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the University

The University of Barcelona magazine

spring 2008 www.ub.edu

Building the University of Europe Barcelona: behind the seen

Malaria: a vaccine is close at hand

Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

EDITORIAL

Editorial Barcelona, Capital of the European University Community

The magazine you are holding in your hands, the English version of La Universitat, has been timed to coincide with the spring conference of the European University Association (EUA) taking place on 26-29 March in the University of Barcelona’s Paranymph Hall. The conference marks the first gathering of the EUA in Spain since the association was founded in Salamanca in 2001 and its focus this year will be on the governance of European universities from 2010 onwards.

La Universitat, a quarterly publication of the University of Barcelona (UB), came into existence over ten years ago with the aim of sharing the university’s life and activities with the rest of Catalan society. Now with its English version, we wish to

expand that aim to reach everyone in the European university community, a community which we are trying to build together. The UB is home to a third of the students in the entire Catalan university system and it stands at the forefront of the university rankings. We want to share with you the UB’s innovation in teaching and research and our commitment to the UB’s third mission, the transfer of knowledge, together with our high sense of social and institutional responsibility. To achieve these aims, we are working at the local level in close partnership with the city of Barcelona and, more generally, our efforts seek to uphold the university’s character as a strong force for social and democratic advancement. In addition, the UB has a stated commitment to the economic transformation of Catalonia through knowledge transfer, technological progress and active participation in the regional system of innovation that is embodied, in part, by the Barcelona Science Park.

Gathered together in these pages, you will also find the activities we have instigated to rethink the university in the current context of globalisation as well as the addition of new functions to help us better tackle the social and economic challenges of the country. In this respect, I highlight our internal initiative the Framework Plan UB Horizon 2020 and the outside assessment conducted by a committee of international experts under the aegis of the EUA. With these tools, our mission is to guide the UB more effectively and more efficiently, while maintaining and improving the university’s premier position in the international context.

Màrius Rubiralta Rector Barcelona, March 2008

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la Universitat

Printed on environmentallyfriendly paper

Editorial Board: Màrius Rubiralta, Rector; Jordi Matas, Vice-Rector of Students and Language Policy; Ernest Trias, Head of Communication.

Published by the Press Office.

Editor-in-Chief: Ester Colominas; Assistant Editor: Núria Quintana; Staff Writers: Jordi Homs, Rosa Martínez, Patrícia Lainz, Marta Casellas and Bibiana Bonmatí. Translation and language expertise: the UB Language Services; Lucille Banham; Joel Graham. Administrative support: Montserrat Cenzano.

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, 08007 Barcelona. Tel.: 934 035 544. Fax: 934 035 357. Contact: premsa@ub.edu Prepared in collaboration with: Communication Services at the Barcelona Science Park, the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, the Institute for LifeLong Learning (IL3-UB) and Fundació Clínic / IDIBAPS. Photography contributed by M. Rué.

Design, printing and advertising: Primer Segona Communication Services. Tel.: 933 436 060. Edition: 2,500 copies. Distribution: Interpàs, Associació Ginesta. National Book Catalogue Number: B-19682-97.

Online version: www2.ub.edu/comunicacions/revista_launiversitat Cover photograph: The Historical Building in its urban setting (photograph: the University of Barcelona Audiovisuals Unit)

highlights

Highlights

6 The Profile: Barcelona: university and city 10 The Analysis: Building Malaria: a vac­cine is close at hand 20 The Report: Barcelona: behind the seen 28 The Debate: Beijing 2008: North: The UB sets sail for the Arctic Ocean 38 Publications

People you could have met at the UB Santiago Ramón y Cajal Medical students at the University of Barcelona who studied Histology and Pathological Anatomy between 1887 and 1892 were taught by the first— and to date the only—UB professor awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1896): Santiago Ramón y Cajal. He was a pro-

fessor of the University during a productive period of his re­search into the mechanisms governing the structure and connection of neurons. In Barcelona, he sought the means to continue this research. In memory of his time at the UB, two halls have been given his name, one in the Sciences Patio in the Historic Building, and the other in the Faculty of Medicine.

Antoni Gaudí From 1869 to 1873, prior to studying architecture, Antoni Gaudí attended classes in the lecture halls of the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Sciences. Nobody could have imagined that a century and a half later, his work would be a world benchmark in the history of architecture and that some of his designs would form an important part of the University of Barcelona’s heritage. In the Diagonal Campus (the Portal del Coneixement) are the two Gaudí pavilions that stood at

the entrance to the Finca Güell estate. Two of the gates to Finca Güell were also designed by Gaudí. Both the pavilions and the gates were proclaimed historicartistic monuments of national interest in 1969.

Stephen Hawking “I’m sorry to disappoint followers of science fiction, but if informa-

tion is retained, black holes cannot be used to travel to other universes.”

So spoke the theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking when, on 5 July 2005, he ad­­ dressed over 400 lecturers and students in Lecture room 105 of the UB’s Faculty of Physics. With his laptop and voice synthesiser, Hawking opened the seminar “Information lost in black holes”, before an expectant

highlights

the University of Europe China Comes into Play

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16 Science Notes: News: Barcelona Science Park, an Engine for Innovation 34 Chronicle: 75° News: Postgraduate courses with an international scope

A Glance from the Past: UB Welcomes Rectors Back audience. The session was coordinated by Jaume Garriga, professor of Fundamental Physics and a former student of Hawking. Hawking—winner of the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord in 1989 and one of the most prestigious theoretical physicists in the world—discussed the global spacetime structure and the physical laws of black holes.

through the corridors of the UB during his visit to the University rector on Monday 26 February.

Einstein clearly admired Professor Terradas. During a conversation between Terradas and Einstein on relativity, the 1921 winner of the Nobel Prize of Physics suddenly interrupted the Catalan scientist, saying: “You see, Mr. Terradas, you know more than I do”.

Albert Einstein When the scientist Albert Einstein arrived in Barcelona in February 1923, a small group of Catalan scientists had already opened up the way for the new conceptual territory of relativistic mechanics. The German scientist was invited by the Mancomunitat de Catalunya via the scientist Esteve Terradas, professor of Acoustics and Optics in the UB’s Physics Department and one of the people who introduced relativist ideas in Spain.

Terradas accompanied Einstein

This March, the UB will host a conference of the European University Association (EUA). Back in 1993, the UB hosted a meeting of the Conference of European Rectors, one of the organisations that later merged to form the EUA. At that time, the gathering focused on the emergence of new categories of students and the challenges that they posed for teaching methods and the management of universities. Fifteen years on, the upcoming event will address the current challenges being faced in the “Bologna area”, under the rubric of The Governance of European Universities Post 2010 (II): Enhancing Institutional Mission and Profiles.

The profile: Barcelona: university and city

Barcelona: university and city Barcelona has grown into a large city, despite being encircled—even constrained—by geographic features: the Collserola mountain range to the west, the sea to the east, the river Llobregat to the south and the river Besòs to the north. The development and expansion of Barcelona, which has had to overcome these geographic barriers and the historic obstacles faced by the entire region, has been paralleled by the growth of the UB; the university that is named

after this city. The shared history of the university institute and the city goes back over 557 years. It began with the classes of the Estudis Generals (the term given to universities at the time), held in different places in the medieval city, and continues today as the UB undertakes projects in emerging neighbourhoods of Barcelona and moves some of its centres beyond the boundaries of the city, into other towns in the modern metropolitan area.

The University of Barcelona in the metropolitan area

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1. The Diagonal Campus Gateway to Knowledge 2. The Humanities Campus 3. Medicine Campus-Hospital Clinic August Pi i Sunyer 4. The Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus 5. The Mundet Campus 6. The Torribera Food and Nutrition Campus (UB,UAB)

7. The Historic Building 8. Faculties of Philosophy and Geography and History 9. The Sant Joan de Deu University Hospital 10. The Faculty of Library Sciences and Documentation 11. IL3-UB Insitute for LifeLong Learning 12. The CACI Building 13. The Montcelimar Foundation 14. The Republica Pavillon 15. Labour Relation Studies 16. UB Sports 17. The Maternitat Complex 18. The Agustí Pedro i Pons Building

The profile: Barcelona: university and city

The origins King Martín the Humane was the main driving force behind higher education in the Barcelona of the late Middle Ages. In 1401, he founded the Estudi General of Medicine (which was linked to a School of Arts, where students could prepare for entry to the Medical School). These were the first schools in Barcelona that aimed to be recognised in the entire western world. However, the existing University of Lleida rejected the Medical School, as it wanted to keep a monopoly on higher education in the Crown of Aragon. The School was also rejected by the other Medical College, which considered the Estudi an intrusion on its jurisdiction in the city. For the same reasons, the School of Arts was not recognised by the municipal schools and the cathedral.

These reservations were only overcome after a series of economic crises that affected Barcelona and the entire country from the second half of the 15th century onwards. At that time, the city wanted an Estudi General because, they argued, “it will create as much money as a fair”. Despite the fact that stu-

Below: print of the General Studies Building erected in the Ramblas in the sixteenth century

dents were considered rowdy, they were also seen as a source of income. Officially, the Estudi General was founded in 1450 by King Alfonso the Magnanimous and was formed by merging the existing institutions, i.e. the Estudi of Medicine and the Arts, the Cathedral School and the municipal schools. Therefore, the University of Barcelona had a marked municipal nature. This was in contrast to the major Castilian universities, which were highly controlled by the Crown. Thus, the University of Barcelona was open to the most innovative knowledge in Europe at that time.

At first, the Estudi General did not have a seat. Classes were held in different places: the cathedral, the Franciscan convent and the Dominican convent.

The first official seat was built at the top of the Rambla, and was inaugurated in 1536, during the reign of King Carlos I. The Arts were taught in this building.

Studying the Arts was a prerequisite for entering any of the three higher education faculties: Law, Medicine and Philosophy, which at that time also included the basic and experimental sci-

Right: former cloister of the Convent of Carme, UB premises from its restoration in the academic year 1838-39 until it moved to its current home completed in 1882 in Plaça Universitat

ences. This building was used until 1717, when all of the universities of Catalonia (Tarragona, Girona, Solsona, Vic, Lleida and Barcelona) were abolished by the first king of the new Bourbon dynasty, Felipe V, winner of the War of Succession (1700-1714).

Catalonia, and all of the former Crown of Aragon, was defeated in this war. By virtue of the Decreto de Nueva Planta of 1715, the country’s universities were merged into one new university at Cervera (as a reward for this city’s support for the new king during the war).

The first official seat was built at the top of the Rambla, and was inaugurated in 1536, during the reign of King Carlos I

The profile: Barcelona: university and city

The UB has also recently launched projects in areas that are emblematic of 21st century Barcelona

Left: offices of the IL3-UB (Institute for LifeLong Learning) in the 22@ district, with the Torre Agbar skyscraper in the background

Right: photograph of the cloister in the Historical Building

Amongst its students, the University of Cervera included important thinkers and jurists, such as Jaume Balmes and Josep Finestres. However, the institution was far from excellent.

The University was not restored to Barcelona until the middle of the 19th century. The move took five years: from 1837 to 1842.

The restored university was initially housed in the Convent del Carme, which was freed from encumbrance in 1835. This building was situated in the Carrer del Carme, just a hundred metres from the original Estudi General building on the Rambla.

This was to be the University’s location for twenty years, until the dilapidated state of the building led to the construction of a new seat. The architect Elies Rogent was commissioned to design the new building. The construction work began in 1863 and was completed in 1882.

This building is now emblematic of the UB. It is known

as the Historic Building, and is situated in Plaça Universitat. It was one of the first buildings constructed outside the 14th century city walls. In the 1800s, it housed all of the faculties except the Faculty of Medicine, which was based at the Hospital de la Santa Creu. Medical classes were held at this hospital until just over one hundred years ago. In 1906, the current Hospital Clínic and the neighbouring Faculty of Medicine buildings were constructed. Due to the expansion of the UB during the second half of the 20th century, only Philology and Mathematics classes are still taught in the Historic Building.

The expansion begins The University expanded rapidly during the second half of the 20th century. For example, the number of students at the UB doubled between 1960 and 1968 (from 11,500 to 22,900).

