The Council of Notables of Alumni UB promotes more than one hundred initiatives to foster the relations between university and society

The vice-rector for International Relations and Culture of the UB, Lourdes Cirlot, together with the former president of the Government of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, and the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca.
The vice-rector for International Relations and Culture of the UB, Lourdes Cirlot, together with the former president of the Government of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, and the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca.
(19/12/2012)

Yesterday, Tuesday 18th December, the Council of Notables of Alumni UB met. The Council of Notables is made up of distinguished former students and outstanding professionals from all fields of knowledge who take active part in our society. The meeting was chaired by the vice-rector for Institutional Relations and Culture of the UB, Dr Lourdes Cirlot, together with the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca, and the director of Alumni UB, Jordi Garcia. The Council is the main advisory body of Alumni UB and its main object is to provide high-level support and lead the agencyʼs action guidelines taking into account the necessities of the university community.

The vice-rector for International Relations and Culture of the UB, Lourdes Cirlot, together with the former president of the Government of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, and the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca.
The vice-rector for International Relations and Culture of the UB, Lourdes Cirlot, together with the former president of the Government of Catalonia, Pasqual Maragall, and the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca.
19/12/2012

Yesterday, Tuesday 18th December, the Council of Notables of Alumni UB met. The Council of Notables is made up of distinguished former students and outstanding professionals from all fields of knowledge who take active part in our society. The meeting was chaired by the vice-rector for Institutional Relations and Culture of the UB, Dr Lourdes Cirlot, together with the honorary president of Alumni UB, Miquel Roca, and the director of Alumni UB, Jordi Garcia. The Council is the main advisory body of Alumni UB and its main object is to provide high-level support and lead the agencyʼs action guidelines taking into account the necessities of the university community.

 
During the meeting, which took place in the boardroom of the Rectorʼs Offices, the 150 ideas to foster the relations between university and society that the Council agreed during its last meeting in March were reviewed. The ideas are diverse: sponsorship projects, jobs offers, enterprise and entrepreneurship projects, etc. During the session, the state of these proposals was analysed, as more than one hundred have already been implemented.
 
Another outstanding point of the meeting was the analysis of the achievements of Alumni UB —pioneer entity in Catalan public universities— in comparison with other associations of former students of the main European universities. If Alumni UB is compared with the University of Cambridge, the University of Amsterdam or the University of Ginebra, it is observed that Alumni UBʼs number of achievements is similar to the one of these universities. In addition, the number of members of Alumni UB (currently, it has 8,000 members) is expected to be increased: “Data show that Alumni UB has increased its number of members, and if we take into account that it is a really young entity —it was founded in 2010—, it has a lot to do. Every year the association may have from 1,500 to 3,000 new members”, explained the vice-rector.
 
Another point dealt was the date for the next annual Alumni UB meeting —planned for next spring— and the implication of the Council of Notables. In this sense, the vice-rector remarked the work carried out by Alumni UB, and mainly, by the Council of Notables, in order to link the University with the society and the business sector. “You are the best ambassadors that the University could have, thanks to your support and help our quality will not decrease; therefore studying or researching at the UB will continue being as prestigious as always”, she concluded.
 
Distinguished personalities

The meeting was attended by about twenty distinguished personalities: Pasqual Maragall, former president of the Government of Catalonia; Antoni Fogué, president of the Provincial Council of Barcelona; Francesc Baltasar, former minister of Environment and Housing of the Government of Catalonia; Marta Corachan, former president of the Red Cross in Catalonia; Joaquima Alemany, Catalan lawyer and politician; Magda Ferrer-Dalmau, businesswoman and member of the Board of Directors of the Círculo de Economía; Salvador Alemany, president of Abertis and of the Board of Trustees of the UB; Joan Castells, executive director of FIATC Assegurances; Josep M. Sans, historian and director of the Cataloniaʼs National Archive; David Barrufet, former captain of the FC Barcelona Handball Section; Rosa Vergés, film director; and Fernando Casado, director of the Business Competitiveness Council, among other dignitaries.
 
During the meeting some of the new members of the Council were introduced: Antoni Vila, businessman, arts sponsorship and president of the Vila Casas Foundation; Joan M. Pujals, former minister of Culture and Education of the Government of Catalonia; and Pepi Cairol, secretary general of the Union Section of the UGT.