University of Zaragoza

Introduction

The University of Zaragoza is a public institution of research and higher education in the service of society, combining a tradition of five centuries of history with the updating of their teaching education. The University of Zaragoza is generalist and offers courses in all areas: Arts and Humanities, Experimental Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Law and Engineering and Architecture. It offers 54 degree courses, 6 joint and 2 consecutive programs. In terms of graduate studies, the University offers 61 university master's degrees, as well as 37 doctorate programs and 13 interuniversity doctorate programs, as well as 58 of its own programs. Research carried out by the University of Zaragoza is focused on technological, social, legal, humanistic, experimental and health areas. It organizes research activity through its own research Institutes, joint or affiliated institutes, as well as through nationally and internationally renowned research groups. Its laboratories and scientific and technological infrastructures are dedicated to optimize research by generating knowledge and promoting innovation. University research institutes play a vital role in the work carried out by the University of Zaragoza, which comprises 11 institutes: 6 own institutes, 1 affiliated institute and 4 mixed institutes. The University also has other unique research facilities: the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) and the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory. It is also noteworthy the Research Centre in Transmissible Spongiform and Emerging Diseases, fruit of an agreement between the Government of Aragon, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the University of Zaragoza, as a reference laboratory for research that requires a high degree of security in the field of Biology, Biomedicine or Veterinary Science. A large part of the University’s research activity is channeled through the 171 research groups. It also has research support services, consisting of laboratories and workshops which facilitate research work in various scientific fields. In order to strengthen its relations with companies and institutions the University has a Research Results Transfer Office (OTRI) and has created company and institutional Chairs. In this way, society benefits from the transfer of technology and research carried out by the University, as well as from the dissemination of ideas and continuous training and the provision of technical assistance to businesses and university communities through participation in contracts, development of patents, and the creation of technology-based companies. The University has 94 institutional and company Chairs. This represents a strategic and long-lasting union, where both parties can benefit from the results of research, development and innovation activities. Its activities include developing of research lines of common interest, pursuing national and international research projects, advising on innovation, development, and preferential information regarding research or transfer projects, the development of doctoral theses and dissertations, organizing student work placements, promoting the integration of university teachers in the business environment carrying out training. The University of Zaragoza is the first Spanish University according to the number of institutional and company Chairs. The University of Zaragoza’s international commitment is demonstrated through mobility programs (both its own and external) for students, teachers, researchers, and administration and service staff, double degree programs, bilateral and multilateral agreements, research projects, and university development cooperation projects across the five continents. The University of Zaragoza considers internationalization a guarantee of quality. It has around 1,700 bilateral agreements with institutions all over the world (34 European countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, Latin America, Asia, and Africa). It is one of the top-ranking Spanish universities in terms of international annual student exchanges. Almost 1,250 of our students take part every year; and around 3.7% of the students attending daily lessons at the University of Zaragoza are international incoming exchange students. In addition, each year around 120 teachers from our University carry out educational visits in other European countries, and the trend is growing. The University of Zaragoza has managed various international mobility programs and in addition, it takes part in development cooperation programs. The University of Zaragoza is part of the European university UNITA-Universitas Montium, which now includes 10 Universities of the European Union plus two associated universities: The University of Turin and the University of Brescia from Italy, The U. of Pau and the Pays del Adour and the U. of Savoy Mont Blanc from France, The University from the West of Timisoara and the University of Transylvania in Brasov from Romania, the U. of Beira Interior and the Polytechnic of Guarda from Portugal, as well as the Public University of Navarre from Spain and the associates Haute Ecole de Suisse Occidentale from Switzerland and the University of Chernivtsi from Ukraine. It is an Alliance approved and financed by the European Union, which seeks to increase the mobility of the entire university community (up to 50% mobility, physical and virtual, among graduates), facilitating the execution and management of exchanges, virtual classes, greater recognition of mobility for staff and mobility in the rural world. It also has the mission to create common Bachelors' and Masters' Degrees, foster synergies in research and integrate communities into the Alliance. It places the University of Zaragoza within the select group of European universities members of a European Alliance. For researchers it will imply access to greater funding, especially for projects related to the development of rural areas, of three Research and Innovation Centers in Cultural Heritage, Renewable Energies and Circular Economy with the provision of micro-credentials, summer schools, doctoral circuits specific, and open to social and student participation (through internships and coworking spaces). The University of Zaragoza, together with the Public University of Navarra, La Rioja University and Lleida University formed the Ebro Valley Campus honored with the title of International Campus of Excellence. A consortium has been created overcoming the geographical and administrative boundaries of four autonomous regions. The areas of expertise are set according with their capabilities to claim their international position with defined scientific challenges and ground-breaking activities in sustainable energy, technology for citizens’ health, food and nutrition, and conservation of cultural heritage. Particularly valued are their ties with the productive environment, involving companies, institutions and cities. The University of Zaragoza has an extensive offer in the field of culture and sport, as well as a set of services to its members (accommodation, residence, language...) benefit. Their courses of Spanish as a Foreign Language are the oldest in Spain.