Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is a public institution of research and higher education in the fields of engineering, architecture, sciences and technology, and one of the leading technical universities in Europe. Every year, close to 6,000 bachelor’s and master’s students, more than 300 doctoral students and 1,600 continuing education students graduate. The UPC has a high graduate employment rate: 95% of its graduates are in work and 88% find a job in under three months. It is ranked in the main international rankings.

Mission

To contribute to building a sustainable and fair world through research, technology transfer and knowledge dissemination and by producing engineering, architecture, science and technology graduates who are able to think critically, work in interdisciplinary and multicultural teams, adapt to change and keep learning throughout their lives.

Vision

The UPC, a Catalan public university that is both rooted in the territory and an international point of reference, serves society, works for inclusion and instils the vocation to serve, ethical values, intellectual rigour and a commitment to building a sustainable and fair world; it promotes the most appropriate teaching and learning methods for each educational environment and discipline, and transfers and disseminates the knowledge generated through research to society.

As UPC students, staff and alumni, we aspire to form a lifelong community that is active, dynamic, egalitarian and collaborative.
Values

The UPC's values are social engagement, a cooperative spirit, professionalism, critical thinking, sustainability and truthfulness, and they complement the UPC's mission and vision.

Social engagement

The knowledge we create and transfer to society must be inserted into the basic framework of general social responsibilities, such as our language and culture, maximum inclusiveness and an ethical orientation for all technology, which must serve the greater good.

Cooperative spirit

A willingness to work collectively to achieve a common goal, based on respect for all people. Consensus for decision making is built from individual contributions, and responsibilities are shared in the practice of democracy at the University.

Professionalism

The capacity to perform teaching, research, knowledge transfer, innovation and management competently and responsibly, and guide students' education towards this capacity for their future in society. This means they must have the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to achieve it.

Critical thinking

An intellectual and social disposition that is antidogmatic, analytical, interpretative, methodically self-correcting, sensitive to the complexity of different contexts and to the evolutionary condition of all human activity, and open to pluralism and creativity through the practice of assertive dialogue.

Sustainability

A disposition towards deciding and acting to preserve and regenerate the biosphere, without compromising the wellbeing of current and future generations, and constructing fair, democratic and peaceful societies.

Truthfulness

Obtaining and transmitting knowledge and information with the utmost precision, rigour, integrity and transparency. Truthfulness requires attitudes such as modesty, openness to other perspectives, a spirit of enquiry, challenging what is false and recognising the value of facts.