ShareMercè Gisbert Cervera will be the new director of AQU Catalunya
The professor in Educational Technology at the Department of Pedagogy of the Rovira i Virgili University will formally occupy the position from October 1.
The Doctor of Education Sciences and Professor of Educational Technology in the Department of Pedagogy of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) Mercè Gisbert Cervera has been the candidate who has come first in the selection process for a new director for AQU Catalunya. Gisbert, who is a specialist in the application of Technologies in Education, has already been officially appointed to the position with a resolution published in the DOGC today and which will come into force on 1 October.
Gisbert, born in La Sénia (Montsià) in 1964, has an extensive curriculum in the academic world. She is the Principal Investigator of the recognized Research Group ARGET [Applied Research Group in Education and Technology] and coordinator at the URV of the interuniversity doctoral program in Educational Technology. From this university he has led more than 100 national and international projects and has developed an intense activity of communication and scientific dissemination, publishing more than 100 articles in high-impact scientific journals. In addition, he has also supervised more than 60 doctoral theses in different universities both national and international.
Management experience
The next director of AQU Catalunya also has a long management career. Between 1998 and 2010, she held positions such as vice-dean of the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology at the URV, director of the Institute of Education Sciences (ICE) and vice-rector of Teaching and ICT and Teaching and EHEA at the URV. Outside the university sphere, she has also held management positions in the non-university sphere, as she has been a member of the School Council of Catalonia (2012-2016), a member of the plenary and secretary of the CoNCA (National Council of Culture and the Arts of Catalonia) (2012-2019) and is currently a member of the Higher Council for the Evaluation of the Educational System (2021-2024). He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Catalan Society of Pedagogy (SCP-IEC)
At the international level, Gisbert has been an invited professor for a research stay at the British Columbia University (UBC) in Vancouver (Canada) in 2011 and 2015 and also at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Berkeley (California-USA) in 2019. The professor of Pedagogy is also a member of different international networks such as the Asociación para el Desarrollo de la Tecnología Educativa (EDUTEC), the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education (WFATE) or the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE).
An open and competitive process
To achieve the position of Director of AQU Catalunya, Gisbert has passed an open and freely competitive selection process that the Agency initiated on 21 January and in which a total of 9 applications were submitted. Gisbert was the candidate who obtained the highest score during the selection process.
The selection committee that scored the candidates is made up of the President of AQU Catalunya, Francesc Xavier Grau Vidal; the representative of the Governing Council of AQU Catalunya, Javier Lafuente Sancho, rector of the UAB; the internationally renowned professor Nekane Balluerka Lasa, member of the Advisory Committee of AQU Catalunya; and the secretary of AQU Catalunya and the Governing Council of AQU Catalunya, Maria Giné Soca, with a voice but no vote during the selection process.
Candidates of diverse origins
Of the nine people who applied for the process, 8 met the admission requirements. Of these eight candidates, two were women and six were men. Five of the candidates came from public universities and three from private universities. It is also worth noting that seven were from Catalan universities and one was from outside Catalonia.
In accordance with article 9 of Law 15/2015, of 21 July, on AQU Catalunya, the director of the Agency is appointed through an open and competitive process of free competition that is carried out following the criteria agreed by the Governing Council. The person selected for the position will hold it for a period of four years, renewable only once, in accordance with the principles of merit and capacity and with the criterion of suitability. You can consult the selection process in detail, at this link.
In accordance with article 9 of Law 15/2015, of 21 July, on AQU Catalunya, the director of the Agency is appointed through an open and competitive process of free competition that is carried out following the criteria agreed by the Governing Council. The person selected for the position will hold it for a period of four years, renewable only once, in accordance with the principles of merit and capacity and with the criterion of suitability. You can consult the selection process in detail, at this link.
Below, you can consult Resolution REU/2801/2025, of July 17, by which Ms. María Mercedes Gisbert Cervera is appointed director of the Agency for Quality of the University System of Catalonia.