1. The university
of the
knowledge
society

2. Índex
Introduction 2
Universitat 5
Oberta 15
de Catalunya 23

3. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Introduction

4. Experience and
quality in online
education
The UOC is the benchmark online university
with over 12 years’ experience.
• Over 37,000 students in 45 countries and
15,000 graduates.
• Approved courses, master’s and postgraduate
courses and short courses.
• Knowledge transfer and cooperation with
businesses and institutions.

5. Experience and
quality in online
education
• The UOC integrates training into
people’s lives and makes lifelong
Learning possible.
• It provides access to knowledge,
irrespective of the day, time and
geographical location of the student.
• It focuses its research on the fields
of education and ICT and the
network society from a transversal,
interdisciplinary perspective.
• At the UOC, students have access
to quality, personalised, flexible
training.

6. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Universitat

7. Experience and
quality in online
education
The UOC is a university open to
people and closely linked to society.
It is a university that has its roots in
Catalonia and a presence worldwide.
The UOC is a university open to
cultures, languages and ideas.

8. A new university
model
The UOC is leading the introduction of
the knowledge society’s new e-learning
model.
The UOC’s activity focuses on the needs
of society in terms of access to education
and is based on the following elements:
• The quality of academic work.
• Research into the use and impact of
ICT.
• Dissemination of knowledge.

9. Quality,
personalised, flexible
teaching
UOC teaching staff:
• Ensure that study plans and subject
contents and materials are properly
adapted.
• Coordinate the students’ learning process.
• Promote innovation and research.
The UOC courses on offer:
• Are divided into diploma, degree and
postgraduate levels.
• Meet the training needs of society as a
whole.
• Are designed according to the criteria of
the 1999 Bologna Declaration.
The UOC’s range of courses covers all fields
of knowledge and can be consulted on its
website.

10. Education adapted to
people
The education offered by the UOC is
organised into nine fields of knowledge
encompassed by the university’s various
training programmes and initiatives:
Diplomas
Business Sciences
Tourism
Degrees
Business Administration and Management
Work Sciences
Law
Documentation
East Asia Studies

11. Education adapted to people
Degrees
Humanities
Market Research and Techniques
Psychology
Educational Psychology
Advertising and Public Relations
Engineering diplomas
IT
Systems IT
Management IT
Telematics
Own qualification
Multimedia Studies

12. Education adapted to
people
PhD on the Information and Knowledge
Society
Official postgraduate programmes (adapted
to the EHEA)
• E-learning
• Knowledge Management
• Free Software
Own master’s courses
Postgraduate programmes
Refresher programmes
Specialised programmes
Open education (University @thenaeum)
Short courses
Training for businesses and institutions

13. The UOC in figures
Distribution of students by studies
20.805
15.576
3.759
2.686
1.309
1.149
858
525
305
Diplomas Degrees PhD courses Master’s Postgraduate Specialised Summer University Seminars
courses courses courses and winter @thenaeum
courses
TOTAL 46.972

14. The UOC in figures
Distribution by age at diploma and degree level
Under 25 From 25 to 30 From 31 to 40 Over 40
3.305 12.014 14.449 6.613

15. The UOC in figures
Evolution of no. of students enrolled diploma and degree level
2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006
14.837 21.374 25.783 33.423 33.307 36.381
Evolution of no. of students enrolled postgraduate level
2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006
72 178 160 160 281 305

16. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Oberta

17. The UOC in figures
Distribution of students by sex
Diploma and degree level Postgraduate level
18.837 17.544 205 100

18. Research into the information society
The UOC focuses its research on studying the interactions of ICT
and the different areas of the economy, society and culture.
Research is one of the UOC’s core activities:
• It defines its personality.
• It positions the university within the international context.
The Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) is the instrument with
which all research and innovation at the UOC is carried out. The IN3:
• Provides support for lecturers and researchers in relation to
academic matters.
• Centralises research projects in terms of their promotion,
administration and monitoring.
• Provides support for the PhD on the Information and
Knowledge Society programme.

19. Research into the
information society
The UOC’s research work is carried out
through:
• Activity undertaken individually by its
lecturers and researchers.
• Research groups comprising lecturers,
grantholders and research assistants,
whose work is recognised through an
internal accreditation process.
• Research programmes established with
a view to engaging in research in areas
not previously studied in the IN3 but which
are of particular scientific and social
relevance.

20. Creation and dissemination of
knowledge
The UOC’s priorities are the dissemination of the work carried out
by its researchers and the publication of research project results:
• Working papers
• Articles
• PhD work
• Papers
The UOC uses tools such as the following to disseminate its
knowledge:
• Publication of journals on the internet.
• The UOC’s publishing house (Editorial UOC).
• The Virtual Library.
• Cultural activities in Catalonia.
• The promotion of culture and multilingualism.
• Knowledge transfer to businesses and institutions.

21. A university open to
people
UOC students control their own learning,
but they are never on their own.
Learning at the UOC is:
• Interactive, creating a community
encompassing everyone involved with
the university.
• Collaborative, generating shared
knowledge.
• Personal, adjusting itineraries to
students’ knowledge, interests and needs.
• Flexible, adapting as far as possible to
students’ personal and professional
circumstances.

