The UB promotes the creation of the first Ibero-American university alliance: the Barcelona-Guadalajara Forum
The rector Joan Guàrdia at the Barcelona-Guadalajara Forum
News
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Institutional
(02/12/2025)
The rector of the University of Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, presided over a formal ceremony at the Paranymph of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) to mark the creation of the new Ibero-American Forum of Universities (FIU), a leading university working and discussion forum inspired by the League of European Research Universities (LERU).
The rector Joan Guàrdia at the Barcelona-Guadalajara Forum
News
|
Institutional
02/12/2025
The rector of the University of Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, presided over a formal ceremony at the Paranymph of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) to mark the creation of the new Ibero-American Forum of Universities (FIU), a leading university working and discussion forum inspired by the League of European Research Universities (LERU).
This is the first time that leading universities from both sides of the Atlantic have come together in an initiative such as the FIU. The UB is one of the driving forces behind the Forum, together with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Buenos Aires, the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of São Paulo.
The Forum was created with the aim of conducting a joint analysis of the major issues affecting higher education, research and transfer to society, and offering innovative and shared solutions. The seven founding universities have formed this international alliance, led by the UB and the UdeG, with the aim of becoming a key actor in the current academic landscape and a scientific and knowledge benchmark for the governments of the countries involved.
At the ceremony to mark the creation of the Ibero-American Forum of Universities, Guàrdia highlighted that the Forum will serve as a key instrument for safeguarding the role of universities as drivers of progress and social transformation, and as guarantors of democratic values, rights and freedoms. “It is an honour to strengthen the ties that bind us to the great Ibero-American universities and to work together to lay the foundations for the future of knowledge and science, and ultimately, the future of democratic societies,” he noted.
During 2026, the Forum will invite other universities in Latin America to join this alliance, with the aim of holding a first plenary meeting at the end of the year, bringing together up to 25 institutions.
The Forum was created with the aim of conducting a joint analysis of the major issues affecting higher education, research and transfer to society, and offering innovative and shared solutions. The seven founding universities have formed this international alliance, led by the UB and the UdeG, with the aim of becoming a key actor in the current academic landscape and a scientific and knowledge benchmark for the governments of the countries involved.
At the ceremony to mark the creation of the Ibero-American Forum of Universities, Guàrdia highlighted that the Forum will serve as a key instrument for safeguarding the role of universities as drivers of progress and social transformation, and as guarantors of democratic values, rights and freedoms. “It is an honour to strengthen the ties that bind us to the great Ibero-American universities and to work together to lay the foundations for the future of knowledge and science, and ultimately, the future of democratic societies,” he noted.
During 2026, the Forum will invite other universities in Latin America to join this alliance, with the aim of holding a first plenary meeting at the end of the year, bringing together up to 25 institutions.