As a result, the University need-

ed to build a new campus. After considering a location in the Montjuïc area of the city, the authorities decided on the Pedralbes area, through which runs a major road called Avinguda Diagonal. In 1957, the Faculty of Pharmacy was the first building to be constructed on this new campus. This campus now houses the Faculties of Pharmacy, Fine Arts, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Economics, Business Studies and Law, as well as the Scientific and Technical Services, the Pavelló Rosa, the University Sports Centre, the Montserrat, Penyafort and Sant Jordi Halls of Residence and the Barcelona Science Park—a centre of excellence for research that brings together scientific groups from universities, businesses and public research organisations.

Currently, work is underway to reorganise the South and North Diagonal campuses, and to construct new buildings for faculties

and services. This will increase the visibility and improve the operation of this area of Barcelona, known as the Campus DiagonalGateway to Knowledge. More research and knowledge activities are undertaken on this campus than anywhere else in the south of Europe.

In the mid 1980s and during the 1990s, some of the UB’s faculties moved to the new Bellvitge and Mundet campuses.

The Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus is situated between two benchmark hospitals: the Prínceps d’Espanya and the Duran i Reynals. It houses the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry and the University School of Nursing.

One of the characteristics of this campus is its capacity to expand, particularly as a major component of biomedical research in Spain. The other main hospital associated with the UB is the Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu. This institution is highly specialised in paediatrics, gy-

The profile: Barcelona: university and city

75th anniversary of the Autonomous University of Barcelona This academic year marks the 75th anniversary of the Second Spanish Republic’s approval of the UB’s Statute of Autonomy. This represented the beginning of a period of autonomy for the University, in which liberty and democracy were linked to a desire for renewal, high goals and academic excellence. At this time, the UB was called the Autonomous University of Barcelona (which should not be confused with the current Autonomous University, created as an independent institution many years later). A new governing body was created for the university. This board was made up of important individuals in academic and scientific fields. Simultaneously, political milestones in Catalonia’s history were reached, such as the recovery of self-governance through the approval in 1932 of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy.

This was a short period in the University’s history (it was cut short by Franco’s victory after the Civil War in 1939). However, it is reflected today in the way that the UB faces current challenges.

naecology and obstetrics, and is situated in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat in the metropolitan area.

The Mundet Campus inclu­ des the faculties of Psychology, Education and Teacher Training.

It is also the seat of the Institute of Education Sciences. The campus is housed in the premises of the former Llars Mundet, which was one of Barcelona’s bestknown boarding schools in the 1960s. It is the only UB campus that is based on the English model: a well-organised space that contains teaching centres, the university’s administrative units and services and expansive lawns so that students and staff can enjoy being outside.

Beyond the city limits In addition to its campuses in Barcelona, the UB now has centres in other towns in the metropolitan area. One of the University’s emblematic projects is the Torribera Food and Nutrition

Campus, in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Currently, this houses the Centre for Superior Studies in Nutrition and Dietetics (CESNID). In the future, this campus will bring together university centres, companies and other organisations linked to food-related disciplines.

In Badalona, another town in the metropolitan area, the UB is converting the former CACI (Companyia Auxiliar del Comerç i la Indústria) factory into a centre for intensive cooperative education and a hall of residence related to mobility and intensive master’s courses. The setting of this building is important. The aim is to create a space that will attract UB blended masters (intensive) students to Badalona. The renovation of the building, which is one of the most important remaining examples of industrial architecture in Badalona, is part of the urban transformation of the seafront in this town.

The UB has also recently launched projects in areas that are emblematic of 21st century Barcelona, such as the technology district 22@ or the Raval neighbourhood, which is being revitalised by intense cultural activity. The University of Barcelona’s IL3 (the Institute for LifeLong Learning, created to promote policies in the area of continuous education) is located in 22@.

Thus, the UB has a centre in an emerging area of the city. A lot of money is being invested in this area, which concentrates scientific, technological and general organisations and companies working in the field of knowledge. In 2006, a new building was opened in the Raval—a neighbourhood in the heart of the medieval city—to house the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Geography and History. The UB’s presence in this area has consolidated an urban campus which also includes the Historic Building in

The UB has also recently launched projects in areas such as the Raval neighbourhood, which is being revitalised by intense cultural activity

Plaça Universitat. Humanties courses are taught on this campus. As if to close a circle, these new Faculties are located just a hundred metres from the site of the original University building, at the top of the Rambla, only a hundred and fifty metres from the former Convent del Carme where the restored university was housed in the early 19th century.

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the analysis: Building the University of Europe

Building the University of Europe Text:

Ester Colominas

In recent years, the interviews published in this magazine have spotlighted issues such as the debate over the role played by universities in today’s society; their involvement in scientific and economic progress; and the transformation being undertaken to sharpen their competitiveness while, at the same time, strengthening the collaboration and exchange needed to meet their fundamental aim, the creation and sharing of knowledge. In these pages, we have brought together the opinions and beliefs of some of the players from across the political and university landscape who are engaged in building the new European University.

Taken from an interview with Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Vice-President of the Spanish government (published in April 2006):

“Everything we are doing will help the university to fulfil the role that society requires of it: serving as the place where ideas are created” We have put on the table a very important national reform plan that responds to the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda, fostering greater welfare and increased productivity in the EU, as well as promoting stable employment and higher quality jobs. It involves basic investment in innovation, knowledge and development, and that’s where we’re lagging a bit behind and have to push forward. We need to make a qualitative leap forward. And we’ve started doing so by putting the National Program of Reforms as one of our priority objectives.

The program has received high marks from the European Commission, especially the Government’s policy on rese­arch, development and innovation. We have a great deal yet to do and we need to take steps like sharply stepping up investment. One of our commitments in the general budget was to increase invest-

ment in research, development and innovation.

Beyond hitting 2010 deadline, will politicians, the university community and Spanish society at large be able to go farther and integrate fully with European higher education and research?

I’m convinced of it. We have achieved much tougher goals. It’s certainly a complex issue and a great deal of debate has been generated, because it calls into question an entire system that has been limping along for many years.

But the question will be dealt with in short order because the universities themselves are institutions that are focused on taking change on board. I am absolutely convin­ ced that we will complete the process required by the universities today in order to bring them up to date, integrate them and establish common accreditation systems, so that there is no problem

for our young people to study anywhere in Europe or for their EU counterparts to study in any university here. (...) the Erasmus programme has been fantastic at opening up cultural exchange. In light of the process currently underway, I’m very confident that we will be integrated and out in the forefront by 2010, because I believe that we have the capability to do so. Of course, the Government will be playing its part in backing the effort and I think that with the rectors leading the way, the professors, everybody is keen to get things rolling. (…) In the same way, I’m convinced that we must make every effort to return the university to its leadership position in thought and intellectual activity. (…) That has always been its function, and that’s what has to get done. (…) Everything we are doing will help the university to fulfil the role that society requires of it: serving as the place where ideas are created.

the analysis: Building the University of Europe

The University of Catalonia is the umbrella initiative under which the eight Catalan public universities have come together to promote synergies and mutual projects in education, research and knowledge transfer.

More than 200,000 students make the University of Catalonia one of the largest university communities anywhere in southern Europe. On the science and technology front, the central elements include the universities themselves, their high-quality research centres, and first-rate

science parks and university hospitals. On the organisational side, in 1997 the eight Catalan public universities which fall under this academic, research and knowledge transfer umbrella formally instituted the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP). A member of the European University Association (EUA) since 2007, it seeks to foster effective cooperation between member universities and other organisations and institutions at the local, national and international levels, while also

promoting cooperation with all levels of government.

The Conference of Spanish University Rectors (CRUE) brings together the public and private universities of Spain.

CRUE exemplifies the strong growth in the number of university centres seen in Spain in recent years, with current membership standing at 72 universities, compared to 54 members only fourteen years ago. The growth stems from greater diversification of faculties and the higher number of degree programs on offer.

CRUE, which currently counts UB rector Màrius Rubiralta as one of its vice-presidents, was set up in 1994 to foster mutual cooperation among its members and with other associations of European rectors. In addition, the organisation plays a pivotal role in relations between the European University Association and the Ibero-Ame­ rican University Council (CUIB).

Thanks to shared cultural ties with the countries of Latin America, CRUE has become a strategic linchpin for communication between the two organizations.

Taken from an interview with Pasqual Maragall, former President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and past Mayor of Barcelona (published in April 2007):

“It’s time to denationalise the universities and make them more competitive” In my view, the role played by the university in general, and by the UB in particular, has been quite significant in getting the Barcelona brand off the ground.

Perhaps it ought to take an even greater role. Or if you prefer, in future it will. Barcelona’s image today is tightly bound up with the Olympic Games, the seafront and urban planning projects. At the end of the day, however, the city and, more broadly, the region have placed their bet on knowledge. Knowledge is what will bring people to Barcelona to build added value here. (…) I’m confident that the identification between the region and knowledge will continue moving forward …

As President of the Ge­ne­ra­ litat of Catalonia, you drove forward the Euroregion, a development region encompassing southern Europe and

the Mediterranean, focused on sustainable development through innovation and geographical and social inclusion. You were also president when the Bioregion was set up to offer a fresh model for regional development aimed at coordinating biomedical and biotech research in Ca­ta­ lonia. Building networks, coordinating efforts, promoting alliances ... do these activities all grow out of an image you have of Europe as a system of cities, a constellation of lights without borders, as you once said?

Exactly. The headquarters of the World Federation of United Cities is here in Barcelona, in Avignon Street. In their offices, they have the map you referred to, showing the lights of the cities as though they were stars and nebulas. That is the real map of the world, not the one that separates the land from the sea. The

real map is where people actually live. In my view, where we need to invest is in ensuring that these sparkling lights have meaning. Normally, the thicker a cluster is, I mean the denser it is with points of light, the greater its relationship to excellence and knowledge... And we know that it’s in our power to act more intelligently than falls to us by virtue of our size. That is the challenge we face.

The project Europa Pròxima, in which you talked about the map of lights, was a collaborative effort with Aula Bar­ce­ lona, a knowledge-management initiative that you proposed jointly with the then UB Rector Antoni Caparrós in 1998. Have you got the time now to put projects like these back on your plate? (...) I don’t know if Europe is as tightly knit as we’d like, but it is definitely getting wiser. After

having sorted out all the dramas of two world wars, the struggle between France and Germany, and East-West relations, we can finally turn our attention to the Mediterranean. (...) What will be needed is a Mediterranean policy on security, the economy and immigration, but also on knowledge and learning and, therefore, the universities. (...) I think that everyone understands that it’s time to denationalise the universities and make them more competitive.

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the analysis: Building the University of Europe

Taken from an interview with Josep M. Bricall, a past Rector of the University of Barcelona and a former minister in the Generalitat of Catalonia (published in January 2008):

“A great number of people are going to university and they have every right, when they finish, to find work. Here or abroad” When I was leaving my office after having written the Magna Charta Universitatum, Professor Romanzi, former Rector of the University of Genoa and past President of the Conference of European Rectors said to me, “You know, Josep, the university professor is like everybody else; he just doesn’t realise it.” I think that puts it quite well. In my view, this is a job like any other job.

When you welcomed participants to the Conference of European Rectors in 1993, you said that failing to respond adequately to the growing demand for education is the worst service that

could be provided to a people or an economy. Would you add anything to that statement now that the representatives of the European universities are back at the UB? That’s right, but there are other things. I don’t think the university should stray too far from what it has been historically. There is an element of training, professional training, which is what the students protesting in the streets have labelled privatisation. But basically it’s being able to find work when you finish your degree, and that’s a very different matter. The second thing is that the university does research, and a significant chunk of it is applied research, which can produce im-

mediate economic benefits.

Lastly, the third key point is the effect that the rationality of the university has on us as human beings. That is something which could define the University of Europe, but it is also the element that might be in danger. Certainly, all of us have a share in the blame for that, not simply the university community.

Why is convergence with Europe so problematic? Why does it draw fire from students?

There hasn’t actually been that much rejection. At a European level, the concern was much greater but convergence hasn’t provoked rejection. Even in

France, for example, a Traditionally emotional country where it is difficult to do things without extreme care.

Major concerns have been voiced from time to time and I don’t think the reforms have been explained well enough.

The fundamental idea of the Bologna plan is that the university systems in each country should compatible with one another and that requires a common approach. At the moment, a great number of people are going to university and they have every right, when they finish, to find work. If they don’t find a job here, then why not abroad?

Magna Charta Universitatum Recently, the University of Barcelona hosted a planning meeting in preparation for the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the Magna Charta Universitatum, set to take place next September in Bologna. Attending the meeting was Roberto Grandi, ViceRector of International Relations at the University of Bologna, who reiterated that “the principles of the Magna Charta are still valid”. He added, “The charter is first and foremost a reaffirmation of the universities’ ability to address their own social obligations positively as an engine for change, even where we are dealing with large-scale public universities”.

