EuropeG, an opinion and reflection group in political economy suggests that the Spanish university model requires a deep reform to promote the competitiveness of the Spanish economy in the context of Europe. This is one of the key findings of its fourth policy brief 'The reform of the university. A boost to the competitiveness of the Spanish economy ' presented this last Monday by Professor Martí Parellada and Gemma Garcia, coordinator of the work, at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB). The preparation of the report also featured the collaboration of the former Minister of Economy of the Generalitat, Antoni Castells, and professors Manuel Castells, Josep Oliver and Emilio Ontiveros. EuropeG is chartered under the Economics Institute Foundation in Barcelona (IEB), University of Barcelona, and is located at the PCB.

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In the report, the EuropeG group proposes three essential lines for the reform of the Spanish university system: developing the autonomy of the university, increasing the economic resources allocated, and defining the strategic challenges that guide its action.

The Spanish university today trains a million and a half students of first and second cycle and degree program, and about 113,000 students in the master’s degree programs. In addition, 29 % of the R&D expenditure budget of the Spanish economy is allocated to the university, directly employing 48% of Spanish researchers. It also develops 17% of the national patent applications and 69 % of Spanish scientific publications.

According to the study, a reform of this magnitude should allow the university to further strengthen its research performance, improve its training capacity, develop its action scope for the transfer of research results to business and society, and increase its presence in the International field.

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