Marta Gámiz, academic officer for the Doctoral School, passed on apologies for absence from Núria Casals, director of the School, and opened the ceremony welcoming the new doctors. Then, she named them one by one and the rector dressed them with the traditional hat.

Then Carles Francesc Baeza, representative of the new doctors, took the opportunity to thank all the people who had supported them while they were studying their doctoral programme. He especially thanked the University. “We are part of a prestigious legacy,” he stated. “It is an honour and an enormous responsibility to those who came before us and to those who will come after us.”

For her part, Cristina Monforte, vice-rector for Research, Innovation and Transfer, encouraged recent doctors to continue in research work that “is a service to society. “Research is an unseen work, with many ups and downs, but often there are times to shout once again eureka!” she remarked.

Finally, Rector Alfonso Méndiz, who presided the event, told them: “You are our legacy and our continuity, the testimony that we want to leave to our society. You are our ambassadors and, in a way, our arms as well, making possible the UIC Barcelona project to make this world a more liveable world.”

Five Extraordinary Doctoral Awards for the best thesis for the different fields of knowledge were also awarded: one in Architecture and four in Health Sciences in different research lines: Basic Sciences, Medicine, Physiotherapy and Dentistry.