The new academic year for undergraduate students in Catalonia has already begun, or is about to. Some will go to university for the first time: this year, nearly 60,000 have pre-enrolled in one of the Catalan public universities. Mind you, only 6 out of 10 will study at the center they had chosen as their first preference, a structural challenge that has been dragging on for years. When they finish (and the majority will), they will be part of the nearly 40% of people aged 15 or over in our country who have higher education, including university degrees or higher vocational training.

"Yes: in my second year of ESO I started / speaking Spanish / because the Catalans didn't get it / and because, as Sylvia Plath said, / every woman adores a fascist", writes Maria Sevilla Paris (Badalona, 1990) in one of the poems in Sylvia Plath, / every woman adores a fascist", writes Maria Sevilla Paris (Badalona, 1990) in one of the poems in Ni una o l'oposada flor (Arrebato Libros). On the left pages we read the original poems in Catalan. On the right, the Spanish version, which often becomes a transformative game, by Juan Andrés García Román and the author. Ni una o l'oposada flor explains, in a ductile and precise language, Sevilla's devotion to animals, plants, and all sorts of living organisms –including men–, while at the same time reflecting on her relationship with Catalan, which, although not the language her parents spoke to each other, has become her usual language, a professional tool – she is an associate professor at the University of Barcelona and runs workshops at the Casal dels Infants in Raval – and a vehicle for artistic expression, which has so far resulted in half a dozen books, including Dents de polpa (AdiA edicions, 2015), Plastilina (Fonoll, 2021), and La nit ovípara (Documents Documenta, 2024).

"Until now, it was an option I hadn't considered, but from this experience, I see it as a possibility," admits Andreu López. He is one of the students in the Government's Noves Vocacions program, which offers 2,000 paid internships in the Generalitat administration. The initiative plans to offer 2,000 paid placements to university and vocational training students until 2028, with the aim of incorporating new profiles into the administration in view of the generational change it will have to face in the coming years. According to Government forecasts, more than 24,000 Generalitat employees will reach 65 years of age before December 2030, which is 12% of the workforce.The students who have already participated in the initiative value the experience positively. The experience has served them to discover an option that was often far from their first career choices. This is the case of Andreu Garcia, a political science student at Pompeu Fabra University who did his internship in the Department of European Union and External Action. "We are a very new team, and being able to feel that you are doing useful tasks and that they have a real impact on people is very rewarding," explains the student. Andreu also states that the internship has allowed him to question the negative image that still weighs on public administration. "You still see civil servants as people who are in an office and do nothing, but there is a lot of work and I have been able to confirm the power of public administration," he says.Marina Folch, a graduate in fine arts and conservation of cultural heritage from the University of Barcelona, is undertaking her training internship at the National Archive of Catalonia. She highlights being able to access spaces that are generally not very accessible. "Working in a space like the archive is a privilege, due to all the machinery and products that small workshops do not have," she states, and also remarks on the amount of work there is. "They are not a very large team, which is why all of us students on internships work, and a lot, just like one of them," she says.An extra motivation

One of the elements that differentiates the program is that the internships are paid, a relevant aspect for the interviewees. "In my career, they have been the only paid internships. This, when it comes to working, gives you extra motivation," explains Ivo Vizuete, a microbiology student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona who did his training at the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food. Ivo explains that, in the scientific sector, "the first option usually considered is the private sector." Nevertheless, the student assures that "he was worried about not having tasks to do," but that "from the first day he was involved, unlike many colleagues who do not enjoy the same experience".A similar situation is explained by Andreu López, a student who has been part of the Artificial Intelligence department. "In a first instance, in the world of AI, internships are focused on private companies," he points out. However, Andreu assures that efforts are being made in the department to incorporate AI and help workers. "The intention is to make the lives of the Generalitat's own civil servants easier, as there are often complaints about the speed of procedures, but they require a lot of time, and they involve work that used to be done by hand, and that we can now automate," adds the young intern.During the 2025-2026 academic year, 462 students enrolled in the program – 400 from university degrees and 62 from Vocational Training (FP) – and the Government plans to reach 2,000 places by 2028. In this regard, the program has a budget of 24.2 million euros over four years and more than a thousand tutors from various sectors to support young people, with the aim of making public administration "an attractive option". Marta Fonseca is an example, who, from the Public Agency for Professional Training and Qualification of Catalonia, tries to "open the gaze of youth" and convey "the vision of being a public servant" as an attractive career path. Fonseca explains that she had also been an intern in public administration, in this case at the Diputació de Barcelona, and that acting as a tutor for the project means "a kind of return to her training" to her.

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The University of Valencia (UV) and the Prehistoric Research Service (SIP) of the Provincial Council of Valencia are concluding the archaeological work at the Iberian settlement of Pic dels Alls in Iàtova, in the demarcation of Valencia, after ten excavation campaigns. This site, inhabited approximately between 2,900 and 2,000 years ago, is a good of cultural interest and from it come the most important collections of Iberian script texts known, made on lead sheets.

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It is one of the elephants in the room when talking about cut-off grades and university mobility, and also one of the areas the Government has tackled: the management of places to study medicine at a public university in Catalonia. The main problem that has been dragging on for years is that the demand to study this degree is much higher than the number of places offered. Faced with this reality, the Generalitat presented a plan in April to increase the vacancies to train future doctors. However, in the university pre-registration for this 2026, there has been a surprising change: the demand to study medicine at a public university has decreased.

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Daniela de Francisco was told she would never walk or speak again after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage at just 12 years old. But today she speaks, walks, and has completed her final year at the UPF in the degree of philosophy, politics, and economics, one of the most competitive courses in Spain. She has founded the anti-ableist student association.

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It all started more than three years ago. The company Iltirta, dedicated to disseminating knowledge about archaeology and a collaborator of the University of Lleida, designed a simple card game to liven up one of the days of the Iberian weekend that is convened annually at the archaeological sites of Catalonia. It was an incipient proposal, made with domestic and limited resources, with no other pretension than to provide a good time for tourists and enthusiasts.

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With what moral authority does one of the former heads of the PAU, the University Entrance Exams, which have become the main stupidity of the educational system, write an article like this? An initial clarification, however, regarding the functions they have:1) Arrange in a single line all students who have completed their baccalaureate studies or equivalent and who aspire to university studies.2) Ensure that pre-university centers that have taken care of these students (in general, high schools, subsidized centers, and private centers offering baccalaureate studies or cycles equivalent to the baccalaureate) reasonably evaluate their students.Regarding the first function, it is a clear and evident reality. The entirety of the candidates are placed on a single list and the places are assigned to the university centers. But it must also be clarified that the baccalaureate grade obtained by students in their school is the determining factor for the final qualification. Part of the dishonor of the PAU (University Entrance Exam) issue is the ex post invention of adding certain optional baccalaureate subjects to the access grade, placed without a true academic discussion with different values depending on the studies the students aspire to. Thus, for the universities of Madrid, for example, Humanities subjects weigh for Psychology; for Catalan ones, they do not. Let us remember that the sophistication of epicycles kept the Sun revolving around the Earth for a number of centuries, as Ptolemy would have wanted and as the Pope effectively preferred.Regarding the second function (equalizing criteria for grades), I would not discuss it if it were truly considered. But, either it is esoteric information that perhaps the Generalitat keeps, or simply no one takes it into account. However, my opinion is that increasing its weight is the key to a simple alternative to the PAU method.

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In an increasingly competitive, specialized, and demanding job market, pursuing a master's degree is more necessary than ever, as it allows for expanded training and greater possibilities of obtaining a job or progressing professionally. The University of Girona (UdG) responds to this need by strengthening its master's degree offerings oriented towards academic, professional specialization, or research initiation, and by strongly committing to internationalization and direct connection with future professional sectors.For the 2026-27 academic year, the UdG has scheduled around fifty official master's degrees, nineteen of which are interuniversity master's degrees and two are Erasmus Mundus programs. In addition, it has incorporated double degrees in strategic areas, thus expanding the possibilities for specialization and differentiation in the labor market.The pre-registration period for this year's master's degrees ends on September 15th, except for the Master's in General Health Psychology, which ends on July 17th. This year, the UdG has brought forward the end of pre-registration to June 14th for non-EU students, as this allows them to obtain the necessary documentation in time for their transfer to Girona to start the course this September.International projection

