Secretaria de Relações Internacionais | Office of International Relations

The administrative building of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya [Open University of Catalonia] (UOC) is a private university dedicated to distance learning, based in Barcelona, Spain.  It is the world’s first university with a virtual campus.

The Secretary for International Relations at UFSC, Prof. Luiz Carlos Pinheiro Machado Filho, visited UOC and gave us this report:

“As I was registered to participate in the 32nd European Association for International Education (EAIE) Conference and Exhibition, I thought it was important to get to know a university in Catalonia as part of the “Campus Experience” activity. The university with the name Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) caught my attention, but what really surprised me was the meaning of “Open”. The name, for them, means that the student does not need to be present at the university. Thus, I got to know the first completely online university, founded in 1995. It was an interesting and unexpected experience.

This university has been growing year by year and in the period 2019-2020 had over 70 thousand students from 142 countries enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, 478 permanent faculty members and 5300 collaborating faculty members, in addition to 667 administrative staff members. The practical classes, when needed, take place in other institutions located where the student is residing.

The pandemic forced us to undertake remote learning, and it certainly opened up the debate on online learning, which is very different from offering remote classes. At UFSC, we call distance learning (EaD) what others call online programs. It uses other teaching and learning methodologies that depend a lot on the students and their motivation. There are positive and negative aspects. It seems to me that the positive aspects include the fact that education is made possible for those who work, have a family, or cannot afford to live in the city where the university is based. From this perspective, it is inclusive, providing study opportunities for those who otherwise would not have them. In fact, the age group of UOC students is mostly above 30 years old. On the other hand, there is the very negative aspect of the student not experiencing the university and its daily life, not socializing, not knowing their colleagues and professors, and having to learn always through the cold contact of a computer screen. Online learning is there, and it is up to us (UFSC) to assess its relevance, utility and opportunity”.