This section features 20 UPF alumni – 10 young women and 10 young men – graduates of various programmes spanning all of UPF’s knowledge areas, whose life circumstances have led them to move abroad, all across the world. Most were born in Catalonia and Spain, but some are foreign students who came to Barcelona and then returned to their home countries. They offer 20 different and evolving stories, some of which have been abruptly interrupted by Covid-19.

How did these alumni come to live so far from home? What do they do? What drives them? What plans do they have for the future? How do they remember their time at UPF? These are some of the questions they answer in their testimonials. They are people with a variety of interests, with concerns and values, who want to improve their environment, eager to progress professionally and personally. Most of them participated in exchange programmes during their time at the university – where they made some of their closest friends – and have supplemented their education with master’s degrees and other studies. They know where they want to go and act accordingly, even if it means moving to the other side of the world. 

• Alba Arjona, Political and Administration Sciences alumna. Cairo, Egypt

• Anna Closas, Philosophy, Politics and Economics alumna. Huaycán, Peru

• Carla Mauricio, Humanities alumna. Brussels, Belgium

• Carlos Duelo, International Business Economics alumnus and Marc Bachs, Economics alumnus. Sydney, Australia

• Chao Zhang, PhD in Law (specializing in International Relations). Beijing, China

• Eduard Ribas, Political and Administration Sciences and Journalism alumnus. Mexico City, Mexico

• Immaculada Miracle, Political and Administration Sciences alumna. Chambéry, France

• Juho Säkkinen, Global Studies alumnus. Tampere, Finland

• Julia Solórzano, Human Biology alumna. San Salvador, El Salvador

• Laura Ballester, Political and Administrations Sciences alumna. Lilongwe, Malawi

• Marta Gené, Audiovisual Communication alumna. Los Angeles, USA

• Marta Ribera, double bachelor’s degree in Law and Economics alumna. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Miquel Pastor, Telematics Engineering alumnus. Tokyo, Japan

• Nuri Gimferrer, Translation and Interpreting and Linguistics alumna. London, United Kingdom

• Pau Boix, Audiovisual Systems Engineering alumnus. Stockholm, Sweden

• Pilar Ouro, International Business Economics alumna. Nairobi, Kenya

• Pol Codina, Business Management and Administration and Economics alumnus. Lisbon, Portugal

• Sergi Codonyer, Business Sciences alumnus. Freetown, Sierra Leone

• Xavier Güell, Medicine alumnus (UPF-UAB). Boston, USA