The international dimension is one of the priority axes of the UdG. Especially in the Mediterranean and Ibero-American spheres, the Girona university promotes global research networks, international double degrees, and mobility programs that allow students to enrich their academic and professional profile.In recent years, the University of Girona has recorded a sustained increase in international master's students. This reinforces the institution's global character and generates a diverse and dynamic academic environment. Seven of the master's degrees are taught exclusively in English, four in Spanish, and the rest in Catalan.Specialization in strategic areas

The different master's degrees offered by the UdG are included in eight fields of knowledge: Molecular Biology, Biomedicine and Health; Human Sciences, Heritage and Culture; Law; Economics and Business; Education and Psychology; Environment and Chemistry; Technology and Tourism. All master's degrees stand out for their professionalizing approach and their connection with key areas of development. Among the studies recently introduced are the university master's degree in Communication and Politics and the double degrees in Industrial Engineering and Data Science and in Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering of Materials and Structures.

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UNPORTAL and ARA make available to you a grade simulator that, from the publication of the Selectivity Grades and until the first assignment of places, scheduled for July 10, will allow you to make calculations around the score you would need to enroll in the degrees that interest you.

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Designed for young people and brought to life by young people themselves, "Tal Qual: what interests young people" completely filled the Josep Rom auditorium at Blanquerna-URL, in Barcelona. This first debate forum, connected with the interests and concerns of students, brought together content creators, experts, and journalists to discuss gambling addiction, the consumption of journalistic content, and dating apps.

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The article published in ARA last Friday about a UPF dean's circular complaining about students' absence from university garnered an impressive number of comments, which, taken together, probably already state the bulk of what I will expound on next. I cannot help but react because a lifetime of work at the university compels me to, even more so knowing and appreciating the Faculty of the dean who complained, and considering how many times we professors have spoken.

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Actors made up as cats that resemble celebrities theriansFormula 1 cars, chocolate fountains, music booths where you can create your own song, and agents of all kinds in eye-catching uniforms. Entering Hall 2 of the Education Fair and not being entertained for a while is almost impossible, and perhaps all these attractions explain—in part—the change the educational guidance fair has undergone to reach its current state: this year, for the first time, there are more exhibitors of vocational training (FP).

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For decades, universities have emphasized one concept: specialization. Their classrooms have produced economists, political scientists, philosophers—defined profiles trained in disciplines with clear boundaries. However, it is increasingly difficult to address major contemporary debates from a single perspective. A multitude of challenges arise: how to regulate artificial intelligence without stifling innovation, how to guarantee economic growth without exacerbating inequalities, how to govern society in a context of polarization and climate crisis… The degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics is based on this observation: complexity is not addressed by fragmenting knowledge, but by doing.

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In Spain, universities operate under a "single district" system: regulations allow students to access any university in the country, regardless of the autonomous community to which the institution belongs or where the applicant completed their secondary education and university entrance exams. However, some sectors have long argued that this homogeneity creates inequalities among Catalan students. One example is medicine, where in recent years there has been an increase in the percentage of students from other regions enrolling in Catalan medical schools. Now, the Council of the College of Physicians of Catalonia (CCMC) and some deans of medical schools have submitted a proposal to the Catalan Government to modify the admissions process for this degree and thus "guarantee fair and equitable access."

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The figures are striking: almost 37% of Catalan university students currently live with a mental health diagnosis, primarily anxiety disorders (15.4%) and depressive disorders (7.1%). Looking at their lifespan, nearly half of the students have been diagnosed with a mental health problem at some point. This is compounded by a high level of emotional exhaustion: more than a third of students report feeling emotionally drained every day. These data are taken from...Study on mental health in the university system of Catalonia (2023), promoted by the Department of Research and Universities, and prepared with the participation of Catalan universities. The report goes further and the conclusion is clear: this emotional distress does not only affect the student body, but stress and burnout are common to all workers in the university community.

