ShareAQU Catalunya Governing Board approves the 2026 ESG self-assessment report and the 2027 activity plan
The session also included the presentation of the results of the 2026 Graduate Employment Survey and updates on the Agency’s strategic projects, including the awarding of the first Joint European Degree Labels by AQU Catalunya.
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The AQU Catalunya Governing Board held its final meeting before the summer break, addressing a range of issues related to the Agency’s institutional, strategic and evaluation activities. During the session, the President of AQU Catalunya, Francesc Xavier Grau Vidal, reported on the progress of the agreement with the Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación (ANECA) regarding the recognition of teaching staff six-year research assessment periods (sexenios) for contracted academic staff. He also highlighted that AQU Catalunya has awarded the first Joint European Degree Labels to two master’s programmes led by the Universitat de Barcelona and the Universidad Católica de Valencia and delivered within the CHARM-EU and EU-CONEXUS alliances, respectively. These programmes are the first to receive the new European label promoted by the European Commission, making AQU Catalunya the first quality assurance agency in Europe to award it. Grau also shared reflections on the internationalisation of higher education systems, both regarding programmes intended to be introduced in Catalonia and degrees offered by Catalan universities outside Catalonia.
For her part, the Director of AQU Catalunya, Mercè Gisbert Cervera, reported on the issues discussed in meetings held with the Technical Quality Units, the Committee of Vice-Rectors responsible for Quality at the universities, and the Institutional and Programme Assessment Committee. She also presented the progress made in implementing the 2025-2029 Action Plan within the framework of CoARA, the development of the Quality and Integrity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence series, and the relocation of AQU Catalunya’s headquarters, scheduled for 2027.
During the Governing Board meeting, the results of the 2026 Graduate Employment Survey of graduates from Catalan universities were also presented. In addition, the Board approved the 2026 self-assessment report on compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG), AQU Catalunya’s position regarding thematic quality labels, the draft activity and budget plan for 2027, and the schedule of external review visits to institutions offering official university programmes during 2027.
The Governing Board renewed the appointment of Dr Irene Delgado, Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, as an academic member of the Institutional and Programme Assessment Committee following the completion of her first term of office. Finally, the Board ratified the agreements signed between April and June 2026, as well as the multiannual expenditure contracted during the same period.