The Magna Charta Universitatum was drafted in February 1988 by the UB Rector’s Office and it was signed in Bologna in September of the same year. The aim of the charter was to make the peoples and nations of Europe aware of the role of the universities in a constantly changing, increasingly international society. Grandi recalls, “In 2000, the University of Bologna and the European University Association (the then-ERC and today’s EUA) created the Observatory of the Magna Charta (www.magna-charta.org/magna.html) to gather information, express opinions and draft documents in line with the respect, the protection of values and the fundamental rights set out by the universities in the Magna Charta”. He added, “In addressing the difficult questions facing us, the observatory has the potential to become the premier university system of its kind”.

I don’t think the university should stray too far from what it has been historically

the analysis: Building the University of Europe

Taken from an interview with Màrius Rubiralta, Rector of the University of Barcelona (published in September 2005):

“The university of 2020 will stand on the foundations that we have been able to renew by 2010” It was very evident from the European Commission’s discussions in 2000 that Europe has a very clearly defined desire to be competitive in the world market. The University of Barcelona signed up to that goal when the newly formed European Area for Research and Higher Education set its horizon at 2010. (...) One thing is very clear: we can’t be good at everything. That’s why we will have to define our strengths and know how to link them to the demand at any given moment, so that we can maintain the highest levels in teaching excellence and in the creation of new knowledge through research. (...) I think that there are a number of leading uni-

versities—and the University of Barcelona is one of them—that are critical to achieving a Europe that is united and together. (...)

Much has been said about the importance of knowledge, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that knowledge is created by institutions, institutions that need to be assessed properly but also provided with appropriate safeguards.

Your election platform set the horizon at 2020. What sort of university do you imagine fifteen years from now?

The university of 2020 will stand on the foundations that we have been able to renew by 2010, building on the experience of the people who have done the task

to date and on the enthusiasm of the young people yet to come. They will have to take the work forward. By 2010, however, we should have the rules of play out on the table, and that involves redefining the concept of the public university, securing the funding needed for survival and, from there, developing appropriate identities by drawing on the autonomy of the institu-

tions involved and each of the individuals who are so dedicated to making these institutions work. (...) Careful thought will have to be given to the sustainability of the university system overall, with an eye on the horizon of 2020. (...) What we should have is a strategic plan for the Catalan university system as far ahead as 2020. (...) After all, there is a great deal at stake.

Horizon 2020 The University of Barcelona Horizon 2020 project is an initiative driven by Rector Rubiralta.

The project’s objective is to contribute to making the University of Barcelona one of the most wellknown institutions in Europe, both in terms of its scientific and academic level and its innovative character. Horizon 2020 aims to promote reflection about the University’s long-term future in two areas: undertaking real internal reform that enables the UB to consolidate its position as a European institution of reference; and influencing the process of government decision-making and policies related to the future of the university system.

The Basic Document of the UB Strategic Plan Horizon 2020 was presented in February 2008.

It was drawn up by different work groups, coordinated by the lecturers Dr. Miquel Martínez, Dr. Enrique Pedroso, Dr. Enric Canela and Dr. Ramón Alemany.

Dr. Josep M. Bricall worked in an advisory capacity, helping to tie the contents together and draw up the final document. He states that this task was not easy: “I revised the draft from

top to bottom. It contained three or four different pieces of work, which were of good quality but needed to be linked. All my suggestions were accepted. I think the result is fairly good.”

The Strategic Plan Horizon 2020 proposes two strategic objectives. The first is to promote a university that is recognised by the university sector—particularly in Europe— as having a strong research capacity and postgraduate programs of an international level.

The second is to strengthen and increase the university’s social commitment, through quality continuous education programs and more knowledge and technology transfer. There is also a third strategic objective, which is related to internal issues. This consists of facilitating changes in human resources and in the organisation, so that the UB can become more governable and sustainable.

After the presentation of the Basic Document, a participative process of communication and debate began, to enrich the Strategic Plan with new contributions.

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NEWS

Postgraduate courses with an international scope Among the postgraduate programs offered at the UB are courses with a clear international vocation —a characteristic that the University of Barcelona aims to promote in this type of qualification. Two examples are Master of Law in International Economic Law and Policy and the lifelong learning program Transplant Procurement Management. These courses are in very different fields of knowledge. One is a new project that will begin in the 2008-09 academic year, whilst the other has been running for 16 years.

However, both contribute to making Barcelona a European centre of university education.

International Economic Law and Policy The University of Barcelona’s new Master of Law in International Economic Law and Policy (www.ielpo.org) is organized by the International Chair WTO/Regional Integration. Codirected

by Ramon Torrent, a UB professor and former Director of External Relations in the Legal Service of the EU Council, and Pierre Sauvé, a recognised international expert in the areas of services and investment, IELPO LL.M.’s Faculty is composed by many of the most renowned experts drawn from the world’s leading universities, policy research institutes and international organizations.

While the program’s core foundation remains legal in character, IELPO LL.M. aims to provide students with the means of applying a pluri-disciplinary approach to problem solving, allowing them to draw on the key insights of legal, economic and international political economy approaches to the issues covered by the program. A unique feature of the program also lies in its emphasis on comparative dynamics, providing students

with a robust understanding of the various forces shaping approaches to international economic governance in the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The IELPO program is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, the Department of Economy and Finance of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and other public and private institutions.

Transplant Procurement Management Spain is a world leader in transplants (with 33.8 donors per million members of the population in 2006). In this context, the lifelong learning program Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) has been taught for over sixteen years at the UB. This course is based on the experience of the Transplant Coordination Team, created at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, under the direction of Doctor Martí Manyalich. The TPM program aims to respond to the need for training the health professionals who are in charge of

organ and human tissue donations and transplants.

According to the program coordinators, the existence of welltrained professionals contributes to increasing the number of donors. In addition, the coordinators consider that their role as disseminators helps to develop and expand the “Spanish model” in the field of transplants. Different training methods, adapted to local realities, are offered within the TPM program. Courses are even tailor-made for specific groups or institutions. Students can take

face-to-face courses, on-line courses or blended-learning programs (which include face-to-face and virtual courses, as well as placements in hospitals and undertaking research programs).

Courses are taught in Spanish, English, Italian and French.

The TPM courses lead to UB qualifications in the framework of IL3-UB, such as the international master’s degree in organ, tissue and cell donation and transplant.

In addition, the TPM programme is supported by the National Transplant Organisation (ONT).

IL3-UB: Institute for LifeLong Learning The University of Barcelona’s Institute for LifeLong Learning (IL3) was formed to boost policies in the field of continuous learning. It offers a wide range of courses in diverse disciplines. Courses can be face-to-face, blended, or distance and are of different lengths (including master’s degrees and postgraduate courses as well as seminars). In addition, the IL3 offers tailor-made courses to companies. The headquarters of IL3 are in Barcelona’s 22@ district. This is an emerging part of the city, in which heavy investment is being made and modern spaces established to house a strategic concentration of scientific, technological and knowledge entities. http://www.il3.ub.edu/

NEWS

University rankings In an increasingly globalised world where values tend to be simplified by just a few parameters, the appearance of university rankings is inevitable, but also controversial. Ranking is considered an erroneous concept by some, who reject it outright. Other more pragmatic stances stress the difficulty of comparing universities that have very different dimensions, orientations, funds and social functions. Multidimensional classifications assess different aspects of universities. They help students to choose the university that best suits their needs. Although numerical rankings simplify all the factors that represent a university, they also give an indication of the external perception of an institution in comparison to other similar institutions. They assess the volume of scientific production and changes in this volume, as well as the international position of science in terms of its impact and the efforts and extent of national research potential on an international scale. Thus, rankings pro-

vide information that cannot be underestimated, given its effect on both the university sector and local society. One classification system is the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is published annually by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). In the last two publications, the UB was the only Spanish university to be ranked among the top two hundred universities in the world. The UB was also listed in the hundred best European universities. The University of Harvard is at the top of the SJTU’s rank, which assesses the 500 best universities in the world. The European University with the highest ranking is the University of Cambridge, in fourth position.

In the last report, published in 2007, the University of Barcelona ranks internationally as the first Spanish university, occupying the 171st. position, and is followed by the Autonomous University of Madrid (249th.), the Complutense University of Madrid (256th.), the University of València (294th.), the Autono-

Pioneering Degree in Science Leadership and Management This year marks the debut of the Master in Science Leadership and Management, a degree growing out of the col­­ laborative efforts of the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University.

The three universities jointly wish to promote the training of professionals who will be required to lead and manage the institutions which are to produce the scientific and technological advances that will transform society in the twenty-first

century. Officials at the three universities working together on the program highlight the remarkable leap forward that has occurred in policies supporting the recruitment of new resea­ rchers and the creation of structures led by people carrying out both research and management responsibilities.

Drawing on the backing of the non-profit social action fund of the Caixa Catalunya, the new Master’s program is the first of its kind in Spain and one of the first anywhere in Europe.

mous University of Barcelona (356th.) and finally the Technical University of Valencia (388th.).

The rank is based on six indicators that assess different factors: the number of relevant awards e.g. Nobel Prizes, Field Medals, etc. obtained by students and teaching staff; the number of researchers who have been cited most in different fields; the number of articles published in Nature and Science in the 2002-2006 period; and the total number of articles included in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) in 2006. This last indicator is a balance of the other five indicators, and is calculated according to the number of academic staff at the university.

In the Word Universit y Rankings, published in November 2007 by The Times Higher Education Supplement, the UB was the only Spanish university to be ranked as one of the 200 best universities in the world.

The study “La productividad ISI de las universidades es-

pañolas (2000-2004)” published by the Scimago Group, ranked the UB as one of the universities with the highest scientific production in the whole of Spain. This study analysed the research production of Spanish universities from the beginning of the process of convergence towards the European Higher Education Area. According to the report, the UB published more documents (10,596) than any other university in Spain.

The standardised productivity index (Iprod), which assesses the internationally visible scientific production of each centre in relation to its number of full time lecturers, shows that the leading institutions in Spain are the UNAV (1.00), the UAB (0.94) and the UB (0.92). The original source of data used to draw up the bibliometric indicators for the report were the Web of Science, and the databases the Science Citation Index Expandex (SCIE), the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI)

Students from the most prestigious US universities study in Barcelona Degree students from the universities of Brown, Chicago and Northwestern, in association with the universities of Cornell, Harvard and Princeton, can study for a semester or up to a year in the Group of Universities of Barcelona (BG). This group includes the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Pompeu Fabra University.

As a result of this international mobility program, around forty US students are attending classes in these three Catalan universities, after having taken an introductory course in Cata-

lan language and culture. This initiative was made possible by an agreement between the BG and the Consortium of Advanced Studies of Barcelona (CASB).

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science notes

Malaria: a vaccine is close at hand The efficacy and tolerance of the malaria vaccine, manufactured

by GlaxoSmithKline (RST, S/ ASO2D), has been tested for the first time in a study involving African newborns. The vaccine was shown to be safe and well-tolerated. It reduced the number of new malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) infections by 65%. It also reduced the number of cases of clinical malaria by 35%, according to a paper published in The Lancet in October 2007.

“For the first time, we have shown that the vaccine can reduce the risk of malaria infection in African newborns exposed to intense transmission of Plasmodium falciparum”, explained Pedro Alonso, professor of the University of Barcelona’s Department of Public Health and director of the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, whose team comprises the UB’s Centre for International Health and the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, among others. “These unprecedented results strengthen the vision that the vaccine could contribute to reducing the intolerable burden of

malaria and the number of deaths it causes”, stated Pedro Alonso, the lead researcher and senior author of the paper.

The efficacy of RST, S in the newborn trial is consistent with that found in a study involving Mozambican children aged from 1 to 4, in which new infections were reduced by 45 % (data from 2004), and clinical complications by 58 % (data from 2005). The main aim of the research was to assess whether RTS, S could safely be administered to newborns, who are most vulnerable to severe complications and death from malaria. This phase II study, involving 214 newborns aged between 10 and 18 weeks, was carried out at the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM) of Mozambique by scientists from the UB, the Hospital Clínic, and the Mozambique Ministry of Health.

