The Gender and ICT (GenTIC) research group at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya is launching a new call for the Cecilia Castaño Awards with the aim of promoting gender equality in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and more broadly in science and technology (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Since 2022, GenTIC has promoted this call to recognize the best research studies, in any academic discipline, whose subject matter relates to the study of gender inequalities in science and technology, and which provide relevant knowledge on the participation of women in STEM fields. Doctoral theses or academic articles linked to doctoral thesis results, and master's degree final projects or academic articles linked to the results of a master's degree final project, are eligible for the award.

Research works can be submitted in English, Catalan, or Spanish until November 16, 2026.

The candidate that ranks first as the best doctoral thesis or academic article linked to doctoral thesis results will receive a prize of €2,400, and the one classified first as the best master's thesis (TFM) or academic article linked to TFM results will receive a prize of €600.

Check out the terms and conditions for the Cecilia Castaño Awards and how to participate here. For any questions, contact Gender and ICT at gentic@uoc.edu.

About Cecilia Castaño

Honorary professor of Applied Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid (Faculty of Political Science and Sociology). In 2006, she created the Gender and ICT research programme at the UOC's Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3). That same year, together with Juan Martín Fernández, María Ángeles Sallé (Fundación Directa), Susana Vázquez y José Luis Martínez Cantos, she launched the e-Equality Observatory of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), which for five years produced annual reports on the digital gender gap, the participation of women in the information society (La segunda brecha digital, 2008; La brecha digital de género. Amantes y distantes, 2009) and different annual reports of the e-Equality Observatory that each year addressed a specific topic. Her research work has had a social impact on the promotion of initiatives and political actions for gender equality both in the digital field of information and communication technologies and in the field of science and technology (STEM). In addition, throughout her career, Cecilia Castaño has led the creation of various training programs with a gender perspective at the university level. She is currently a member of the Gender Gap Advisory Council of the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, which was created in 2024 to advise on public policy decisions falling within the Ministry's remit from a gender perspective, particularly those aimed at reducing the gender gap.

Have a look at the contributions of Cecilia Castaño here.

“#internetflags: Weaving Open Knowledge” is a prototyping and collaborative creation workshop for large-format banners featuring hand-painted text messages. Using design thinking methodologies, we will connect the everyday experience of mobile internet with access to knowledge. 

Today, our daily lives are inseparable from the use of connected digital devices. Mobile internet allows us to access and generate open knowledge (repositories, collaborative and citizen science platforms, academic research in accessible formats...). But what formats and narratives can guarantee an active and critical role for citizens? How can we prevent algorithmic logic and information overload from generating misinformation? What opportunities and challenges does digital ubiquity bring?

Coinciding with International Open Access Week, this free workshop open to the public will take place at the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) headquarters in Barcelona. The created pieces will subsequently be exhibited in various locations across the city's public spaces.

This activity lasts the whole day and is divided into two sessions: morning and afternoon. Everyone helps out with the painting. Come in comfortable clothes ;-)

Free activity requiring advance reservation. Limited spots available. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so your spot can be given to someone on the waiting list.

IN COLLABORATION WITH:       

We are delighted to invite you to the next event of the ETHE Journal Webinar Series, a growing initiative of the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE) created to bring together leading scholars whose work has made a lasting mark on research in educational technology and higher education.

For this session, we are especially honoured to feature Dr. Abdullahi Yusuf (Sokoto State University, Nigeria / Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), whose research on educational technology and educational computing, combined with his firsthand experience across academic contexts in Africa and Asia, makes him ideally placed to guide this conversation on academic integrity in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

The webinar "Academic Integrity in the Generative AI Era: Multicultural Perspectives from Higher Education" will be held on Tuesday October 20th at 15:00h (CET). We will explore how the rise of generative AI is reshaping notions of academic integrity across different educational and cultural contexts, from questions of authorship and originality to institutional policy and pedagogical response. Drawing on his extensive experience as a Senior Lecturer, former Head of Department, and Research Fellow, Dr. Yusuf will discuss how academic communities around the world are adapting their standards and practices, and what a genuinely multicultural perspective can offer to this ongoing debate. This is a conversation not only about detection and policy, but about what integrity means for teaching, learning and research as generative AI becomes part of everyday academic life.

