A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya
Martí Casadesús Fa, director of AQU Catalunya (2013-2021)
Maybe I’m bound to wander
From one place to the next
Heaven knows why
But in the wild blue yonder
Your star is fixed in my sky
“Wherever I go”, Mark Knopfler
It has been eight years since I started this chapter as director of AQU Catalunya under the president, doctor, and more importantly, friend, Josep Joan Moreso. Under the Agency Act 2015, all posts and assessment staff are appointed for four years, renewable only once. Thus today closes a chapter which has been professionally but, above all, personally very enriching.
In fact, I should say “enriching and explosive”, as someone described it in the office a few days ago. “Explosive” because all the indicators of tasks to be carried out by the Agency (number of degree programmes to assess, teaching staff accreditations, etc.) have increased continually throughout this time. We have often been overwhelmed by a university system undergoing a “surge in assessment”, but, in spite of everything we have adapted to these circumstances, making Ortega i Gasset's maxim, “I am me and my circumstance, and if I cannot save it, I cannot save myself” our own. And so we have assessed over 4,000 degree programmes, made over 500 visits to educational centres, carried out more than 13,000 teaching staff accreditation assessments, more than 35,000 teaching merit assessments and over 200,000 surveys, given over 300 presentations and concluded close to 400 agreements with all kinds of organisations.
I am aware that this barrage has made us slower to respond than we would have liked. Rest assured, though, that we have made every effort to continue to ensure maximum quality at the Agency. For this reason, I would like to thank the 15 committees into which the Agency is divided and the more than 2,000 assessors for their hard work and collaboration over these eight years. And naturally my thanks go to the six assessment committees, without whom we could not have undertaken what society really demands of us, and, finally, to the students, who are the main targets of everything we do. I would also like to acknowledge the Generalitat de Catalunya, who, aware of the “surge in assessment” we were faced with, have always given us the support we needed.
The 109 people who have staffed the Agency in the course of these eight years deserve special mention. Our staff have been essential in striving towards a common goal: to ensure the continuous improvement of the Catalan university system. My most sincere thanks for their dedication, professionalism and patience.
I am leaving the Agency to face new personal challenges. I leave with the satisfaction of a job done to the best of our ability, and with the friendship of many people engaged in improving quality: rectors' offices, Agency staff, teaching staff, technician, deans' offices... I am confident I can take care of such a precious commodity!
I also leave with the satisfaction of knowing that the Agency is in the capable hands of new director Dr Jaume Valls. I have no doubt that with his skills, know-how and dedication, he will enable the Agency to continue to grow and, above all, to continue to contribute to the progress of the Catalan university system.
My thanks once again to you all for the immense support over all these years, and much more importantly, for your friendship. Your star is fixed in my sky.