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which has led technological and financial contributions to the clinical development of RTS, S, funded this study by means of a donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. RTS, S was

Hospital Clinic of Barcelona In 1906, just over a century ago, the formal opening was celebrated for the building that now houses the UB’s Faculty of Medicine, an institution dating back to 1760. A year later, in 1907, the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona opened its doors in a neighbouring building. One of the foremost scientific and healthcare institutions in the country, the Hospital Clinic has created a centre in Barcelona that is dedicated to biomedicine, research and treatment. Currently, the August Pi i Sunyer Campus for Clinical Medicine is also home to the August Pi i Sunyer Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBAPS), which is a leading centre in biomedical research formed by the UB, the Hospital Clinic, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the CSIC.

invented and initially developed by scientists from the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 1987. If the results continue to be promising, a phase III study will be carried out in the second half of 2008. A successful phase III trial could lead to the vaccine being presented to the relevant authorities in 2011. In February 2008, the Manhiça Foundation was launched. It was jointly constituted by the state of Mozambique, the kindom of Spain, the Mozambique National

Health Institute, the Clinic Foundation for Biomedical Research (Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic) and former Mozambican prime minister Pascoal Mocumbi.

At the end of 2007, the African Institute of Catalonia (ICA) was presented in a ceremony at the UB. Pedro Alonso is a member of this Institute’s Honorary Committee. The aim of the ICA is to boost teaching and education related activities in Africa, by means of collaboration between European and African universities.

Photographs taken in Mozambique on the occasion of the constitution of the Manhiça Foundation.

Left: Pedro Alonso.

Right: Marius Rubiralta (first on the right).

Bill Gates’ acknowledgement “Never in the history of malaria have so many scientific approaches been used to research new vaccines,” said Bill Gates during an international forum on malaria in Seattle (USA) in October 2007. During this forum, The Lan-

cet published the results of the study led by Pedro Alonso. In reference to the study, Gates stated: «Me­­linda and I wish to acknowledge the different groups who have worked jointly on this study: the government

and people of Mozambique, the Hospital Clínic and the University of Barcelona, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.”

science notes

New Data on the Evolution of Alzheimer’s Disease

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) taken of the brain of a 56-year-old Alzheimer’s patient, showing global atrophy in the temporal and frontal lobes.

Photograph courtesy of University Hospital, Bellvitge.

Dementia Diagnosis and Treatment Unit.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the loss of knowledge of the objects and living beings in our surroundings does not occur uniformly. There is a difference between the conceptual categories of living beings and inanimate objects, and the category of living beings appears to be better able to withstand the brain damage caused by the disease. That is the finding of a study that has been published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Neuropsychologia.

Researchers on the team carry-

ing out the joint study are Albert Costa, Mireia Hernández and Núria Sebastián of the Research Group in Cognitive Neuroscience (GRNC), which is attached to the UB’s Department of Basic Psychology and the PCB, and Montserrat Juncadella and Ramón Reñé, who both work at the Dementia Diagnosis and Treatment Unit at University Hospital in Bellvitge.

To date, controversy has existed in the scientific community over whether the memory loss suffered by Alzheimer’s patients exihibits different patterns for the conceptual categories of living beings and inanimate objects.

The main aim of the new study was to check for category-specific conceptual deficits in the memory of Alzheimer’s patients, looking at their capacity to recall the meaning of words belonging to different semantic categories, such as tools, means of transport, and animate living objects.

University Hospitals, Bellvitge and Sant Joan de Déu University Hospital in Bellvitge is located on the UB’s Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus, along with the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), which integrates research carried out

by University Hospital, Bellvitge, the University of Barcelona, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Institute for Diagnostic Imaging and the Transfusion Centre and Tissue Bank. Also found on the campus are the Faculty of Dentistry, the University School of Nursing and a part of the Faculty of Medicine. The centre is

One of the findings is that in patients who have already suffered a considerable loss of semantic information, that loss occurs mainly in concepts relating to objects.

capable of delivering first-degree courses in medicine, dentistry and psychology and diploma courses in nursing and podiatry.

In addition to the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and the Bellvitge hospital, the third major university hospital that is part of the UB is the Hospital of Sant Joan de Déu, a centre specialising in pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics. At present, all of the courses taught in pediatrics offered by the Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry are held there.

Their recollection of living beings, however, persists. The information could be valuable in designing new memory stimulation programs for Alzheimer’s patients.

The Laws of Language Understanding how language is learnt or transmitted has been and remains an object of study for a wide array of disciplines, ranging from neuroscience to sociology. Now, recently published papers by UB teams have contributed new keys to the understanding of these processes.

Appearing in the journal Science in 2007, one of the papers found that newborn babies are capable of distinguishing between two languages simply by watching the facial gestures of the people who are speaking them. The skill persists over time, however, only in children raised in bilingual settings, dem-

onstrating that bilingualism promotes the retention of some innate perceptual abilities. The study was carried out by Núria Sebastián Gallés, Salvador Soto-Faraco and Jordi Navarra at the UB’s Research Group in Cognitive Neuroscience (GRNC), attached to the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), and also drew on the collaboration of researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Another study, written up last year in the journal PLoS ONE, measured modulations in the brain’s electrical activity when a new language is being learnt. The paper concluded that the brain memorises words

rapidly and forms distinct rules based on what words have in common. The team conducting the study was made up of Ruth de Diego Balaguer, ICREA Junior researcher with the UB’s Department of Basic Psychology and INSERM U841 at the University of Paris XII; Antoni Rodríguez Fornells, ICREA researcher also with the UB’s Department of Basic Psychology; Juan Manuel Toro of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Italy; and Anne-Catherine Bachoud-Lévi with the Henri Mondor Hospital in Créteil, France.

In the field of sociolinguistics, Professor Emili Boix-Fuster in the

UB’s Faculty of Philology has led a team working on a project entitled Language Transmission in Bilingual Families in Barcelona: Using Catalan or Spanish with the Children? In the study, the team analysed which language was used when seventy linguis­ tically mixed (Catalan-Spanish) couples who generally spoke to each other in spanish addressed their children. The study concluded that the couples predominantly spoke Spanish to each other, because they had nearly always come to know each other using Spanish. However, it also found that the partners used their own particular first language when speaking to their children.

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science notes

New Image of Nebuchadnezzar Unearthed in Lebanon Rocío Da Riva, a researcher in the Department of Prehistory, Ancient History and Archaeology, unearthed a bas-relief depicting the ruler’s image in September 2007 in a site called Shir as-Sanam in northern Lebanon. The discovery was part of a project jointly undertaken by the UB’s Research Group in Protohistorical Archaeology and Lebanon’s National Board of Antiquities. Found at 1600 metres altitude, the bas-re-

lief features the etched profile of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), builder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. To one side of the image, there are some inscriptions in cuneiform, the literary Babylonian language of the first millennium. The inscriptions praise Nebuchadnezzar as builder of Babylon, bringer of peace to his country, and defender of its inhabitants against Egypt, Babylonia’s arch enemy.

Bas-relief at the archaeological site of Wadi as-Saba.

First Hominids in Tanzania

UB on the Silk Route

Olduvai has been a key archaeological site since the fossils of Australopithecus boise were uncovered there in 1959. Since 2000, Rosa M Albert, director of the UB’s Group on Emerging Research in Paleoecology and Geoarchaeology (GEPEG) and research professor with the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, has headed up research efforts to reconstruct the area’s vegetation and landscape. Her project is part of the Olduvai Landscape Paleoanthropology Project (OLAPP) and participating researchers come from a variety of countries and disciplines. Their aim is to recreate the area’s vegetation and

Ramon Llull, great Catalan philosopher and writer of the Middle Ages, authored his first book The Hundred Names of God in the thirteenth century, inspired—perhaps unwittingly—by the works of the Sufi mystic Hakim Tirmidi, who lived in the Central Asian city of Termez and predated Llull by four hundred years. This is one of the findings of a team of UB archaeologists digging in Termez, a key geopolitical, commercial and religious enclave on the Silk Route, now located in Uzbekistan near the Afghanistan border. The team, which is led

by Professor Josep M Gurt and researcher Sebastian Stride,

landscape and to determine the use made of its plant resources by two species of hominids that coexisted there two million years ago: Australopithecus boisei and Homo habilis. To do so, the researchers are utilising actualistic studies of landscape. That is, they are analysing modern landscapes that are analogous to the landscapes believed to have existed at Olduvai during the period under study, then testing them against the archaeological evidence. In 2008, the paleobotany team plans to carry out two further campaigns: one in April, during the rainy season, and the second in summer, during the dry season.

has already completed two archaeological campaigns in the city as part of the Excava program sponsored by the Generalitat of Catalonia. The project is also being undertaken with the collaboration of the Uzbekistan Institute of Archaeology. With the help of georadar, the first dig unear thed the Greek levels of the city, the urban systems were checked and numerous ceramic shards were recovered. On the second dig, a new Buddhist monastery was unearthed. An inscription, now being translated, was also found.

Written in Bactrian Greek, all indications are that it dates from the second century AD.

Exploring the Ancient Kingdoms of Western Tibet The UB’s Observatory on Tibet and Central Asia (OTAC), headquartered at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), has been on the trail of the ancient Central Asian kingdom of Zhang Zhung, located in the westernmost regions of present-day Tibet until the closing years of the seventh century.

The research has, in part, focused on the ruins at two sites where the lost city of Kyunglung Ngulkar, Zhang Zhung’s capital, is thought to have stood.

It has also investigated the ancient fortresses, monasteries and caves where you can still hear the meditating of elderly lamas who are attributed with supernatural powers. As borne out by researcher and OTAC director Josep Lluís Alay, western Tibet today, currently under Chinese rule, is a remote region, access to it is restricted, and it remains practically unexplored beyond Mt Kailash near the border with India and Nepal.

Cave of meditation at the monastery of Guru Gyam.

science notes

UB involvement in major international projects The reality of climate change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In its last report, the IPCC concluded that global warming is an “unequivocal” fact that can be attributed—with a high degree of certainty—to human activity. The 1,200 authors of the report are experts nominated by governments and international organizations, or researchers selected for their prestige in their specialisation.

One of these researchers is Xavier Rodó, director of the Climate Research Laboratory of the PCB. He has focused on studying the impact of climate change on the incidence of infectious diseases transmitted by food and water. In addition to the authors, hundreds of experts

from around the world participated in the process of revising the texts. These experts include the UB researchers Javier Martín Vide, from the Faculty of Geography and History’s Department of Physical Geography and Regional Geographic Analysis, and M. del Carmen Llasat and Ileana Bladé from the of the Faculty of Physics’ Department of Astronomy and Meteorology.

The genetic key to AIDS A study published in Science in August 2007 provides new data on the mechanism by which the AIDS virus (HIV) remains naturally at almost undetectable levels in some individuals, whilst progressing rapidly in others. This paper is the result of international collaboration between European, Australian and US researchers,

and is based on a large-scale study of genetic differences between HIV-infected patients. One of the researchers involved in the study was Josep M. Miró from the Department of Medicine, consultant for the Infectious Diseases and AIDS Service of the Hospital Clínic de BarcelonaIDIBAPS. In the study, 550,000 variations of the complete human genome were analysed in 486 patients. Variations were defined as differences in peoples’ genomes that only affect one nucleotide or base. Knowing which nucleotide or base is affected is essential for determining the disease progression.

Decoding the human genome In the year that the human genome sequence was announced, a new project was launched

called the Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE). The aim of ENCODE is to identify all of the elements in the genome that have a biological function. Initial data from this research, published in summer 2007 in Nature and in Genome Research, is based on a four-year study focused on 44 regions that represent 1 % of the human genome sequence that has a biological function. Among others, the researcher Josep F. Abril from the UB’s Department of Genetics was involved in this study.

Results reveal that the human genome has very few sequences that are not used and that its structure resembles a complex network. The genes within this network represent just one of the many types of DNA sequences that have a functional impact.

Excess of Sugar in Nerve Cells Identified as Possible Cause of Lafora Body Disease A study has uncovered that excess glucose chains (glycogen) trigger nerve cell death and cause Lafora body disease, a fatal type of epilepsy afflicting adolescents. Unknown until now, the mechanism at work could offer the key to understanding other neurodegenerative diseases. This is the conclusion drawn by the research team headed by Joan J. Guinovart, director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and professor at the University of Barcelona (UB), and Santiago Rodríguez de Córdoba, research professor with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Joining them on the team was Eduardo Soriano, UB professor and researcher at IRB Barcelona.

Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the study investigated Lafora body disease, a rare malady that causes irreversible neurodegeneration in adolescents. Transmission is hereditary and linked to the laforin and malin genes, which were examined by the team. The disease is characterised by the accumulation of abnormal inclusions called Lafora bodies in nerve cells. How these bodies arise is described in the findings, as is how the neurodegenerative process of the disease begins.

Confocal microscopy image showing the accumulation of glycogen (yellow and red) in nerve cells, which causes these to deteriorate and activates the cell death mechanism.

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the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Barcelona beh Roman aspects of the Eixample

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Travelling is an art Art at tram stops aims to produce a moment of surprise and reflection for passengers

Unwittingly, Ildefons CerdĂ drew his grid over axes that had been used by Roman surveyors nineteen centuries earlier

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2 The green city Barcelona is one of the European cities that has the most trees in its streets

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

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ehind the seen Tropical Collserola

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Exotic plants compete with native species in this mountain range

Witnesses to a distant past A wall of rock exposed during urban development work shows changes in Barce­lo­ na’s subsoil during the Palaeozoic Era, 500 million years ago

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Text:

Jordi Homs Bibiana Bonmatí Photographs:

Marta Casellas

The state of the Gothic Quarter University research reveals the state of the churches Santa Maria del Mar and Santa Maria del Pi

The strong links between the UB and the city of Barcelona are not just based on over 555 years of shared history, the fact that the UB is an integral part of the city’s urban fabric, or that the University bears the city’s name. For the University and its researchers, Barcelona is also an object of research. Thus, this article approaches the city from an almost unprecedented perspective: Barcelona as an object of research and investigation. Six UB researchers, from fields as diverse as archaeology and plant biology, have made different aspects of the city the target of their scientific analyses—thus confirming that research and innovation are imprinted on the city’s genetic code. This article has many different focuses. It describes aspects of the city that are usually hidden, marginalised, and little known by most of Barcelona’s inhabitants. Perhaps, by looking outside the field of view, we have grasped something of the city’s true essence.

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Foto: J. C. Guix

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Species of non-native plants dispersed by birds in the Collserola mountain range.

Photo: M. Martín

Above: Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). Family: Arecaceae.

Origin: Asia (India, China, Japan) Left: Glossy Privet (Ligustrum lucidum), Oleaceae Family, native to China and Japan

Tropical Collserola Man has had an impact on the landscape since first appearing on the Earth. This has always been and is likely to continue to be the case, for good or for bad, regardless of whether or not such effects are intended. One littleknown example of man’s impact can be found very close to Barcelona, in the Collserola mountain range. This example was analysed in research carried out in 2000 by Joan Carles Guix and Xavier Ruiz.

Both of these researchers are from the Faculty of Biology’s Department of Animal Biology. The study was undertaken jointly and simultaneously in Barcelona and Lisbon, with both groups reaching the same conclusions.

The municipal institute Parcs i Jardins de Barcelona frequently plants exotic species in the city, many of which come from tropical countries. Such species are more adaptable, resistant and attractive than native species. Palm trees, Asian laurel and Boswellia from Australia are particularly popular choices.

Problems arise when birds nesting in natural environments close to urban areas feed on the fruits of these non-native species.

Birds have fewer predators in the city, and are thus free to feed without pressure. When they return to their nests and regurgitate or defecate the fruits’ seeds, they become unwitting export-

ers of the exotic plant species.

From then on, such species begin to invade the native natural environment. In the words of Xavier Ruiz: “this leads to ‘banalization’ of the natural environment, as these foreign species are often highly invasive.”

Exotic and native plants compete with each other, not only for their potential means of dispersing seeds (the birds), but also for space, water, light and nutrients.

This competition leads to changes in the local fauna and the appearance of new parasites.

Therefore, Ruiz concludes that “it is essential to manage native forests by eliminating or controlling exotic plant populations,

and to convince those in charge of Parcs i Jardins to plant native species, such as laurel, holm oak, olive, oak and box, etc.” In addition, Xavier Ruiz states categorically that we are “heading towards an ecological change.”

“Birds that nest in natural environments close to urban areas become unwitting exporters of exotic plant species”

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Platanus hispanica. Commonly known as the London Plane, this tree can be found in the city’s main streets, such as the Ramblas.

Ginkgo biloba. A living fossil with fan-shaped leaves, this tree can be found in Via Augusta, between the streets Bosch and La Granada del Penedès.

Chorisia speciosa. A notable characteristic of this tree is its bottle-shaped trunk. It can be found in the Avinguda del Paral·lel, between the streets of Santa Madrona and Nou de la Rambla.

The green city There are over 150,000 trees in the streets of Barcelona, which makes it one of Europe’s most tree lined cities. In a hypothetical ranking of different neighbourhoods, Sant Martí has the most trees in its streets: 20.4% of all trees in the city. The species that is most frequently found in Barcelona is the Pla­tanus hispanica, commonly known as the London Plane. This species adapts well to the climate and is highly resistant to pollution and knocks, which is why there are over 50,000 specimens in Barcelona.

To discover this green city, a book titled Els arbres dels carrers de Barcelona (Edicions UB, 2007) has been published.

It includes illustrations of 81 of the most common species in the streets of Barcelona (out of a total of 120). One of these is the Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta), which has orange flowers in May and June and can be found in Carrer les Corts, between Eugeni d’Ors and Taquígraf Martí. Another unusual tree is the Chorisia speciosa, which is from South America and is notable for its curious trunk in the form of a bottle covered in spines. It is also known as the Floss-Silk Tree, due to the down that covers its seeds when they are released. Another unusual species is Gingko biloba, which botanists define as a living fos-

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sil, as it is the only survivor of a family that existed over 200 million years ago.

The book Els arbres dels carrers de Barcelona contains high quality, actual size photographs, with great depth of field.

In addition, aspects of the trees that are usually found in different seasons are brought together in single images. For example, in nature, the flowers of the Black Poplar (Populus nigra) appear before its leaves. There are around 5,000 Black Poplars in Barcelona. Some of these can be found in carrer Bilbao between Ramon Turró and Llull.

The book is by Jaume Llistosella, lecturer in the UB’s

Department of Plant Biology, and Antoni Sànchez-Cuxart, curator of the Herbarium at the UB’s Centre of Documentation of Plant Biodiversity. It is based on the book L’herbari: arbres, arbusts i lianes (Edicions UB, 2004) by the same authors. A herbarium is formed by collecting samples of species for preservation and study.

It is a classic system. However, the disadvantages are that the samples deteriorate with time and copies cannot be made. The techniques used in these publications reinvent this basic botanical tool and make it available to the general public.

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the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Travelling is an art The idea of travel is often associated with long journeys in distant countries. Of all the forms of transport, the train has always exerted a powerful attraction.

Since the invention of the railway, travelling whilst watching the landscape pass by outside the window has captivated the imagination of millions of travellers. Catching the Orient Express or the Trans-Siberian railway is not the same as getting on the Trambesòs. However, the idea of the public art group En Plural—comprising the Fine Art lecturers Albert Valera and Lluís Doñate and a lecturer from the Escola del Treball, Maria Josep Forca­dell—was similarly ambitious: “the creation of a different moment,” in the words of Valera, “to provoke daily reflection”. This

The platform of the Besós station.

group has redesigned the tram stops Espronceda, Sant Martí de Provençals and Besòs on the covered Gran Via stretch of the Trambesòs line. The general title given to this work is En Linea (In Line). The artists used texts, designs, typography, drawings and furniture in their pieces, to attain a common objective in each space. According to Valera, the group’s aim is “to surprise passengers, and to give them an opportunity to reflect.” In each station there is a short phrase, an invitation to reflection, written on a sign that is linked to the architecture. The colours of the images and the large format typography are also features of the three renovated stations.

The text at Espronceda states: “That which is imaginary

“We wish to surprise passengers and give them an opportunity to reflect”

is real”. This is written in large letters across the station wall. In order to link an image to this idea, the group has made use of the visual impact of the light that enters the station through an oval opening in the roof, by marking on the floor the winter and summer solstices. Valera considers that this represents a way of entering into the “mysterious and magic world of cosmic

activity and the effect that this has always had on the human imagination.”

Continuing along the route, the phrase chosen for the Sant Martí stop was the paradox “Chan­ ge is permanent”. This is illustrated by images related to the development of the tram line.

At the Besòs stop, full-scale silhouettes of people identify a new paradox, with the phrase “Silence talks”.

The En Plural group has wide experience in creating art in public spaces. In 2005, they undertook a similar project for the Trambaix stop at Cornellà Centre. Since 1999, they have been designing a major park at Parets del Vallès. They are also drawing up a project related to the river Besòs.

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

25

The state of the Gothic Quarter Visitors to Santa Maria del Mar are unaware of the crack in the roof, which runs right across the left nave. At some points the gap is seven centimetres wide. In Santa Maria del Pi, faults have been found in the roof and in the vault.

Barcelona has an important southern-style Gothic heritage, which should be preserved.

Thus, studies have been carried out to determine the state of the monuments and to diagnose what actions need to be taken in the future.

The group Patrimoni UB (UB Heritage), led by Màrius Vendrell, lecturer in the UB Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Mineral Deposits, is coordinating a project on Santa Maria del Mar and Santa Maria del Pi. The fissures that can be seen in Santa

Maria del Mar may have arisen during the church’s construction. At the end of 1379, on St. Stephen’s day, a fire burnt the vault-bearing pieces and the scaffolding of this church. As Vendrell indicates, this may have caused one of the vaults to move, leaving its mark in the form of a crack. Nevertheless, to date the results of the project are reassuring. There are more structural problems at Santa Maria del Pi than at Santa Maria del Mar. However, faults in the former church are less evident. One curious feature of Santa Maria del Pi is related to its facade. If the church is observed from carrer Cardenal Casañas—situated on the right when looking at the main entrance—it can be seen that the facade leans slightly out-

A crack running right across the left nave of Santa Maria del Mar was one of the reasons for beginning a study on the state of the church.

wards. However, there is no risk of the wall falling.

Apart from some specific areas, it appears that the two buildings are in relatively good condition considering their age (both were built in the fourteenth century). One of the secrets of their conservation lies in the stone used in their construction.

This came from the old Montjuïc quarry that, as Vendrell states, has saved much of the Gothic Quarter and many modernist buildings, as it is highly resistant to the elements.

The group Patrimoni UB uses the latest technology to assess the condition of some of the Gothic jewels. The aim is to make a complete structural study of the buildings and discover the process used to construct them.

Thus, the current state of these monuments can be discovered, and a diagnosis made to determine which conservation activities are required in the future.

Professionals from different fields are participating in this project, including engineers (UPC), historians (Veclus, S.L.), electronics technicians (Elicsa) and geotechnologists (Batlle i Mascareñas Geoprojectes).

Looking at Santa Maria del Pi from carrer Cardenal Casañas, it can be seen that the facade leans slightly outwards. However, there is no danger of the wall falling.

26

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

Right: is a reconstruction of some of the axes of the Roman cadastre. Some of these coincide with current roads and streets, such as the Travessera de Gràcia and the Travessera de les Corts (1), Torrent de l’Olla (2) and Major de Sarrià (3).

Below: aerial view of the Eixample as it appears today.

3 2 1

Roman aspects of the Eixample Ildefons Cerdà, a rational genius, did not know that his Eixample design had a classical precedent: Rome. Indeed, Cerdà was to unwittingly draw his well-known grid over the axes of rural plots that had been created by the efficient Roman surveyors nineteen centuries earlier. Streets such as the current Torrent de l’Olla, the Passeig de Gràcia, the Carrer Major de Sarrià or the Gran Via were constructed, many years later, on the original demarcation lines of the Roman cadastre. The recently-discovered survival of this cadastre was studied by the archaeologist Josep M. Palet in his thesis Estudi territorial del Pla de Barcelona (Regional study of the plan of Barcelona), supervised by the lecturer Josep M. Gurt.

According to this research, Barcino was founded just after Augustus had ended his campaign against the Cantabrians (19 AC). Barcino’s founders were probably the same legions that had established Cesaraugusta (Zaragoza): the legion III Macedonica, the legion VI Victrix and the legion X Gemina, who also built the well-known Pont del Diable (Devil’s Bridge) at Martorell.

This bridge was a key point in the road network (the Via Augusta) that began in Rome, joined Barcina and Cesaraugusta, and linked the entire region.

