Sustainability, understood in environmental, social, and economic terms, is one of the factors that any business must include in its corporate values, and the energy transition is one of the challenges that, as a country and as a global environment, we must take on as soon as possible. A premise that the new Master's degree in Geosciences for the Energy Transition, which the UB is adding to its catalog of master's degrees this year, takes very much into account. The degree is based on the idea that knowledge of the subsoil is fundamental to being able to carry out an effective energy transition. "The energy transition is driving a structural change towards renewable and sustainable sources, which requires new scientific, technological, and educational approaches for the exploration, management, and efficient use of the subsoil," emphasizes Anna Martí, coordinator of the master's degree.The new master's degree at the UB trains specialists in geology and geophysics with a clear orientation towards the application of sustainable solutions to the challenges of the energy transition and is structured around three main axes: underground energy storage, geothermal energy, and responsible exploration of natural resources, integrating sustainability, energy efficiency, and emerging technologies content transversally. It also introduces, adds Martí, “the main social, legal, and economic aspects that influence the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects related to the energy transition and underground management”. A multidisciplinary approach that places special emphasis on understanding the subsoil and which its coordinator considers “essential to build solid future scenarios and make informed decisions in the face of the challenges of the energy transition and the climate emergency”.Sustainable and equitable transformationsIt is no secret that organizations must face urgent challenges linked to climate change, decarbonization, the efficient use of resources, and the transition towards fairer and more resilient development models compatible with planetary boundaries. According to the Catalonia Skills and Occupations Barometer, the demand for "green" jobs has increased by 17% in recent years and maintains sustained growth. As a result, companies, administrations, and social entities require professionals with rigorous and transversal training. Professionals prepared in key areas such as environmental legislation, corporate social responsibility, sustainable resource management, circular economy, and environmental impact analysis, disciplines that converge in the new UPC master's degree in Sustainability and Strategies for a Just Global Transition.

If there is one technology that has managed to revolutionize each and every industrial, business, and economic sector on a global scale, it is artificial intelligence (AI). It is a tool that, among other things, allows for the automation of a large number of processes, the analysis of a vast amount of data in parallel, and the improvement of decision-making in an increasing number of sectors of society, which explains why it is a discipline, however, with which both current and future professionals must familiarize themselves as soon as possible. Thus, it is not surprising that an increasing number of universities in our country have incorporated AI as a common thread in some of their new degrees.

Aina Fuster: I have been able to access a field that, without this knowledge, I surely would not have accessed

Aina Fuster, 31, graduated from the UOC master's degree in Digital Health in 2021. Fuster admits that, upon finishing her Pharmacy degree, she was not at all clear about where she wanted to go. At that time, she was working full-time in a community pharmacy and that summer the interoperability of electronic prescriptions began to function, which allowed for checking patient prescriptions from other autonomous communities. "I started to think about how it was possible that this interoperability had not been possible before, but at the same time, many doubts arose as to how it could be technologically possible," she recalls. At that moment, Fuster realized that, very soon, digital transformation would be a key issue. That is why she decided to look for a master's degree that would help her understand it a little better. "It had to be one that would allow me to combine it with my full-time job and shifts, so I looked directly at the UOC," she explains.

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Continuing education or long-life learning seems to be the ideal formula for developing in a labor market like the current one, in which the advance of AI, automation, and digitalization is changing the rules of the game by leaps and bounds and requires new skills from professionals. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, six out of every ten workers will have to update their skills before 2030. With this scenario in the background, in the words of Paqui Blánquez, director of the UAB School of Lifelong Learning, lifelong learning is no longer an option, “but a necessity”. In this context, she continues, master's and postgraduate degrees “continue to play a fundamental role because they offer a solid and structured specialization that allows for delving into areas of knowledge that undergraduate studies, by definition, cannot address with the same level of detail”. A specialization, she highlights, “especially valuable in professional environments that evolve rapidly and require profiles with advanced knowledge and the ability to adapt”.

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The draw that took place this Saturday at the Pau Casals Auditorium in El Vendrell has finished outlining the scenario for the XXX Human Towers Competition (Concurs de Castells). The groups participating in the three days of the competition now know the position they will occupy in the square and, therefore, the moment when they will have to face each of their challenges. With the cards now dealt, the countdown begins for one of the most important events on the human tower calendar.

