The ceremony to award diplomas to the
doctoral degree candidates who received Junior Faculty scholarships thanks to
an agreement with the La
Caixa Charitable Trust was held on Tuesday, 20 March 2012, in the Graduate
Hall.

The Junior Faculty programme is designed to
help train young 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 no more than 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 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 diploma ceremony for the five students
who received these scholarships 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 Charitable Trust, and Pere Pardo, the executive director of the Agency
for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR).

After the diplomas were handed out to the
candidates by Dr. Frederic
Marimon, the Vice Rector for Research, the event ended
with a speech by the Rector, who thanked the authorities and everyone else for
attending, congratulated the candidates and encouraged them to strive for
excellence. After the scholarship diplomas were awarded, those attending moved
to the area displaying scientific posters of the projects being worked on by
the candidates thanks to the scholarships.

The initiative, which began in 2006, once
again demonstrates the commitment and support of the La Caixa Charitable Trust
for the internationalization of the university system and for university
initiatives involving teaching and research. A total of 16 Spanish and
international students now enjoy Junior Faculty scholarships.