Gurt supports this theory with evidence of similarities in the planning of Barcino and Cesaraugusta. He considers that both cities were constructed by

the same Roman army engineers and surveyors. “The modulations in the plans are the same,” he states, “and reflect a clearly imperial men­tality: to organise the whole region, planning both city and countryside, devoting entire hectares to agricultural production.”

The Roman division of land in Barcelona was carried out in accordance with the topography of the terrain. Before beginning his plans for the Eixample, Cerdà, like any good engineer, also carried out an exhaustive topography. This reflected surviving aspects of the Roman era (unwittingly, as it is stressed that Cerdà never knew about the cadastre; if he had he may have altered his plans to accommo-

date this fact). Gurt describes fossilised elements of the Roman cadastre that were still in use in the mid 19th century.

In addition, the size of the blocks of houses in Cerdà’s plans is very similar to the Roman agrarian unit, the Iugerium.

This unit is a rectangle made up of 1 x 2 actus, i.e., the area that one man with one ox could work in a day. This is currently equivalent to 70 x 35.5 m.

Although it is still not known who the first inhabitants of Roman Barcino were, Gurt suggests that they were probably similar to those of its twin city Cesaraugusta, i.e. colonists and veterans of the legions. However, no evidence has been found to support this hypothesis to date.

the report: Barcelona behind the seen

27

Left: an exposed rock wall in carrer Farigola.

Right: information panel describing the talus slope on the avenue República Argentina.

Witness to a distant past A team from the Faculty of Geology’s Department of Geodynamics and Geophysics, coordinated by the lecturer Francesc Sàbat, were contracted to carry out a geological study of the hills of Barcelona. This contract was awarded by the company in charge of constructing line 12 of the metro system. The team was able to draw up a complete map, due to the large amount of data collected in over 50 years from numerous outcrops (the fruit of previous engineering studies, construction projects etc.).

In this context, in spring 2006, a rock wall was exposed in the Avinguda de la República Argentina (downhill from Vallcarca, on the right hand side), as a result of some urban devel-

opment work. This outcrop was studied by Sàbat’s team. The results of their research were subsequently disseminated by means of educational platforms.

The City Council collaborated in the dissemination activities.

Although there are other exposed rock walls in the city, none of them have the same characteristics as this one. It is 10 metres wide and four metres high and shows changes in Barcelona’s subsoil during the Palaeozoic Era, i.e. the period between 500 and 300 million years ago.

Old substrata can be seen in the outcrop that are characteristic of the higher parts of the city, such as the hill Putxet or the Collserola mountain range. In addition, Palaeozoic rocks can be found:

ochre, Devonian limestone to the west, i.e. to the right of the wall (400 million years old); next to dark, Silurian slate on the left (440 million years old).

These materials are separated by a fault, in which deformed red and greyish materials can be found. There are also some samples of young rocks from the tertiary period (25 million years ago). The plain of Barcelona was formed in this period.

The rock wall will be enclosed in a green area that is part of a Municipal Housing Plan improvement, involving the construction of 42 dwellings.

The aim of Sàbat’s team is twofold: to ensure that this geological heritage is preserved by the local government; and to dis-

seminate information about this site to the people of Bar­celona.

The team considers that geological outcrops should be incorporated into the urban landscape and their importance explained.

“Exposed rock walls have revealed the changes in the city’s subsoil”

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the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

Beijing 2008: China

Official emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Photo: AP Photo / Ng Han Guan. Guan.

Text:

Núria Quintana Photographs:

Marta Casellas

The UB counts on over 4,000 researchers working across a wide range of disciplines.

Frequently, they provide analysis in the media, bringing context and insight to the news of the day. This year, the celebration of the Olympic Games in Beijing (on 8/8/2008) is set to put China squarely in the limelight. In the pages that follow, we offer you an exchange of impressions held together by three researchers who have studied Chinese society from differing perspectives. Together, they bring us closer to the contrasts and paradoxes that come into play over more than 9,300 sq km, in the most populated country on the planet.

Manel Ollé

The Olympic Games Manel Ollé (MO): The Beijing Games this year will primarily be aimed at boosting China’s international image, putting a modern country on show that is capable of hosting a major international event. The impact on the capital itself, however, is negligible if we bear in mind how vast the city is. An outlying area has been developed, but the city has not been affected much.

Tomàs Moltó (TM): The effect that hosting the Games has had on Beijing bears no comparison to what happened in Barcelona because the Chinese infrastructure projects are hugely ambitious and have been a long time coming.

MO: I agree that the Games will be significant from the point of view of China’s image as a nation. In this sense, the international media will be digging around and bringing up subjects that the government doesn’t want to hear about. In the run-up to the Games, no organized internal dissidence has appeared, but some movements have already used the media to voice strongly worded criticisms.

Cesáreo Rodríguez Aguilera (CRA): Given today’s media, mobile phones with built-in cameras, and the Internet, it will be incredibly hard for the regime to exercise total control. Obviously, however, they can clamp

Tomàs Moltó Manel Ollé is a researcher and lecturer at the Jaume Vicens i Vives University Institute of History at Pompeu Fabra University (PFU). He is a professor in the Master’s programs in Asia and Pacific Studies and in History of Religion at the University of Barcelona.

Tomàs Moltó holds a chair in the Department of Economics and Public Finance at the University of Barcelona.

In recent years, he has devoted himself to studying and sharing knowledge on China’s development.

the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

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Comes into Play down pretty heavily and, in principle, I think there will be very few incidents. Trouble can’t be completely ruled out but, to be frank, I think it will be quite unlikely. The image that the regime wants to portray is one of stability, progress and social cohesion, offering up the Games as a big shop window to show what has already been achieved and what is yet to be done.

The Success of Economic Growth

grounds to support the view that China has the resources it needs to sort out its problems, at least potentially.

CRA: Talking about health care, one thing that truly astounds me is that, in the Mao era, free minimal health care was available, but now you have to pay for it, even in poor areas. For poor families, this is a disaster or it’s almost out of reach. For a country that calls itself socialist in theory, it’s the most anti-socialist thing in the world. When exactly did the problem start?

TM: The entire Chinese growth model is

MO: At the time of Deng Xiaoping’s

based on external demand—on exports and on what we call globalisation. Now the model appears to be running out of steam a bit. There are resource problems as well: the aquifers are completely drained and the rivers are very polluted. What is different now is that they are aware of all this. In fact, one of the marks of Hu Jintao’s leadership is just this awareness. The alternative is to refocus the model more towards internal demand and that isn’t easy to do. It means creating consumer purchasing power and a number of conditions that don’t exist at the moment. For the most part, the outside world sees the positive face of growth—the Europeanisation of the coast. But in the interior, “African” conditions still persist. Health care is highly precarious and so is education.

The state has rolled back many of these services. I do think, though, that there are

reforms, in the eighties.

TM: Before then, health care workers in the countryside knew how to immunise and how to refer people to hospital and that translated into excellent healthcare figures.

CRA: And it was free.

TM: It was free because, for instance, those “barefoot doctors” were paid in terms of points of work done, in the context of production teams, and commune hospitals were financed collectively. In the cities, each production unit or business created or had access to a set of institutions that were part of the welfare state. That is what has been the focus of privatisation. One of the biggest mistakes made by China is copying the US system, based on user payment. Interestingly, in

Taiwan, that isn’t the case. About fifteen years ago, they set up a system along the European model and it is working perfectly.

The Chinese system, however, has created severe distortions. One anecdote: the Chinese government gave out free medication against AIDS and the hospitals were responsible for administering it. Do you know what some of the hospitals have done? While the medicine is free, tests have to be done first.

CRA: So the tests had to be paid for.

TM: Exactly. And there are more and more stories like that. In China, health care will have to be overhauled completely. The US system has serious problems at home despite being a highly affluent country. In China, though, it has been a disaster.

MO: One of the unsustainable factors of the current growth model, apart from the resources issue, is the social tension caused by a gradually polarising society, and this is something that the leaders are aware of.

That’s why in their plans they have begun to speak of social harmony, although so far it’s more rhetoric than reality. Overall, more than half of the population has lost social privileges like health care and education. At the same time, there is the emergence of all sorts of new taxes. As a result, local, isolated conflicts have begun to flare up. The tight control on information keeps any of them from picking up momentum, but they are still

Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera Cesáreo Rodríguez-Aguilera de Prat holds a chair in Political Science at the University of Barcelona. His major published works include: Gramsci y la vía nacional al socialismo, Madrid: Akal, 1984; La crisis del Estado socia­lista.

China y la Unión Soviética durante los años ochenta, Barcelona: PPU, 1994.

Poster displaying the symbol of the Communist Party of China.

Photo: AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko.

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the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

The UB in China The Chinese government is putting a very high priority on the development of higher learning, investing heavily in it. That is the context in which the University of Barcelona went to Beijing last October to take part in the European Higher Education Fair BeijingChina (EHEF) 2007 and later participated in the Second Spain-China Forum of University Rectors in Shanghai. Higher education in China is available through nearly 4,500 public and private institutions and access to the roughly 2,000 public universities is highly competitive. In 2005, the number of students enrolled in public universities and colleges totalled 15,617,000. Five million of them were enrolling for the first time, while 364,831 were enrolled in postgraduate studies. Of the post-graduate students, 54,794 were pursuing a doctorate and the remainder was studying for Master’s degrees. In 2006, the number of Chinese students studying abroad was up 12% on the previous year, reaching 134,000. In fact, the Chinese government is adopting strong

a matter of real concern to the elite. They add an element of uncertainty.

Is a Political Opening in the Cards?

CRA: Since 1978, China has followed a two-pronged process of reform: economic reform and international opening. That has been untouchable and will remain so.

As a result, reform has given rise to a hybrid system. The system is a classical socialist one, without any real spaces for pluralism. In the socio-economic sphere, by contrast, the opening has been spectacular and the old state-run economy has been turned upside down. My intuition says that in the medium- to long-term, the Chinese Communist Party may well become something akin to how the PRI used to be in Mexico. In other words, a party that is big-tent and ideology-lite, national, patriotic and popular. A party that can tolerate a loyal opposition. That should be fairly straightforward for the regime, since on paper they already have the eight so-

measures to promote a more international approach to higher learning. Currently, roughly 100,000 Chinese students are taking up studies abroad each year and 75,000 of them are choosing European universities. More than 200 universities from the 27 members of the European Union (including 17 from Spain) took part in the EHEF 2007 meeting, which was organised by the European Commission to promote European educational systems in China. The UB hosted its first stand at the fair, which was part of the wider China Education Expo 2007, organised annually by the Chinese Ministry of Education and the China Educa-

tion Association for International Exchange (CEAIE). Topics debated at the Second Spain-China Forum of University Rectors held at Shanghai’s University of International Studies focused on higher learning in China and Spain, on the impact of mutual recognition of degrees, and on policies to attract foreign students to the two countries. In parallel with these events, the University of Barcelona conducted visits and meetings with some of the most prestigious universities in China with the aim of seeing whether cooperation would be possible, principally in the areas of student exchange, postgraduate study and research.

called patriotic parties. If the regime wished, it could give these “micro-parties” a little room for manoeuvre. Farther in the future, it could even prepare the way for greater democracy. Hu Jintao has already dropped hints along those lines, and then there is the experience of Hong Kong. Any peaceful rapprochement with Taiwan will necessarily require changes to be made to the rigid structures of the political system.

I think the regime will undergo political change but farther in the future.

legality. In my view, that would be a prerequisite for any movement forward.

MO: Actually, in the most recent Congress, two tendencies, two factions in the party, were talked about. One is populist, or social democratic, and the other is elitist, or neoliberal. The succession process wasn’t left clearcut. It wasn’t completely resolved. It appears the Jiang Zemin, who represented the Shanghai Gang and its support for a model putting growth first, didn’t lose out entirely. The result was a typically Chinese balancing of forces.

As for an outlook on the future, it seems that talk of reform in recent decades has always sought to give institutions a political character and, in particular, to create a system based on

TM: The Chinese are keenly aware of what is going on around them and I think that this has changed their outlook. One of the turning points is what happened to Russia and one of the things they are clear about is that the union between state and party in Russia stymied its ability to develop effectively. What the Chinese are doing now is moving towards separation of party and state, splitting political activity from management. For example, public companies now fall under a specific organisation that manages them and that is accountable to the State Council, but they don’t report directly to the State Council any longer.

CRA: The legality that Manel Ollé mentioned is fundamental. Without it, foreign investors will lack trust and corruption is another key issue. Corruption and the lack of legality are two potentially devastating factors for the development of China.

