership is not circumstantial: it reflects not only the quantity, but also the quality and relevance of the research conducted at our universities.
International rankings also confirm this. Among the top two hundred universities in the most widely used rankings, three Catalan universities and two from Madrid appear, but only one Catalan university is present in all three. Expanding to the top five hundred, five Catalan universities and four from Madrid, out of a total of sixteen Spanish universities, appear in at least one of the three most relevant rankings, but only four universities appear simultaneously in all three: three Catalan and one from Madrid. The presence of Catalan universities is, therefore, clearly dominant at the national level. This predominance is primarily related to the quality of research, where we find another overwhelming indicator: 45% of all European Research Council (ERC) grants awarded to Spanish university students go to Catalan universities.
Finally, a good indicator of the openness, credibility and degree of internationalization of the system is the presence of foreign faculty: more than a third of those who work in Spain work in Catalan universities, practically double the state average and that of Madrid.
Returning to the initial question – is the SUC the best university system in the country? – the answer lies in the indicators. The SUC stands out: it is attractive to students, researchers, and faculty, open by nature, and, overall, the most internationally competitive among the universities in the country.
This success is not accidental. Several factors explain it: a stable, coordinated, and competitive university structure; Catalonia's active participation in European higher education processes; and, in particular, the dual faculty model established by the Catalan Universities Act (2003), which has fostered a recognized dynamic of innovation and development.
The 2001 Organic Law on Universities opened a loophole that allowed for the development of tenured teaching staff. Catalonia—and, to a lesser extent, the Basque Country—took full advantage of this opportunity, while in the rest of Spain this arrangement was mainly used as a stepping stone to becoming a tenured professor.
In Catalonia, however, it was presented as a parallel and alternative approach, further promoted by the Pla Serra Húnter. The results speak for themselves: in a competitive environment, these contractual arrangements have helped to further raise the quality of Catalan universities and have contributed to consolidating a unique model capable of attracting and retaining talent.
It is precisely this distinguishing factor—the unique model of Catalan faculty—that is currently threatened by a potentially misinterpretation of the Organic Law of the University System (LOSU). If progress continues toward the complete adoption of the accreditation criteria for tenured and contracted faculty of the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), the distinctive profile of Catalan faculty will become blurred.
The difference is simple but crucial. The main characteristic of civil servants is that they belong to a "national body"that makes a teacher a teacher"in a university, while the alternative Catalan figures make the professor beof The university. It seems like just a small change in a preposition, but it entails a very important cultural one: the disposition with which the teaching staff faces the relationship with their university.
If progress is made toward standardizing criteria across the country without preserving the unique characteristics of the Catalan model, there is a risk of erasing one of the key elements that have made the Catalan Public Transport System (SUC) a success. And with it, a substantial part of its transformative capacity.
It's not just a matter of terminology: it's essential to maintain the ability to attract top talent and uphold the rigorous standards for teacher recruitment that have yielded such positive results for the Catalan system over the past two decades—a system that has demonstrated international competitiveness and made a distinctive and excellent contribution to both Spain and Europe. For now, adopting common national criteria would mean lowering the entry thresholds and, consequently, reducing the quality of the Catalan system.