Between the end of May and the beginning of June, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) set up two new UPF Alumni Chapters in Brussels and Madrid. It thus continues to expand these spaces for meeting, reception and networking for UPF alumni with shared interests who are pursuing their professional careers in different cities around the world. With those of Brussels and Madrid, UPF now has eight chapters, adding to the ones in California, Chile, London, New York, Paris and Washington.

The launch of the new Brussels Chapter was made official with an institutional inauguration ceremony, held on 29 May at the headquarters of the Alliance 4 Universities (A4U) in the Belgian capital. The event was organized by alumni and members of the Chapter board of directors, Pol Aixàs Martínez, Pau Ruiz Guix and Monika Vladimirova, in collaboration with the UPF Alumni team and the support of A4U.

The presentation of the Chapter, which was attended by alumni from different disciplines residing in the Belgian capital, included speeches by Ignasi Salvado-Estivill, director of the Office for the Promotion of European Research Activities (OPERA) at A4U; Pablo Pareja, vice-rector for Teaching and Research Staff at UPF; and Mireia Mata, head of the UPF Alumni programme.

The presentation ceremony marked the culmination of work that began at the end of last year to form the new Brussels Chapter. The process began with a visit by the UPF rector, Laia de Nadal, to the Belgian capital on 29 September 2023, to meet UPF graduates residing in the city.

Teachings and values of UPF in the heart of Europe, the presentation by the alumni Pau Tedó during the opening ceremony of the Brussels Chapter

In addition to the constitution of the new Chapter, the event was attended by a guest speaker, Pau Tedo Múrua, an alumni of the four-year degree in Economic and Business Sciences (1997) and head of the customs investigations unit at the European Anti-Fraud Office. He gave the talk titled Teachings and values of UPF in the heart of Europe in which he highlighted how the knowledge and values acquired at Pompeu Fabra can be used to address the various challenges facing the EU, in areas such as climate crisis and energy transition, geopolitics, security and defence: “We need UPF values and good professionals produced by the University to make the right decisions to address all these challenges”.

For Tedó, UPF is characterized by transmitting values such as “rigour, exigency and excellence” and some of its main strengths are innovation, creativity, internationalization, interdisciplinarity, and knowledge transfer. He also added that few universities “have such a strong, advanced Alumni Programme”.

In addition to his presentation, the event saw the presentation of the Palumba application, to encourage young people to vote in the elections to the European Parliament, held on 9 June. The presentation of the application, developed by Pol Villaverde (alumni of the bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics), was given by two other students: Juan Lobo Hispano, a student of the bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and "la Caixa" Foundation scholarship holder to pursue his postgraduate studies abroad in 2024; and Teresa Manzanares, an alumni of the bachelor’s degree in Global Studies.

Coinciding with her visit to Brussels, the UPF Alumni team met with Martine Torfs, head of the Alumni office of KU Leuven, a leading university in terms of international chapters.

The new UPF Madrid Alumni Chapter up and running

Just eight days after this event was held in Brussels, the UPF Madrid Alumni Chapter was up and running. The event was organized by the Chapter’s board of directors, made up of alumni Marc Rodés, Joan Rodríguez and Judith Teixidó together with the UPF Alumni Programme team.

The Madrid Chapter inaugural event involved interventions by Vanesa Daza, UPF vice-rector for Knowledge Transfer, Mireia Mata, head of the UPF Alumni Programme, and Josep Ramon Casas i Martí, president of the Catalan [cultural] Circle of Madrid. Both UPF and Catalan Circle representatives celebrated the launch of the new Chapter and encouraged alumni living in the city, many of whom attended the event, to promote it and help it grow.

The vice-rector for Knowledge Transfer valued the knowledge and skills acquired by graduates in their period as students and encouraged them to expand their network of contacts with UPF alumni. She also announced the creation of a new vice-rectorate for Students and Alumni, which will look after the interests of UPF graduates.

The UPF Alumni Community in Madrid

About 150 UPF alumni currently live in Madrid. The vast majority are active professionals who reside permanently in the city and are interested in collaborating in the activities of the Chapter. The questions they posed during the event reflected their desire to participate in networking events, as well as in professional inspiration sessions, conferences and round tables, both by collaborating in the organization of events of this type and by sharing their professional experience and knowledge.