MO: From my standpoint, corruption is an issue that could stir up strong social tension.

the debate: Beijing 2008: China Comes into Play

31

Tomàs Moltó:

Photo: Associated Press.

“China has the largest dollar reserves in the world–over one and a half trillion dollars”

A Chinese worker counts US dollars and Chinese yuans in a Shanghai bank.

It’s the one thing that most discredits the government.

China on the World Stage CRA: China as a state is completely open to the rest of the world. The absolute closure that occurred in the Mao era has been totally lifted. The social opening, however, is much more limited, although a middle class has begun to emerge. I think that roughly 200 to 300 million inhabitants of the country now enjoy a relatively good standard of living and about thirty million live very well. This is the nucleus of a middle class stepping out into the world. China’s diplomatic relationships span the entire globe and its commercial relationships nearly do the same. What the Chinese leaders are doing is diversifying their relationships, for example, from an economic point of view.

As a big consumer of energy, China buys petroleum from many countries, ranging from Iran and Nigeria to Venezuela. Then there is the question of China’s influence

on other countries. Sizeable, to be sure.

The country is already investing in a number of African and even Latin American countries. As for political influence, that is more limited, affecting only some of the countries in its backyard, but it does exist. China has already become a regional power in Asia.

TM: China has backed the Shanghai Group, which is a key factor in its gaining status as a regional power. There is another, critical factor as well, which is that China has the largest dollar reserves in the world—over one and a half trillion dollars. With that, they can invest just about everywhere and that’s what they are doing. China’s investments are very robust and on the upswing, because they haven’t got any liquidity problems.

MO: In addition, although the Chinese don’t travel much, the arrival of cultures and customs from abroad has been absolutely vital since the eighties. All the translations made since then have had an impact on thinking in every branch of knowledge. The appearance of the Internet, despite all the

controls the regime may wish to impose, has led to an information revolution. Between the actual country and the “official country”, there is a certain distance. The urban elites, especially the young people, have a good idea of the world and its cultural references.

For them, it isn’t roped off. In China, one of the dominant discourses of recent times is nationalism, patriotism. But that doesn’t keep the Chinese from stepping up on the international stage and playing a role in global institutions, making a relatively responsible use of their permanent seat on the UN Security Council. China isn’t a country that constantly threatens to use its veto power.

TM: In fact, China has peacekeeping forces in Haiti and Lebanon.

MO: In the Asian sphere, China is taking on a leadership role but it appears intent on not acting as a bully. As a result, I think that it’s necessary to keep China engaged internationally while also promoting a dynamic of internationalisation and universalisation to balance the nationalism that characterises modernity in China.

NEWS

Barcelona Science Park, an Engine for Innovation coming out of the public sector (CrystaX, Advancell, ERA Biotec, Meteosim, Oryzon Genomics)— three institutes (the Institute for Biomedical Research, the Barcelona Institute of Molecular Biology [CECIC] and the Catalonia Institute for Bioengineering), and over 70 research groups. By gathering all these research group from universities and from the public and private sectors under one umbrella, the PCB offers a dynamic setting for the transfer of knowledge, encouraging the creation of new technology-based companies, new public-private partnerships (the Almirall-PCB, Lilly-PCB and PharmaMar–PCB joint research units), cooperative pro­jects and other forms of collaboration. The efforts of the PCB focus on emerging research areas in the life sciences, biomedicine, biotechnology, chemistry, nanotechnology and pharmacology.

Efforts also focus on the development of further research areas in the experimental, human and social sciences.

Photo: PCB

The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) has just celebrated its tenth anniversary with expansion in full swing. The second phase of construction will nearly quadruple its size, taking it from 25,000 to 90,000 square metres. The enlargement will enable the PCB to increase space for research laboratories and bring in a greater number of research institutes and centres, technology platforms, and companies and support services in the area of research, development and innovation. By the year 2011, the planned finish date for construction, the total number of research personnel working at the PCB is to top 4,000.

The Barcelona Science Park is a research cluster set up in 1997 by the University of Barcelona to bring together public research centres, private enterprise and technology platforms.

Today, the PCB boasts 1,500 professionals in R&D&I working in more than forty-five firms— some from the private sector (Esteve, Ordesa) and a number

Nanotechnology Platform.

In addition, the PCB is home to various bodies supporting innovation from within the UB Group, such as the Agency for Assessing and Marketing Research Results (AVCRI), the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (technology transfer office of UB) and the Patents Centre. In 2002, the PCB welcomed Spain’s first bioincubator to facilitate the setup of new biotech companies.

The two driving forces behind its creation were the Generalitat of Catalonia, through the Technology Springboard program of its Centre for Innovation and Business Development (CIDEM), and the University of Barcelona, through the Barcelona Science Park and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation. The first bioincubator was wound up when its com-

panies were graduated in 2006.

The PCB now hosts the PCBSantander Bioincubator, which is located in space created by the park’s enlargement.

At present, the largest share of the PCB’s laboratory space (45%) goes to public research centres, while 23% is accounted for by companies, 27% by technology units and services, 3% to spin-offs that are part of the bioincubator, and 2% to publicprivate research partnerships.

With the park’s enlargement, the space occupied by companies is set to reach 28% and the space given over to technology units and services is planned to hit 31%. Companies in the bioincubator are also set to increase their share of the space to 4%.

The new Helix Building The Helix Building was put up as part of the PCB’s current enlargement plans. Already in operation before its official inauguration this January, the structure has added 6,500 square metres of laboratory space to the park, and it houses more than thirty public and private research groups and centres. The new PCB-San­tander Bioincubator is also located there and accommodates over ten technology-

based spin-offs, mostly from the UB, which focus on emerging areas of the life sciences (biomedicine, biotechnology, chemistry, nanotechnology and pharmacology).

The creation of the new bioincubator is an initiative that has been driven by the University of Barcelona through the Barcelona Science Park and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, and it has also the backing of

Photo: PCB

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Facade of the new Helix Building.

the Banco Santander. The aim of the project is to encourage the development of new technology-based companies coming out of the public research environment in order to promote

the transfer of knowledge to society at large. To this end, the bioincubator provides access to scientific and technological infrastructure and business management consulting.

NEWS

Destination: University of Barcelona Over 1,700 foreign students arrived at the University of Barcelona last academic year, full of enthusiasm to discover Barcelona and its university life. Among other novelties, the UB offered these students a new language: Catalan. Every academic year, the UB welcomes numerous students from other universities in Spain and abroad, who decide to study for a short time in its centres. This is achi­e­ved through exchange

programs such as Socrates-Erasmus, bilateral agreements, and other specific agreements with the USA. Most students come from the USA (320), Italy (314), Germany (254) and France (175).

The centres that receive the most new students are the Faculty of Philology, the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Geography and History.

Currently, the Catalan language is spoken in a region that

Championing Language Learning The Institute of Spanish Studies (ISS) at the UB offers Spanish courses to visitors and organises activities and courses that are also cultural in nature. It hosts exams for the diplomas in Spanish as a foreign language (DELE) which are sponsored by the Cervantes Institute and also provides professional advice on the use of the Spanish language. At the same time, the ISS also provides practical classes for trainee teachers of Spanish as a foreign language and publishes methodological material for SFL teachers. The ISS is currently conducting a research plan on the teaching of Spanish to United States-born Hispanic students and is preparing another to study the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language to Chinese learners.

In addition, the School of Modern Languages (EIM) provides courses in sixteen languages to the university community and to the wider

Diego Torres

has thirteen million inhabitants.

However, the official language of the University of Barcelona is Catalan. The UB’s Language Services offers a welcome program to new students, providing them with an opportunity to study Catalan and to deepen their understanding of the sociolinguistic situation that they will find on arrival. Future students can take free, intensive courses before the academic year be-

gins, familiarise themselves with the Catalan that is commonly used in the university by reading the Conversation Guides, study in the self-access language centres, and participate in the conversation exchange service. This last proposal also includes recommended cultural itineraries. Each term, many guided activities are organised that actively involve the city of Barcelona.

public. Currently, it has roughly 5,000 students and more than 60 teachers. The EIM also has an External Language Service (SEI), created to bring the EIM’s acknowledged high quality of teaching into the workplace, responding to the specific needs of each profession.

Language Services provides multilingual resources and advisory services, including corrections of and translations into Catalan, institutional translations into Spanish and English, the editing of faculty-written scientific papers, and the provision of specialised dictionaries and glossaries. In addition, Language Services offers Catalan courses at all levels under the common European framework, including official certificates. It provides online learning through Speakcat Intercat, six self-learning language spaces and a welcome program for new students, which includes a language exchange network, lower-level language courses designed for university students, multilingual guides in different languages to support university conversations, and a host of cultural activities.

Violeta Nica

Alexander Emmerich

Mexican, 28 years old, studying a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences.

Romanian, 21 years old, studying Spanish and English Philology.

German, 22 years old, studying in the Faculty of Economics.

“I speak Catalan with a Mexican twist”

“I like how open Barcelona is”

“People spend more time at the faculty”

“Since I got here, I have put my Catalan to use whenever I can, even though I speak it with a Mexican twist. They made help available to me at this end so that I could gain more familiarity with the language.”

“I already knew that Catalan was spoken here and when I came to Barcelona last September, I took an intensive course in Catalan. I like how open the city is.”

“The atmosphere I’ve found in the city is really good and I plan to visit every corner of it.

One of the differences, though, that I’ve found between the university system here and the one in my country is that people spend more time at the faculty, and take more classes.”

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34

AN ArCtic CHRONICLE

75º North:

To mark the 125th anniversary of the 1st International Polar Year, the UB has carried out a research project in the north of the Arctic Circle to study natural climate change.

Text and photographs:

Rosa Martínez

The UB sets sail f More than 8,600 km2 of ocean floor mapped, 31 metres of ocean sediment extracted and almost 3,345 nautical miles of navigation through Arctic waters… These are some of the details recorded in the log of the SVAIS expedition for the International Polar Year (IPY), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. On board the BIP Hespérides, a scientific research ship belonging to the Spanish navy, the expedition spent the boreal summer studying records of natural climate change and the relief of the ocean floor in the Fram Straight —an area in which the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean come into contact with the warmer waters of the Atlantic— from three million years ago to the last deglaciation, between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago.

The expedition set sail on 29 July 2007 from the island of Spitzberg in the Svalbard Archipelago (Norway), a traditional whaling area situated only 1,338 kilometres from the North Pole.

Under the midnight sun, the boat set a course for the Storfjorden Trough, a little known area on the southeast edge of the Svalbard Islands, dominated in the past by large ice streams that have shaped the topography of the ocean floor.

The Polar Regions: endangered areas “The Arctic is the closest polar area to us and is much more sensitive to climate change than the Antarctic, with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula”, explained Angelo Camerlenghi, a geologist with the Marine Geo-

science Research Group at the UB, research professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and the scientific director of the SVAIS expedition.

The Poles are the motors of the world’s ocean circulation: they reflect solar radiation and help to lower global temperatures. In addition, the Polar Regions provide unique information on the history of our planet and store climate records dating back millions of years. The Arctic is a delicate environmental sensor that highlights the effects of climate change. For the geologist Roger Urgelés, “climate change has a more dramatic effect at the Poles. The glaciers are receding and we are beginning to see that climate changes in the past have had other very significant effects on our planet.”

The most northerly project The SVAIS expedition team comprised 21 scientists, including seven predoctoral students, four journalists, two high-school teachers and five technicians from the Marine Technology Unit of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The team was based on the BIO Hespérides, a Spanish navy research vessel with a crew of 55, captained by Commander Pedro Luis de la Puente. The institutions taking part in the project are the UB, the ICREA, the Chemical and Environmental Research Institute of Barcelona (IIQABCSIC), the University of Salamanca, the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) of Trieste and the Universities of Svalbard and Tromsø (Norway).

AN ArCtic CHRONICLE

or the Artic Ocean Mapping the ocean depths Only 10% of the world’s ocean floor has been mapped in detail.

“There are still many ocean regions across the world that need to be mapped”, explained Miquel Canals, head of the Marine Geosciences Research Group at the UB, “We use multibeam and TOPAS echosounders to transform the sound waves reflected by the ocean floor into bathymetric information”. In addition to multibeam bathymetry, the seismic reflection technique can also be used to produce topographic maps of the Arctic Ocean floor: special airguns send seismic waves to the ocean floor, which are reflected and recorded at the surface by hydrophone arrays fitted in cables known as streamers. The data information

is processed to control for quality and then converted into 3D maps of the ocean topography using a specialized program known as the KINGDOM Suite.

