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In my capacity as Rector of the University of Barcelona and on behalf of all the universities within the Catalan university system, I would like to invite you to the EUA Spring Conference – “The Governance of European Universities post 2010: Enhancing Institutional Mission and Profiles”, which is to be held in Barcelona next March.

The universities, as institutions that generate and disseminate learning and innovation, have a key part to play in the construction of a strong Europe founded on knowledge. We should be aware that our role will only have an impact if we are able to speak as one with a firm and authoritative voice. To achieve this, we need to exploit to the full the opportunities afforded by the dynamic association of European universities and participate actively in EUA’s events (its spring and autumn conferences and workshops) and, more generally, act as a persuasive opinion group in European politics.

The process that was set in motion in 2000 by the Lisbon Council, and which two years later was ratified in the city of Barcelona, identified a number of major challenges for the European university system in the years leading up to 2010. Efforts were mainly focused on the process of European convergence based on ideas that resulted in the Bologna Declaration for the construction of a Europe of Knowledge resting on three main pillars: a society of information and communication, a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and a European Research Area (ERA).

Europe’s higher education institutions need to determine together the best responses to these current challenges by encouraging modern measures of governance for their universities. These should enable us to meet, both effectively and efficiently, the objectives that are emerging from new missions. The first decade of the twenty-first century is drawing to a close and it is becoming increasingly evident that many of these challenges will have to be faced “beyond 2010”.

The history of EUA began in Spain, in the city of Salamanca, on 29 March 2001. Professor Bricall, previously Rector of the University of Barcelona and President of the Conference of European Rectors, gave a memorable address on that occasion. Today, seven years on, EUA returns to Spain, to the University of Barcelona, a historic university in Spain’s university system. It is our wish to introduce visitors to the Catalan university system. Here, we have sought to strike a balance between the university, the city and the territory with many centres of higher education concentrated in the Barcelona metropolitan area and several others located in the rest of Catalonia. We believe it to be one of the university networks with most potential in southern Europe.

We very much look forward to welcoming you in March on the occasion of the Spring Conference, which we hope will be remembered for the conclusions that it reaches in key areas of interest to us all and for the opportunity of getting to know our universities, our city and our country, all of which are committed to the future of Europe.

Màrius Rubiralta
Rector of the University of Barcelona