The Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance and Tourism, Jordi Valls, and the rector of the Ramon Llull University (URL), Josep Antoni Rom, signed an agreement this Monday to collaborate in the European university alliance Engage.eu, of which the URL has been a part since 2023. The entry of the consistory into this continental-scale exchange alliance will help to further strengthen the leading role that Barcelona already plays in research and innovation and to gain visibility and greater external projection.

Jordi Valls acknowledged that, with the signing of the agreement, Barcelona will be able to “strengthen its university system and enjoy the opportunities and benefits that this European alliance can bring to all citizens”. The Deputy Mayor assured that “the main economic engine of the 21st century is knowledge and that is why the municipal government promoted the Strategic Plan for Science and Innovation 2024-2027”.

Precisely, Valls added, “one of the most outstanding actions of this plan is precisely to promote Barcelona internationally as a city of science and knowledge. And this implies strengthening our universities and working in collaboration with other universities around the world.”

Engage.eu

This network is a recently created consortium of 9 European universities in the fields of social sciences, economics and business. In addition to URL, it includes centers from Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Bulgaria, Finland and Austria. The aim is to join forces to equip European citizens with skills and face major social challenges such as digitalization, aging, artificial intelligence and climate change.

Ramon Llull University has been a full member since July 2023 after passing a selection process and having formalized the agreement with the rest of the universities in the consortium.

The next major event of the Engage.eu alliance will be its annual conference, which will take place on October 22.