The ceremony to award diplomas to the doctoral degree candidates who received Junior Faculty scholarships thanks to an agreement with the “la Caixa” Foundation was held on Tuesday, 25 February 2014, on the UIC's Sant Cugat campus.

The Junior Faculty programme is designed to help train young future professors so that they can complete their research studies and obtain a doctoral degree from the UIC. The scholarship can be renewed each year and allows students to dedicate all of their time to obtaining a doctoral degree in up to four years. Another unique feature of the programme is that it allows doctoral degree candidates to teach at the university in their area of knowledge under the auspices of a full professor.

To obtain a scholarship, however, candidates must achieve an average mark above 1.5 and pass the Research Committee’s rigorous selection process, given that this is a competitive programme and more and more candidates are applying every year.

The ceremony to award the diplomas to the three new students who received the scholarship this year was presided over by UIC Rector Dr. Pere Alavedra. Also in attendance were Dr. Enric Banda, the Director of Science, Research and the Environment at the “la Caixa” Foundation, and Martí Casadesús, the Director of the Catalan Agency for Quality in the University System.

After the diplomas were handed out to the candidates by Dr. Frederic Marimon, the Vice Rector for Research, the floor was given to Martí Casadesús. He said, “Good research complements teaching”. He went on to say, “Research is the best way to improve the university system and the country”. He congratulated the candidates and applauded the efforts of “la Caixa”.

The next speaker was Enric Banda. He said, “The ‘la Caixa’ Foundation always reserves resources for transformative, knowledge-based projects of the future because the future lies in research, talent and young people”. Dr. Banda encouraged the candidates to strive for excellence and reassured them by saying, “High standards have their rewards”.

The event ended with a speech by the Rector, who congratulated the candidates and thesis advisors and thanked the “la Caixa” Foundation for its support. Dr. Alavedra explained that such initiatives are essential for the UIC to generate knowledge and create business chairs and centres. The university is strongly committed to these activities because they have a positive impact on the country as a whole.

Those attending then moved to the area displaying academic posters of the projects the candidates are working on thanks to the scholarships.

The scholarship programme, which began in 2006, once again demonstrates “la Caixa” Foundation’s commitment to and support for the internationalization of the university system, and university teaching and research initiatives. A total of 16 Spanish and international students now enjoy Junior Faculty scholarships.