The Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) joins ACUP

The Association of Catalan Public Universities (ACUP) assumes from May 2014 the presidency and the secretariat of the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) after reaching an agreement with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia - Barcelona Tech (UPC). This ensures the continuity of GUNI. GUNI is an international network founded in 1999 by UNESCO, the United Nations University ( UNU ) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia - Barcelona Tech (UPC), which currently has 208 members in 78 countries. Its mission is to strengthen the role of higher education in society, contributing to the renewal of the visions, missions and policies of higher education globally, from a public service, relevance and social responsibility.

The objective of GUNI is to encourage Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to guide their role to expand their social value, adopting a process of transformation and strengthening their position in society. It is also to promote resource sharing, innovative ideas and experiences, and collective creation of knowledge about innovation, social responsibility and relevance, as well as emerging issues in higher education. GUNI  also promotes synergies between HEIs and between them and society and will contribute to reduce the gap between developed and developing countries in the field of higher education and to promote North-South and South-South cooperation.

Its main activities are the GUNI Report Higher Education in the World - a collective publication of global and regional analysis on emerging issues of higher education in the world; GUNI Knowledge Community - a space for the creation of collective knowledge on emerging issues in higher education globally, providing knowledge resources through web-based technology platform 2.0; The International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education - an international forum for debate on key policy issues of higher education and university innovation; Research projects in the field of higher education, own or entrusted to other institutions; and the GUNI Newsletter, bimonthly ezine.

The incorporation of GUNI in the ACUP will strengthen its role as an institution promoting studies, reports, and data on the Catalan university system in the context of national and international, as well as strengthen its international profile and visibility. For this reason, the integration of GUNI is an opportunity to strengthen these two aspects within the Association and Catalonia as a university research reference in the world.