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While the town is still asleep, the day has long since begun at the port. The boats rock gently at the dock, while weathered hands check the nets with the precision of inherited gestures. The ropes creak, the wood still holds the salt of the previous day, and the seagulls trace the first circles in the air, above the water. When the protection of the port is left behind, everything will be in the hands of the wind, the currents, and a sea that never promises how the day will end.The boats set sail slowly and the coast begins to blur behind the breakwater. On land, life goes on. The market stalls occupy the streets, the squares slowly fill up, and the town recovers its daily bustle. But there is a gaze that, almost without realizing it, continues to search the horizon. This scene was repeated, over the years, in the seaside towns of Catalonia. For those who left, a workday began. For those who stayed, a wait made of experience, trust, and a silent hope: to see the silhouette of the boats again before evening fell.For centuries, the Mediterranean was the place to earn a living. It fed entire villages, opened trade routes, brought cultures into contact, and imposed a rhythm that knew nothing of haste. Long before its beaches became a summer holiday destination, the sea was part of work, the table, and the calendar. Each day began with a departure and hoped to end with a return. From this daily coexistence with the sea, a way of understanding life was born that can still be recognized today in the ports, in the markets, and in many of the traditions that have reached our days.A world made of many handsThe Catalan maritime culture depended on an entire community. Around each vessel there were trades and people who made life on board possible. Shipwrights shaped the hulls that would have to face years of navigation; caulkers sealed the wooden joints so that the water would not find any gap, and the net menders reconstructed the nets thread by thread after each day. The guilds, in turn, organized an activity that marked the rhythm of entire ports. When a boat set sail, the discreet work of many other hands also traveled on board.That world lived in suspense of what could not be controlled. Fishermen learned to read the sea before any book. They knew the temperament of the tramontane, distrusted the east wind, and knew that a sudden change in the color of the water or the restless flight of a flock of seagulls could announce a day very different from the one they had imagined. It was knowledge that was not written down anywhere. It passed from parents to children, from masters to apprentices, until it became an almost instinctive way of inhabiting the coast.

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The massive entry of immigrants into Ceuta on July 30 has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the city itself, but also in Spain and Europe. ARA journalists Albert Diumenjó and Núria Rius Montaner have produced numerous reports on this crisis from Ceuta. In this conversation, they explain what they have seen and what has surprised them. They were accompanied by the newspaper's Head of International, Francesc Millan, who provided a geopolitical perspective. The conversation was coordinated by deputy director Carla Turró.

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The 2026 Concurs de Castells now has the definitive list of participating groups. With the classification closed, it is now known who will compete in each of the three days of the event, which will be held on September 27th and October 3rd and 4th in Torredembarra and at the Tarraco Arena Plaça.

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On WhatsApp he appears prominently, serious and institutional, and in his status he has an owl emoji: "They are silent, they see everything and they do their job effectively." President of the Society for Military Studies (SEM) and author of New Flock. Re-establishing Catalan Naval Power, he works to correct the lack of knowledge of defense policy in the service of Catalan national interest.Where does your passion for military matters come from?

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The icon on her mobile today is of a train journey between Geneva and Grenoble, but before that, she had had the image of very different waters: those of an Indonesian beach, where she has been doing fieldwork since 2018. Every year or two she travels there to study an Austronesian language in the process of extinction, totoli. She now captains the project from the University of Barcelona with ministerial funding.

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The question surprises and amuses him at once. Marc Abrahams cannot remember his own WhatsApp profile picture. He tries to remember it for a few seconds, and a few more, until he concludes, "It's beyond memorable."

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There are festivals that are remembered. There are those that are told for years. And then there are days like today, when the Plaça de la Vila in Vilafranca seems to want to widen so that everything that happens there can fit. Sant Fèlix has been an absurdity. A Sant Fèlix of the maximums, of permanent extra gamma, of castles that for a long time had not been seen together and of a human tower tension brought to the limit. One of those days when the human tower world looks at the square and understands that it is witnessing something extraordinary. And a festival in which, for the first time in history, the 9-high pillar with folre, manilles and puntals has been unloaded.