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A significant change is coming to the university admissions process in Catalonia. Starting in 2027, the extraordinary sitting of the University Entrance Exams (PAU) – for those who did not pass the June exams or wish to improve their scores – will no longer be held in September but in July. This Friday, the board of the Inter-University Council of Catalonia (CIC) – the coordinating body between the Catalan Government and the twelve Catalan universities – agreed that 2026 will be the last year in which the PAU resits are held in September. With this change, Catalonia aligns itself with the rest of Spain's autonomous communities, as it was the only region that still held the university entrance exams in September. According to a statement from the Department of Research and Universities, the measure follows the same approach already applied to other educational levels (primary, secondary, and upper secondary), where extraordinary exam sessions are not held in September. In fact, nowadays, university degrees don't offer resits in September either. Furthermore, the government also argues that one of the main positive effects of the agreement is that it will allow pre-registration and September course assignments to be brought forward by a few weeks, and therefore, university enrollment can be finalized earlier. In addition, one of the most important changes will be that all students will be able to start university at the same time – in mid-September – regardless of whether they passed the first or second sitting of the university entrance exams. Finally, the CIC also argues that, if students take the resit exams, they will have a much more recent understanding of the subjects because they will have taken the entrance exams just a month before, and "this temporal proximity can contribute to better academic performance." In the last extraordinary sitting of the University Entrance Exams (PAU) in September, 8,237 students registered, representing 18.5% of the total number of students registered in the ordinary sitting in June, in which 44,388 students registered. Peace 2026

Regarding next year's university entrance exams (PAU) – those of 2026 – the regular session will be held on Tuesday, June 9, Wednesday, June 10, and Thursday, June 11, while the resit session will take place on Wednesday, September 2, Thursday, September 3, and Friday, September 4. As for the content and marking criteria, there will be no changes; they will remain the same as those used in the last exams.

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The Catalan government has taken an important step to improve the working conditions of PhD researchers in Catalonia: from now on, those employed by the Generalitat (Catalan government) will have four-year contracts instead of the three-year contracts that have been in place for the past twenty years. The measure, announced by the Department of Research and Universities in a press release, fulfills one of the key objectives of Salvador Illa's government's term. The contractual change involves an investment of €21.1 million to hire a total of 243 predoctoral researchers through the Joan Oró grants. Although this expenditure is only for this year's call for applications, the department emphasizes that, from now on, the government's grant programs for young researchers (Joan Oró-FI and FI-SDUR) will always include a fourth year of employment. However, it should be noted that this change will not affect doctoral students in industry. The measure, approved this Monday, had been long demanded by Catalan doctoral students, as many of them saw how the work to write a doctoral thesis could take up to four years, but in Catalonia, grants only covered the cost of the first three.

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This is the main fear of the tens of thousands of students who take the entrance exam each year: Not obtaining the grade that would open the doors to studying the university degree they wantNow, however, a report has quantified this fear: last year, almost half of the university students in Spain did not gain admission to their first-choice degree program. Specifically, according to the study by the Knowledge and Development Foundation (CyD), 245,226 places were offered for undergraduate degrees at public universities in the 2024-2025 academic year, an offer that received 474,319 applications. Therefore, last year, 229,053 students across Spain were unable to access their first-choice degree program. Behind these figures lie two key factors, also highlighted in the report. On the one hand, the document points out that the number of university degrees offered by public universities has remained stable in recent years, and on the other, that the demand for access to degree programs has grown by 26% in the last decade nationwide. Public universities offering in-person instruction show a mismatch between supply and demand: while applications for degree programs have increased by 25.9%, the number of available places has decreased slightly (-0.6%)," the study's authors report.

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The rector of Ramon Llull University (URL), Josep Antoni Rom, passed away early Saturday morning at the age of 62 from a heart attack. "It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our parish priest, Josep Antoni Rom Rodríguez. We keep him in our prayers and extend our deepest condolences to his family during this time of grief. May he rest in peace," the URL stated in a press release. Rom had served as rector since September 2022 and was recognized as a leading figure in the field of advertising strategy and creativity. Born in Barcelona in 1963, the rector held a degree in contemporary history from the University of Barcelona (1987) and a doctorate in advertising and public relations from URL in 2004, where he was a professor and chair. In 1994, he joined Blanquerna-URL, where he co-founded the Faculty of Communication and International Relations, served as Vice Dean of Technology and Equipment (1998-2016), and directed the degree program in advertising, public relations, and marketing (2016-2020). Before becoming Rector of Ramon Llull University, from September 2020 to September 2022, he was part of the Rector's team as Vice Rector for Research and Innovation. He was also a member of several scientific committees for national and international conferences and journals. Tripods, Graph and Advertising IssuesHe has also been the director of the Master's programs in Advertising Strategy and Creativity and in Art Direction for Advertising at Blanquerna-URL. Finally, he has also served as the director of the Design and Publications Department at Blanquerna-URL.

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