This webinar offers a unique opportunity to engage with a leading voice in educational technology research, whose scholarship — including his recent synthesis of primary evidence on quantum computing in K-12 settings — continues to shape how the field approaches emerging challenges in higher education.

Discover International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE) publications of this author, here.

Mosaic Talk Freeing creativity from technical know-how? Imagining, prototyping and creating with generative AI

Talk by Ferran Adell and other AI experts

How many ideas have we left unrealised because we lacked the skills to use the necessary tools? Generative AI is transforming how we imagine, design, prototype and develop, from initial intuition to finished product. A video game, an interactive story, an educational resource or a cultural website, but also a 3D object, a piece of furniture or a landscape. In this event, we will explore how AI lowers barriers to creation and how prototyping becomes a way of thinking: building, testing and reworking help us discover what we want to create and how. Conceiving good ideas, structuring them and communicating them clearly is essential in this new creative environment. Rather than offloading our thinking and creativity, human involvement must guide the entire process: we think, steer, select, correct, validate and decide. A positive look at the possibilities of generative AI for turning our own ideas into reality, freeing creativity from initial technical barriers.

The event will be held in Catalan as part of Barcelona Design Week 2026.

En el context de la Setmana Internacional de l'Accés Obert 2026 es presenta el Seminari d'edició científica 2026 - «European Open Access News: about ORE and DDH» amb l'objectiu de contribuir a un millor coneixement de les iniciatives europees recents per millorar la comunicació científica.

Projectes com Open Research Europe (ORE) i Diamond Discovery Hub (DDH) són dues mostres del compromís europeu amb la publicació diamant de qualitat. Durant la trobada es presentaran aquestes iniciatives i s'obrirà torn de preguntes i debat.

Es presentarà:

Open Research Europe, the (r)evolution of European open access scholarly publishing. 

Jeroen Sondervan, Programme Leader Open Scholarly Communication at Open Science NL and Chairperson of the ORE Executive Committee

Pastora Martínez Samper, comissionada per a l'acció internacional a la UOC i coordinadora de l'Aliança OpenEU

Diamond Discovery Hub. Un nou repositori per a revistes d’accès obert diamant. 

Pilar Rico-Castro, coordinadora de Ciència Oberta a la FECYT i professora associada a la UNED. Doctora per la Universitat Complutense de Madrid (2006).

The OpenEU Student Council, part of the European university alliance coordinated by the UOC, is organising the first edition of the OpenEU Democracy Festival from 23 to 25 October. This free, online international event is open to the entire OpenEU community and aims to encourage reflection and debate on the current challenges and future of democracy. 

Under the theme The Open Canvas of Democracy, the festival will bring together more than 50 experts, professionals and analysts from across Europe and other regions in a programme structured around six thematic tracks: democratic identity; diversity, equity and inclusion; governance and society; digital democracy; education and knowledge; and culture and expression. 

The UOC will also be represented by Efraín Foglia, a member of the teaching staff at the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, who will deliver a presentation entitled Community Technopolitical Design on Saturday 24 October at 4 pm. 

Over three days, the festival will combine short presentations, debates, interactive sessions and participatory activities, including live questions and polls, digital walls and group activities. The programme will also feature cultural performances and recreational activities to encourage the exchange of ideas and perspectives among participants. 

The initiative aims to foster dialogue, critical thinking and participation within the European university community, while exploring new forms of debate and collective engagement. To facilitate international participation, the event will offer live subtitles in six languages and accessibility resources.

View the programme and register for the OpenEU Democracy Festival

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: Magda Vaz dos Santos
• Titled: "Fuera de Campo: Un análisis crítico de las representaciones cinematográficas y de las experiencias encarnadas del consentimiento queer"
• Thesis Supervisors: Dr Anna Clua Infante & Dr Andrea Garcia-Santesmases
• Doctoral Programme: Society, Technology & Culture

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Tuesday 27th October - 11am CEST
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

UOC Knowledge Transfer Day was created with the goal of boosting the visibility of knowledge transfer across the University and highlighting, right from our own campus, UOC’s research and innovation capabilities that drive societal impact.

The event also aims to serve as a connection point between the UOC community, businesses, institutions, and other local stakeholders. It will consist of two complementary parts: the first, internal part is aimed at all teaching and research staff, as well as anyone involved in research and transfer activities.

This session will focus on sharing the University's transfer strategy and key internal updates (Building C - Hall). The second part, which is also open to companies, institutions, and other external partners, will feature five thematic tracks linked to UOC’s research missions.

In each of these sessions, success stories in knowledge transfer will be presented in a dynamic, interactive format, featuring contributions from the teaching and research staff (PDI) who led the projects, alongside collaborating companies and institutions. (Building U, various rooms)

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: DAVOUD OMARZADEH
• Titled: " Scalable Computational Methods for Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Risk Monitoring"
• Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Javier Borge-Holthoefer
• Doctoral Programme: Network and Information Technologies

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on 28th October - 11am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: SERGIO GRUESO SÁEZ
• Titled: “Cognitive and Neural bases of Bilingualism in Healthy Aging”
• Thesis Supervisor: Dr Marco Calabria & Dr Ferran Prados Carrasco
• Doctoral Programme: Health & Psychology

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Thursday 29th October - 11.00am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: MÓNICA GARCÍA MASSAGUÉ
• Titled: "THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE... El valor de los festivales de cine de género fantástico dentro del marketing cinematográfico"
• Thesis Supervisor: Dr Jordi Sánchez Navarro
• Doctoral Programme: Humanities and Communication (HiC)

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Friday 30th October - 10am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: Miguel Eduardo Antezana Corrieri 
• Titled: “ Comunicación estratégica en entornos de crisis multidimensional: el caso del Perú en el período 2020-2022"
• Thesis Supervisors: Dr Amalia Suana Creus and Dr Marc Compte Pujol
• Doctoral Programme: Humanities and Communication

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Tuesday 3rd November at 4pm (CEST)
* at an online meeting (a link with a Google Calendar invitation would be sent in the previous days)

Inclusion has occupied a central place in university policies over recent decades. However, to what extent are inclusion policies transforming institutions and their practices? What barriers persist, and what forms of inequity may remain hidden behind the very language of inclusion?

Talking about accessibility and equity in higher education means asking who can access, participate in and learn at our universities, but also what conditions, rules and organisational arrangements enable—or hinder—such participation. These questions span the entire university journey: from access to higher education to the classroom experience, assessment, curricular adaptations, participation in university life and the subsequent transition into the world of work.

This seminar brings together experiences from universities and organisations in Europe and Latin America to compare educational policies and practices, explore the barriers affecting different groups, and reflect on the institutional, educational and social conditions that can produce exclusion. From an anti-ableist perspective, we propose shifting the focus from adapting individuals to transforming the structures and environments that enable—or limit—universal accessibility and full participation in university life.

The seminar is free and open to a broad audience, including academics, professionals and members of the wider educational community. Places are limited, and certificates of attendance will be issued upon request.

IN COLLABORATION WITH:       

You are invited to attend the public defense of:

• Candidate: Víctor Manuel González Gorrín

• Title: “A Novel Hybrid Machine Learning Intrusion Detection Method for Metamorphic Malware”

• Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Josep Prieto-Blázquez

• Doctoral Programme: Network and Information Technologies

Date and Time: Tuesday, 10th November at 11:00 AM (CEST)

Please confirm your attendance by completing this form.