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A few corners of the Costa Brava have escaped real estate pressure. This is the case of the magnificent Marimurtra Botanical Garden, in Blanes. Carl Faust, a German businessman passionate about botany, decided in the twenties of the last century to invest his fortune in the creation of a paradise of vegetation in Blanes. "Faust wanted a space that would be a living demo for the great botanists of central and northern Europe, with the aim that they would not have to travel to see succulent plants and other exotic species in Mexico, South Africa, northern Morocco...", Josep Borrell, director of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden for many years, explains to me.I am in the oldest part of the garden, dedicated to cacti and succulent plants. "They were planted in this sloping area and gravel was put down so that water would not accumulate and damage the roots," Josep explains to me. There is a great variety of cacti, some of giant size, bigger than me. With Josep, I take a peaceful walk through the garden. It is a journey through the five continents, especially through places with a Mediterranean and subtropical climate. In addition to vegetation, fauna is also a protagonist: migratory birds, small reptiles... find refuge here. And insects! Without insects, there are no plants. Marimurtra introduced beehives for pollination, and now they have very good honey, which they have for sale. It is a honey from more than a thousand flowers and with an ever-changing and surprising taste: the bees have many combinations of flowers at their disposal.Suddenly Josep stops. "Look, the Wollemia nobilis!", he tells me. We are in front of a tree I had never seen before. If you go to see it, it will surprise you. It must be a little over 4 meters tall. This species coexisted with dinosaurs, and survived practically unchanged for millions of years. It was thought to be extinct. It is considered a "living fossil"."The Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994, near Sydney, in the Blue Mountains. It was found by a young park ranger, David Noble, exploring hard-to-reach ravines and rappelling", explains Enric Barril, head of biological collections at Marimurtra. "Its generic name, Wollemia, comes from the name of the national park where the discovery took place (Wollemi), and the specific epithet (nobilis) is a tribute to its discoverer and its majesty (in Latin nobilis means noble)", specifies Enric. "It is critically endangered. The exact place where it lives is an intact and pristine area. It is not known where. Well, only a few know", he tells me. "To preserve it" I say. "Yes, of course. But an international distribution of clones of specimens and seeds was made to some botanical gardens and scientific institutions to ensure its conservation ex situ. Thanks to this, we have this one here, at Marimurtra. Notice that it is slightly raised from the ground level. We have done this to prevent water from stagnating at the collar of its roots", Enric explains to me.Seed exchanges between botanical gardens are very common. They are mainly done to protect endangered species and for conservation projects. "We have our own seed bank and a catalog that we keep updated," Josep, who knows a lot of botanical gardens around the world, tells me. "Traveling is the cheapest way to learn," he says. "But I still have to go to the Hanbury Botanical Garden, located at Capo Mortola, in Italy, also by the sea, and integrated into the landscape – an inheritance from the English garden–. Faust was inspired by this Italian garden to create Marimurtra".I didn't have to wait long to witness a scene that repeats itself a few times a day. Two girls with Asian features, dressed in shades of red, come skipping down the stairs flanked by cypresses – Epicurus's staircase – to Linné's temple. It is a small temple that imitates the style of classical Greece dedicated to Carl von Linné – the father of modern taxonomy – located on the edge of the cliff of Cala sa Forcanera.Social networks have made this circular gazebo an object of desire for many people from all over the world, some of whom travel 9,000 kilometers to take a photo there, like the Chinese. "We have translated many texts from QR codes into Chinese," says Josep. "We have hired a native Chinese community manager to attend to the community from their country. For us, it is key that she can interact with them not only in their language, but also with their codes," he adds. "We have the challenge that they don't just come to take a photo," Josep tells me. "We are thinking about what else we can offer them so they can get to know the garden, its collection, and Faust's work." I make a zoom out with my gaze and I get an essentially bicolor picture: the green of the vegetation and the blue of the sea, and some white brushstrokes, which make the sea very rough. Then I close my eyes and feel even more the great variety of smells, and the sound of the waves that embrace the beach. And I put myself in the shoes of someone who does not have the sense of sight, who, in their own way, can also enjoy this magnificent garden by the sea.Historical images of weddings and other eventsA few years ago, to mark the centenary, the Cal Faust Foundation, which manages the Marimurtra Botanical Garden in Blanes, put out a call to receive old photographs from those who have taken photos of family celebrations there. It has been, and continues to be, a common practice for the people of Blanes, the inhabitants of the region, and beyond. This is the case of Josep's parents, who had their wedding photos taken there. The call – which remains open – allows us to learn about details of the garden from years past. Participants receive a gift: an annual pass.