Shrouded in fog, the ship sailed through areas likely to contain oil or gas hydrates —molecules of gases such as methane trap­ ped in crystalline structures of water molecules, and thought to be the great energy reserve for the future. However, as the geologist Ben De Mol pointed out, “Although they were discovered years ago, we still do not have the technology to extract gas hydrates”.

Ocean sediment dating back 10,000 years One of the most eagerly anticipated moments took place on 4 August: on what proved to be

an exciting day, the first samples of sediment from the ocean floor were raised onto the deck of the research vessel using the Piston Corer, a new hydraulic coring device for extracting marine sediment designed by Oregon State University and the Marine Technology Unit of the CSIC. During the expedition, the Piston Corer was used to obtain six samples of ocean sediment, which represent a total of 31 metres of geological history from the glacial and interglacial periods of the Quaternar y Period in the Fram Strait. In the laboratory on the starboard side of the ship, the Marine Geoscience Research Group of the University of Salamanca conducted the first study of the cores extracted from the ocean floor. “We iden-

Scars on the ocean floor On board ship, work continued uninterruptedly during the crossing of the Barents Sea. In order to maintain activity 24 hours a day, the team worked shifts in groups coordinated by the geologists Galderic Lastras, Ben De Mol and Roger Urgelés, under the supervision of Angelo Camerlenghi and Miquel Canals. The objective was clear: to determine the evolution of the polar continental margins in this region of the Arctic and to study the topography of the ocean floor. “We want to examine the sediments transported

by the large ice streams that flowed across the Arctic 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum”, explained Professor Antoni Calafat, “to understand the intensity and the duration of climate processes originated by the Poles”. Day by day the sonar screens revealed icebergs, old glaciers and the scars of submarine avalanches that had disturbed the calm of the ocean depths. On deck, the grey of the sky merged with the water and the light of the Arctic sun at times disorientated the team.

tify the microfossils —foraminifera and coccolithophorida— to determine an initial time scale of the sedimentary strata, which allows us to create a paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Arctic”, explained the paleontologist José-Abel Flores. On 17 August, after 20 days sailing through ice-free waters, the BIO Hespérides finally docked in Longyearbyen. This brought the polar expedition to an end, but the work of the scientific team will continue for several months.

They will examine the material obtained to extract scientific data relevant to different fields of study (such as biostratigraphy, sedimentology, paleoclimatology and environmental geomagnetism) and reconstruct the geological and climatic history of the Arctic region.

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NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

News in a nutshell > Restaurateur Ferran Adrià has recently received high honours for his work. Star guest at the latest edition of the Kassel Fair, Adrià’s artistry earned him the UB’s highest academic distinction last December when he was given an honorary doctorate by the university. At the ceremony held in the UB’s Paranymph Hall, the head of the Department of Chemical Engineering Claudi Mans acted as the restaurateur’s sponsor. The award went to Adrià in recognition of his contributions to food science and food chemistry as well as for the international impact of his work. In addition to being a restaurateur, Adrià also serves as president of the Alicia Foundation, a re­­search centre focusing on technological innovation in the field of gastronomy.

Photograph showing how close the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (left-hand side), is to the UB’s new Raval-based faculties (right-hand side).

> Relocating the UB’s Faculties of Philosophy and of Geography and History to Ciutat Vella in the city centre has given a real boost to the already dynamic social and cultural life of the Raval, emblematic Barcelona neighbourhood and home to institutions like Barcelona’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the Liceu Opera House and the Barcelona Centre for Contemporary Culture. The new site of the faculties, previously located in the university area of the Diagonal, serves to consolidate the city centre campus, joining the UB’s nearby Historic Building in Plaça Universitat. In addition to institutions like the Historical Archives of the City and the Council for Scientific Research, the Ciutat Vella district also boasts significant associational activity from bodies such as the Raval Solidarity Foundation, which promotes cooperation projects, and the Ibn Batuta Sociocultural Association, which helps immigrants who are resident in Catalonia.

> The UB welcomes fifty-five paintings from the Prado Museum as part of a program of temporary loans from the museum’s vast collection to other museums and public institutions. The Prado’s works on loan to the UB basically belong to the various schools and currents of Spanish painting from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While the bulk of the works on display will hang in the UB’s Historic Building, a number of them can also be enjoyed in the Faculties of Me­­dicine and Economics. Nearly all the paintings have been at the UB for over a century, and twenty-nine of them have been restored thanks to a university-sponsored initiative.

One of the paintings on loan to the University of Barcelona from the Prado Museum is “The Adoration of the Shepherds”, a work by the Valencian artist Mateu Gilarte.

> The tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen, whose mu m my was re cently removed from its sarcophagus and put on public view, housed three varieties of wine in its burial chamber. A study headed

by Professor Rosa Maria Lamuela-Raventós of UB’s Department of Nutrition and Bromatology has shown that the amphoras found alongside the Pharaoh contained the residue of red wine, white wine and a wine called shedeh, which was more Golden mask of the Egyptian pharaoh skilfully made and sweeter in Tutankhamen. taste. The findings are particularly significant because they demonstrate that the Egyptians were making white wine 1,500 years before previously thought. When Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened on 4 November 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter, the world was thrilled by the find, and that fascination with the boy pharaoh is still alive today.

NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

> In the period 2004-2007, the Solar Atrium, which is a photovoltaic installation at the UB’s Faculties of Physics and Chemistry, generated 223 MWh of electricity and in doing so avoided the release of 85 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. The annual average net generation of 60 MWh is equivalent to the amount consumed by thirteen households. The 50kWp installation is a single aerial structure suspended above the 375 square metre interior courtyard of the faculties. It manages to combine and embody in visual form the dual notions of technological innovation and sustainable development. The installation was constructed as part of the European Project UnivERsol (universities, renewable energies and solar energy), coordinated by the UB. UnivERsol involved 29 EU institutions and resulted in 27 grid connected PV systems totalling 829 kWp installed capacity. By technological demonstration, dissemination and training, the project contributes actively to the EU’s stated objective of increasing the share of renewable energy sources to 20% by 2020.

> The UB Museum of Catalan Pharmacy’s collection includes the Concordie Apothecariorum (dated 1511), which is the oldest pharmacopoeia of the Spanish Kingdoms, and the second oldest in the world after the Florence publication. In addition to this pharmacopoeia (which is a book containing the most common medicinal substances and methods of combining and preparing these), items from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries can be found in the UB’s museum. These include pharmaceutical ceramics, precision scales, laboratory tools, herbaria and advertising posters. Among the stills and mortars, there is also a small, Flemish school painting on board dated between the 17th and 18th centuries. The painting shows Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, patron saints of medicine. Whilst the painting was being restored, it was discovered that it was painted on the back of an even older painting from the 15th century. Another of

Old tools and instruments on display at the UB’s Museum of Catalan Pharmacy.

the museum’s jewels is the database of drugs used between 1800 and 1960 (http://www.ub.edu/crai/pharmakoteka/index.php).

In 1957, this museum was created in the Faculty of Pharmacy by Doctor Jesús Isamat. Dr. Isamat wanted to give the faculty a real university museum, far removed from the idea of “endless rows of neatly arranged specimens, a soulless atmosphere, a mere butterfly depositary”.

> Situated in the middle of the Collserola Park, the Palau de les Heures is reminiscent of a French chateau. It was built in 1895 for José Gallart, an industrialist from Barcelona who had made his fortune in Puerto Rico.

During the Civil War, the difficulty of attacking this site by air contributed to making it a home for the president of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Lluís Companys. José Gallart’s son repossessed the estate at the end of the war and sold it in the 1950s. After a period of pillaging and degradation, it was acquired by the County Council of Barcelona in 1958. However, the Council could not decide on a use for it. In 1972, they proposed that the Palau should be demolished. This gave rise to a protest to save the building. During the 1980s, several different uses were suggested for the building, including making it into the headquarters of a United Nations body or the Russian Consulate. Finally, in 1992, the County Council signed a contract with the UB’s Bosch i Gimpera Foundation to establish lifelong learning and postgraduate studies on the site. Today, the Palau houses the administration for the Mundet Campus, and the ad­­mi­nistrative offices for the faculties of Education and Teacher Training.

> The UB’s library is home to over 2,000 manuscripts and 948 incunabula (early printed books predating 1500 AD), which are stored in its reserve stacks. Among them, you can find invaluable works such as the oldest surviving copy in Catalan of the Chronicle of King James (1343), written by the foremost monarch reigning at the height and splendour of medieval Catalonia. As for later printed works, there are roughly 150,000 editions dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The library also contains collections such as the Grewe Collection, specialising in food and cooking, and a collection devoted to the philosopher and writer Ramon Book of Hours from the early sixteenth century, held in the UB library’s reserve colLlull, a leading intellectual of lections. The illuminated miniature shows medieval Europe.

St John the Evangelist.

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Publications

Conversation guides

Publications

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The University of Barcelona’s “Conversation Guides” provide newly arrived students from abroad with a collection of Catalan phrases and vocabulary to help them in their first contact with Catalans. The aim is to make students’ time at the UB and their participation in different university areas and communicative situations easy right from the start. To date, the UB has published thirteen guides in this collection, including the following: guides in Russian, Italian, Amazigh, Dutch, Polish, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Arabic and English; a conversation guide in the five languages of the Spanish state (Catalan, Spanish, Aranese, Basque and Galician); and a Catalan-English-Spanish medical conversation guide.

Europa Unida.

Orígenes de un malentendido consciente Víctor Gavín Munté

The Arts in Urban Development CD-ROM (Waterfronts of Art II), CD Antoni Remesar

Some people consider that the spirit of Europeanism found in the origins of the European Union has been lost. However, this book presents a different view of the beginnings of the EU. It shows that the aims of the European project in its current form were established in the first four years of the EU’s existence, and do not tally with the concepts expressed by the public at that time. However, such aims do coincide with the objectives of some current leaders. According to this book and surprisingly, only the USA defended the real union of the European continent beyond state borders.

This CD-Rom contains a collection of papers presented at the International Conference “The Arts in Urban Development. Waterfronts of Art II”, held in Barcelona in 2001.

Contributions were made by researchers from different countries.

The CD-Rom is divided into two parts: the first analyses different development activities in waterfront cities such as some urban areas in Japan, as well as Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon and Barcelona; the second examines the production of public art in current urban contexts.

The CD-Rom was created within the framework of the Public Art Observatory network’s activities, promoted by the CER POLIS research group.

Homage to Ramon Margalef, or, Why there is such pleasure in studying nature Several authors

Òrgans a la carta.

Cèl·lules mare, clonatge terapèutic i medicina regenerativa David Bueno

The magazine Oecologia aquatica is published by the UB’s Department of Ecology. Issue no.

10 is a special edition: a tribute to the UB professor Ramon Margalef.

It contains articles by researchers and followers of Ramon Margalef and provides an overview of the most important aspects of each of the areas that he researched in aquatic ecology. Ramon Margalef (1919-2004) was one of the most internationally renowned scientists in the fields of limnology (the study of lakes and continental waters), oceanography and theoretical ecology. From 1967, he held the Chair in Ecology at the UB.

This book, published in Catalan and Spanish, provides answers to questions such as what the real medical applications of cloning are, whether organs can be created in a personalised way to replace damaged ones, or what stem cells are. The contents are presented in a clear, readable way, with explanatory drawings and simple language that the non-specialised reader can understand. The author David Bueno is a lecturer at the University of Barcelona’s Department of Genetics, where he is currently leading a research group on the study and treatment of mother cells in the nervous system and their potential use in regenerative medicine.

You may purchase these works by visiting the University of Barcelona’s web portal for publications at: www.publicacions.ub.es

the University of Barcelona

2007 3,000 scientific

publications. National leader in scientific production

80,000 students.

33% of all university students in Catalonia

28,000 76 million euros in

income from research and technology transfer

575 doctoral theses

presented. 40% of the combined total for all Catalan public universities

200

Among the best universities in the world

100

and the leading universities in Europe

postgraduate and lifelong learning students. 50% of the total figure for Catalonia

88 official EHEA

master’s degree programs. 25% of the total offered in the Catalan university system

77 undergraduate

programs (bachelor’s degrees and university diplomas)

12,000 new

undergraduate students

8,000 graduates each year

45 companies and 70 research groups based in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)