The UPF hosted today's working meeting of the alliance of four universities (the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Carlos III University of Madrid and Pompeu Fabra University), known as A4U, which was held in the new building in Carrer Wellington on the Ciutadella campus. The alliance is the result of a collaboration agreement signed on 29 January this year with the aim of fostering the mobility of teaching staff and PhDs among the four signatories, as well as enhancing the group's efficiency and promoting it abroad.

The A4U meeting was attended by the management teams of all four institutions headed by their rectors: Ángel Gabilondo (UAM), Josep Joan Moreso (UPF), Lluís Ferrer (UAB) and Daniel Peña (UC3M) (in the photo, from left to right).

The A4U agreement set out the joint actions by the four universities for an initial five-year period, open to extension, in the fields of academic career development and the promotion of teaching and research staff mobility; fostering teaching and research projects within the framework of the EHES; and fostering the international relations and international image of the four universities together.

They have now decided to formally constitute the A4U as an association with its own independent legal status, while preparation of the statutes of the future association is already at a very advanced stage.

The first joint call for applications for teaching and research staff mobility led to the hiring of 12 PhDs

In March 2008 the first joint invitation was made for applications for posts for young PhDs as laid down in the specific agreement on PhD mobility signed by representatives of the A4U on 29 January 2008. On this occasion, each university offered three posts for PhDs from the other universities involved in order to foster mobility. Altogether applications were invited for 12 two-year posts with a gross remuneration of €25,567 per annum (equivalent to the amount paid by the Juan de la Cierva Programme).

Of the 56 applications received, 46 were valid. The rest were for a post at the applicant's own university or from PhDs at other universities. Finally, following a selection process, the distribution of the posts for researchers on this occasion (some of whom already joined their new university in September) was as follows:

• Four UAB PhDs will go to the UAM (2), the UC3M (1) and the UPF (1).

• Five UAM PhDs will spend a period at the UAB (1), the UC3M (2) and the UPF (2).

• Two UC3M PhDs will move to the UAB (1) and the UAM (1).

• One UPF PhD will transfer to the UAB.

The A4U to open an office in Brussels by the end of the year

The A4U have decided to open an office in Brussels to promote the four universities' research activities within the framework of the European Union institutions and programmes.

The main functions of the office, which is due to open before the end of the year, include: identifying prestigious priority lines of scientific research at each of the four universities; acting to promote the inclusion of these research lines in future European Union Research Framework Programmes; delivering institutional support to teaching and research staff in their dealings with European institutions; providing space and logistical support to teaching and research staff for their scientific activities in Brussels; and supporting and informing teaching and research staff, in conjunction with each university's European projects office, in regard to invitations for applications, the monitoring of applications and projects in progress, etc.

An agreement has been reached with the Spanish National Research Council, CSIC, to locate the new A4U office in the CSIC headquarters in Brussels in the building at Rue du Trône, 62. An advertisement has been published in the press for a manager for the office.

Joint stand at an educational fair in China

The A4U will take part, with a joint stand, at the forthcoming China Education Expo '08, to be held in Beijing on 18 and 19 October. The Alliance has published a joint catalogue for the occasion containing the graduate and postgraduate courses run by the four universities in English. One of the four had already taken part in this exhibition on its own the two previous years.

Plans to set up a joint degree and start a series of Barcelona - Madrid dialogues

Progress has been made towards setting up, in the long-term, a joint degree among the four universities, a cross-cutting qualification aimed at a small number of students who would do two years of their course in Barcelona and two years in Madrid.

A proposal is also under study to set up a Barcelona - Madrid Dialogue Forum in 2009 in which, with the collaboration of socio-cultural institutions such as the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona and the Madrid Círculo de Bellas Artes, the four universities would work on joint programmes of social interest, dealing with cultural, economic and topical issues.