Note: The defense will take place entirely online for both the candidate and the audience. A link along with a Google Calendar invitation will be sent a few days prior to the event.

In collaboration with

The  International Forum on Skills Intelligence in Postsecondary and Higher Education (IFSI)  held its inaugural edition on July 2 – 3, 2025  ( you can access the multimedia proceedings of the first edition here ) , organized by the  Universitat Oberta de Catalunya . The forum was launched as a pioneering space designed to rethink the future of higher and postsecondary education through the lens of skills intelligence.

In 2026, IFSI becomes a year round virtual forum which showcases  Skills Intelligence Innovators and Ecosystem Builders , by curating a cycle of five (5) online webinars throughout the year. IFSI is organized in collaboration with the OCED's  Skills and the Future of Work Webinar Series.

IFSI webinar #5: Ecosystem Builders Roundtable: Connecting Institutions, Standards, and Public Infrastructure for Skills Intelligence.

Skills Intelligence cannot mature through institutional effort alone. Its broader adoption depends on ecosystems that offer enabling environments and that connect data, trust, standards, incentives, and actors across multiple levels.

This session focuses on the “builders” of those ecosystems: agencies, alliances, standards bodies, and intermediary organizations that help make Skills Intelligence usable at scale. The goal is to surface how collaborative infrastructures are being designed and what enabling conditions are most important for sustained impact.

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: ALBERTO POZA POYATOS
• Titled: " QUEER SINOPHONE LITERATURE IN SPANISH TRANSLATION: A Qualitative Reading of Sexually Transgressive Taiwanese Novels in Translation between 2018 and 2025"
• Thesis Supervisors: Dr Carles Prado-Fonts and Dr Begonya Sáez Tajafuerce
• Doctoral Programme: Humanities and Communication

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on 13th November - 11am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: HELENA GINESTA DOLCET
• Titled: “La formació inicial de mestres en línia: aprenent de la pràctica”
• Thesis Supervisor: Dr Antoni Badia & Dr Julio Meneses
• Doctoral Programme: Education and ICT (e-Learning)

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Tuesday 17th November- 15.30am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

Edul@b invites researchers working across education, human–computer interaction, computer science and artificial intelligence to a seminar with Prof. Nikolaos Avouris on the evaluation of AI conversational agents for learning.

You are invited to attend the public defence of

• Candidate: SERGIO GIL FLORES
• Titled: “La vida social de los bares. Una etnografía en la España de baja densidad poblacional: Bar La Espiga, Castell de Cabres, La Tinença de Benifassà, Castelló"
• Thesis Supervisor: Dr Francesc Xavier Medina & Dr Manuel Delgado
• Doctoral Programme: Health & Psychology

 Please confirm your attendance by completing this form. The defence will take place

* on Thursday 19th November- 10.30am
* at UOC room U.2.1 Building U - Entrance via C/Perú 52, Barcelona

Research and design maintain a fundamental interdependent relationship: while the practice of research is an inherent component of the professional dimension of design, academic research becomes a requirement for its epistemological consolidation. In recent decades, alongside the emergence of interaction design, user experience, and video game design, a methodological hybridization has taken place that has enabled the formalization of diverse theoretical and practical approaches, such as co-design, design thinking, universal design, or speculative design. Based on the recognition of the plurality of approaches that characterize the discipline, the international conference Expanding the Margins (EXM26) aims to analyze this methodological diversity and its analytical potential when facing the challenges of contemporary society.

The event will take place on December 3 and 4, 2026, at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya headquarters in Barcelona. We invite you to attend and share debates, experiences, and reflections around the boundaries of design and its transformative impact on our society.

The Conference is organized by the Mediaccions group (UOC) with the support of the Interdisciplinary Research Center in Social and Cultural Transformations (UOC-TRÀNSIC).

With funding from R&D&I “FUTURNAT” (Project PID2024-159564NB-I0). In collaboration with the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, the Design & Maker Lab, and the Audiovisual & Sound Lab at UOC.