The University has created a new figure, to be added to those already in existence in the field of research (specific groups, centres and units), which "provides a more transversal way of bringing together and view activities, not just of research, but also of dissemination and study and always around a specific subject", explains Àngel Lozano, vice-rector for Research at UPF.

The new structures "are very lightweight and can foster a strong presence of members from outside the University itself", adds Lozano. The first study centres to come into operation will be the Science, Communication and Society Studies Centre (SCS-UPF), the Eugenio Trías Centre for Philosophical Studies (CEFET) and the UPF Sports Lab Study Centre, after their recognition was approved at the last meeting of the University's Board of Governors, on 6 May.

Science, Communication and Society Studies Centre

Linked to the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS), it has been created with the dual mission of fomenting citizens' science culture and promoting a more active role of society in all stages of R&D&i. To achieve these goals, the centre will carry out actions of scientific communication and citizen participation, studies focusing on the relationship between science and society, and specialized training activities in scientific communication.

The SCS-UPF will be coordinated by Gema Revuelta, DCEXS lecturer, under the guidance of two corporate bodies, the Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees, presided by Vladimir de Semir, a former lecturer with the Department of Communication at UPF. Some of the members participating in these bodies are Arcadi Navarro, DCEXS director, Jordi Camí, UPF full professor and director of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) and Cristina Ribas, lecturer of the Department of Communication at UPF and chair of the Catalan Association of Scientific Communication (ACCC).

Eugenio Trías Centre for Philosophical Studies

Attached to the  Department of Humanities, it will be coordinated by professor Fernando Pérez-Borbujo. The primary goals of the centre are to organize all kinds of activities that will help disseminate the work of Eugenio Trías , and the study and analysis of his proposal of a philosophy of limit. In addition, a publication will be created containing the most significant contributions on works and themes concerning the philosophy of limit and a permanent seminar for the study of the work and thought of the professor will be constituted.

The CEFET was founded with the support of the family of Eugenio Trías, who have expressed their willingness to donate the philosopher's legacy to the University which consists of a bibliographic collection of nearly 6,000 books, as well as the original manuscripts of most of his works, letters and personal archive and the editions and translations of his works, with the aim of creating a book collection for the study of the author's work which will become an international reference for all scholars of his thought.

UPF Sports Lab Study Centre

Linked to the DCEXS and coordinated by  Carles Murillo, UPF full professor of Economics, it will encompass all activities related with the world of sport carried out at the University. The idea is to create a hub of multidisciplinary knowledge that addresses sport and physical activity from all possible spheres: legislation, technology, doping and ethics, economic, social and media impact of sports events, the training of professionals, the impact of injury and risk assurance or literary creation and sport.

The goal is to create a unique space that encourages training, research and dissemination in this area. For this reason the Centre has members of up to five University departments: the Department of Information and Communication Technologies, the  Department of Economics and Business, the Department of Law, the  Department of Communication, and the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences.