•New

On 22 July an agreement was signed by the City Council of Barcelona, the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the University of Barcelona (UB) to develop the South Campus of the Knowledge Gateway. The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, the acting rector of the UB, Josep Samitier, and the rector of the UPC, Antoni Giró, participated in this event, which took place in the Pavellons Gaudí and represents an important step in the process of consolidating the Knowledge Gateway.

The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, described the Knowledge Gateway as the most important teaching, research and technology transfer center in Spain and Europe. He explained that the agreement addressed the completion of the urban development of this area, which is at the far eastern end of avinguda Diagonal. Hereu also said that universities were at the heart of the strategy for the city’s future. He added that Barcelona will make historic progress at the other end of avinguda Diagonal, where another center of knowledge that includes universities is being constructed.

For his part, the rector of the UPC, Antoni Giró, stated that the Knowledge Gateway is a further example of close cooperation between the UPC and the UB. Giró also highlighted that these actions will lead to the avinguda Diagonal, becoming a central axis—the backbone of the knowledge society—that runs down to the sea and the 22@ district, which is a new environment for technological development that is supported by the UPC.

The acting rector of the UB, Josep Samitier, stated that the Knowledge Gateway represents the 21st century city. Samitier said that the project is an example of how universities can help to transform the city and the region. In addition, he stated that the Knowledge Gateway is outward-looking and that the campuses are part of citizens’ life and generate knowledge, two elements that are increasingly interlinked.

The Knowledge Gateway brings together the expertise and activities of the two universities, along with that of other research and training centers linked to hospitals, business schools and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The zone occupies 227 ha and has a gross floor area of 515,000 m2. It houses 16 schools and faculties and 89 university departments. Fifty undergraduate degree courses are taught in the Knowledge Gateway, and there are almost 50,000 registered students. A further 6,000 postgraduate students are based there.