The Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia aims to become an international hub that will act as a driving force in society and in the definition and consolidation of the knowledge economy in the counties of southern Catalonia. It is based on the underlying goal of the innovation strategy already in place in the region: to forge a link between knowledge-generating centres and institutes and the productive sector and to place research at the heart of that connection.
Other aims of the CEICS include improving teaching and research structures, becoming a magnet for the attraction of talent, encouraging research in the productive sector and converting the region into a centre of activity in which people can find quality work. These objectives go hand in hand with another of the project's fundamental aims: to promote the internationalization of the campus and the region.
The alliance increases the international visibility and profile of the area. The group of structures that make up the CEICS has already generated visible results and has been the object of considerable recognition through, for example, the proliferation of articles that the many talented members of their organizations have produced and published in international scientific journals.
Regional development
The CEICS gives greater visibility to a strategy that Rovira i Virgili University (URV) has been developing since its foundation. Building on its regional character, it has implemented a policy of identifying the priority areas connected with the socio-economic strengths of its environment. This has allowed it to boost its international profile as a research-based university, while at the same time fostering development in the region. The university has contributed to the decision of the productive sector to invest in R&D&I, a crucial decision for the future of the region, and the CEICS will play a leading role in defining the new economic model. At the core of this whole process for positive change is the interaction between the university, knowledge-generating organizations and the productive sector.
Studying, researching, working and living in the counties of southern Catalonia is an enormously attractive option. It is a region configured as a multi-centred city and one of the most dynamic areas in Spain as well as one of the most promising and quickly emerging areas in Europe.