22. Student-centred
learning
• At the UOC, the student is the focus of a
training process which, thanks to new
technologies, has no limits in terms of either
time or space.
• The student manages their own time, plans
their pace of study and constructs their own academic
itinerary.
• Each student works with a specific,
personalised education model and
continuously receives advice from their
counsellor and lecturers.
• The UOC makes the student the focal point
of the learning process and provides them
with the resources they need to interact with
the entire university community.

23. Educational model
The educational model is based on new
information and communication technologies,
which enable all the members of the university
community to interact through the Virtual
Campus, the environment that students and
lecturers use to communicate and to access
university resources and services.
The UOC
The education process is established in each
subject’s study plan, so as to make continuous
assessment as straightforward as possible.
The student
Organises their studies without restrictions in
terms of time and space.
Is self-sufficient, but enjoys support from their
counsellor, tutors and fellow students.

24. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
de Catalunya

25. Educational model
A range of resources are available to students
so as to enable them to follow every subject in
optimal conditions:
• Counsellors offer students personalised
guidance.
• Tutors ensure progress in each subject.
• Subject study plans define work methodologies
and assessment criteria.
• Continuous assessment ensures academic
progress and that students make the most of
courses.
• The Virtual Campus allows interaction with the
whole university community.
• Multimedia teaching materials complement
those specific to each subject.
• The Virtual Library offers access to all
information resources.
• Services for the university community
include activities and benefits.
• Support centres provide personalised attention
and study resources.

26. The student,
committed to
learning
The UOC makes the desire to learn
compatible with an active professional and
personal life, as students decide their own
itinerary.
The defining skills and profiles of UOC
students are that:
• They are committed to continuously
improving their abilities.
• They are used to carrying out intellectual
work rigorously, methodically and with a
critical eye.
• They are good at managing their time.
• They are familiar with and advanced users
of new technologies.
• They are used to working online.

27. The student, committed to learning
Student profile
9%
33%
48% 52% 18%
40%
93%
work over 30 hours
women under 25 a week
men between 25 and 30
between 31 and 40
over 40

28. The student, committed to learning
Studies prior to starting at the UOC
65,0%
100%
46,3%
46,0%
19,4%
15,6%
7,7%
0%
0%
Vocational training, Diploma or degree University entry exams
access for
the over-25s and
unfinished university
studies
Diploma Diploma and degree Degree only

29. Technology at the service of people
The UOC is a pioneer in the application of ICT in academic and
research work. The UOC applies technological and teaching
innovation to aid learning.
Technology at the UOC:
• Makes free access to training possible.
• Is the tool for carrying out academic, research and management
processes.
• Is at the service of people.
• Creates knowledge-sharing networks.
At the UOC, the aim of research and innovation is:
• To improve access to training.
• To adapt training processes and methodology to society.
• To make the university more efficient in all areas.

30. Roots in Catalonia
and a presence
worldwide
The UOC is a university that has its roots
in Catalonia and a presence worldwide,
aware of the diversity of its surroundings
and committed to the value of social
change provided by education and culture.
The UOC fosters creativity, innovation,
cooperation and exchange between its
university community, other universities,
institutions, businesses and Catalan civil
society.

31. With an international
vocation
The UOC has a worldwide presence
through a strategy of alliances with other
universities and research institutions from
different countries.
These alliances have the following aims:
• To encourage cooperation, respecting and
accepting cultural and linguistic differences.
• To contribute to projecting Catalan culture
and the University worldwide.
On an international level, the UOC employs
an integrated system for research, information
and documentation activities regarding the use
of ICT in education through the UNESCO
Chair in E-Learning.

32. Committed to culture
The UOC is a benchmark for knowledge
creation and cultural catalysis, providing
access to training and promoting the
dissemination of culture in our society.
The UOC establishes alliances to generate
quality cultural initiatives in the fields of:
• Training
• Multilingualism
• Cultural action
The UOC looks to enhance the social,
scientific and linguistic situation in Catalonia
and carries out its work within the public
university system to complement other
universities.

33. In cooperation with society
In accordance with its commitment to progress and serving society,
the UOC:
• Participates in the implementation of the use of ICT in the field of
cooperation.
• Offers a virtual space to non-profit making organisations.
• Manages projects to host virtual offices and charitable actions.
The Campus for Peace and Solidarity is an initiative with an
international vocation to coordinate, foster and support the efforts of
the UOC in terms of cooperation.
Since 2000, the Campus for Peace has used scientific and technical
knowledge and education based on IT and the internet to:
• Contribute to peace processes.
• Promote human rights.
• Provide humanitarian aid in emergency situations.
• Ensure the sustainability of the planet.
• Increase levels of literacy.

34. Alongside business
The UOC establishes collaboration
agreements with like-minded organisations
with the aim of becoming a benchmark for
business in the fostering of the knowledge
economy and entrepreneurship.
The UOC is committed to the economic and
industrial fabric and has, thus, started the
UOC Group of companies, in order to
transfer the university’s innovation,
knowledge and know-how to society.

35. Welcome to
Universitat Oberta
de Catalunya

36. Welcome to
UOC