The Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP)
The Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) was created in 2002 on an initiative of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universitat de Girona (UdG), Universitat de Lleida (UdL), Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). The ACUP’s main purpose is to be the principal voice of the universities of Catalonia and combine efforts to promote initiatives, programmes and joint projects with the aim of improving the university system and ensuring that it spearheads social, cultural and economic development.
Núria Jové i Company joined the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) in February 2019. She coordinates the Research and Innovation Area and implementing activities promoted within the framework of the Knowledge, Territory, and Innovation Platform (PCTI).
Before joining ACUP, she worked for over eight years at the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UpM), an intergovernmental institution that brings together 43 countries and promotes dialogue and cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region. There, she consolidated her knowledge and professional experience in project management in the fields of higher education, research and innovation, and vocational training. Her early work experiences took place in the field of communication offices, at the Parliament of Catalonia and at the College of Political Scientists and Sociologists of Catalonia (COLPIS), and in journalism for the journal El Punt Avui.
She holds a degree in Political Science and Administration and Journalism from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and specializes in Protocol and State and International Ceremonial from the University of Oviedo and the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Currently in LOESS, she is the CoP leader in Catalonia, Spain.
Paula Santolalla is the responsible for communications in The Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) since July 2023. She graduated in Journalism from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and holds a master’s degree in Digital Entrepreneurship. She has worked in various national media, both as a reporter from Italy and as an editor from Catalonia. She has served as communication manager for companies in both the public and private sectors. She has experience in creating websites and communication materials, organizing events and workshops. Shortly, in managing communications for different projects. Currently in LOESS, she coordinates the WP6: Dissemination and Cross-Networking.
Josep M. Vilalta (Barcelona, 1965) is Director of the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi) and Executive Secretary of the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP). Specialist in public management and public policies and in higher education and research management. He holds an experience of thirty years on different leading positions on public sector organizations as well as on different higher education institutions. He has promoted and participated in various projects and groups of experts of the Government of Catalonia and the Government of Spain, the European Commission, the OECD, UNESCO, and several countries in education and universities, political science and public policy management.
He has published nearly a hundred papers for journals and publications, book chapters and books on public administration, public policy, education, universities and scientific research policy. He is member of the group of experts of the Spanish university policy think tank Studia XXI, member of the Advisory Boards of Fundació iSocial and ‘El Diari de l’Educació’. He is a regular contributor to different national and international publications and to the newspapers ARA, NacióDigital and La Vanguardia. He holds a Degree in Geography and History (UB), a Master in Public Management (UAB), a Master in Political and Social Theory (UPF) and a Postgraduate in Management of Higher Education (Open University/Universiteit Twente). He has been promoter and director of the Master of Management and University Policy at UPC and visiting professor in different institutions.