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“I used to work here.” Diana Gabaldón (El Provencio, Cuenca, 1937) points to the old Coma Cros textile factory in Salt, now a cultural hub. By a twist of fate, she now lives opposite it, at the Les Vetes residence. She has left in a wheelchair and is getting onto the En Bici Sense Edat tricycle. It is an electric bicycle with a front bench designed for two people with reduced mobility to ride on. She is 89 years old and can no longer get around Salt on foot, by bike, or by moped, as she did when she was young, but thanks to this volunteering project, she is once again “running” – as she puts it – through the streets she discovered when she arrived from Cuenca at 18 years old.

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Bad luck pursued the greenhouse of the Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona in its early days. The City Council announced a competition to urbanize the grounds of the military citadel, built in the 18th century by order of Philip V, in a large part of the Ribera neighborhood. The jury declared it void. They did not find any good ones. In a second call, with modified rules, the winner was Josep Fontserè.

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At first glance, it could seem like the exterior of a school in the Netherlands or Denmark. On both sides of the street, dozens of bicycles are accumulated. There are also some tied to fences and traffic signs around. It's nine in the morning and the large parking lot has been filling up as children arrived at the summer camp. But we are not in Northern Europe. We are at the Banyoles lake. And this large bicycle parking lot belongs to one of the city's institutions: the Banyoles Swimming Club. Esther Guerrero (Banyoles, 1990) has also arrived by bike. It's the end of July, she is 33 weeks pregnant – at the time of the interview, she is now 37 – and she has come from the Can Puig neighborhood. “The Club is like my home; it's where I grew up, where I trained, and where I've spent my daily life for many years. Without exaggeration, twenty-five years,” she explains.

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It is a very simple pitchfork. It has a thick wooden handle and two iron prongs. It was used to load and unload bales, straw or hay. TIt is currently used very little. But where I am now, in the Vall Fosca, it also had another function. That is why it is exhibited at the Capdella Hydroelectric Museum, which I am visiting today.The funicular driver was touching the two electric cables of the line that ran parallel to the funicular track with both ends of the fork, and with this action he made a bell ring at the stations to to speak with the workers who operated it. This was the code: with one bell it indicated that the operator should stop it, with two bells, that he should go up, and with three, that he should go down.

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Snow is a good thermal and acoustic insulator thanks to the air it contains, which is why igloos are a good invention for spending cold nights. In fresh snow, the proportion of air reaches 90%. The Museum of Snow (Musèu dera Nhèu) dedicates a good amount of space to the scientific aspects of snow, whose germ is curiously hexagonal. This center is located in the small municipality of Unha, near Baqueira, the homeland of downhill skiing in the Aran Valley. The museum's manager, Montse Ademà, who guides me through this space located just a few steps from her home, is precisely from Unha.

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If anyone was looking for clues about what might happen at Sant Fèlix, l'Arboç has left a few. The festival has brought together three of the four groups that will meet in Vilafranca, and they have all taken advantage of the event to show some of their cards. The result has been a top-level day, with a 3d10fm from Castellers de Vilafranca, an unprecedented 4d9sf in the square by Colla Vella, and a new 2d9fm from Jove de Tarragona.

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Oriol Genís read El extravío de los signos, by Mexican anthropologist Natalia Mendoza (Periférica), because it was a recommendation from the company with whom this season they performed Oedipus and Antigone at the Teatre Nacional. The book "talks about the Sonora desert, immigration, deaths, people who disappear and are not found, and this links it with Tiresias and Antigone," explains the actor. "It's a splendid book, an essay that reads very well and is very interesting," he assures.

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