Open University of Catalonia

The UOC was created in 1994 as a result of the Parliament of Catalonia urging the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia to take the relevant measures to consolidate a distance learning system. It was constituted through a public deed on October 6, 1994, adopting the legal form of a foundation, the Fundació per la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. At the same time, the UOC was recognized by the Law of the Parliament of Catalonia 3/1995, of April 6, recognizing it as a member of the Catalan universities system.

It was set up with the mission of offering lifelong learning, of encouraging all those who wish to improve their abilities and skills to access the university, and in this way to grow the educational level and skills of society in general.

The UOC focuses its research activity on the interaction between technology and the human and social sciences. It has two research centers—the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC)—, a research program in e-learning and seven studies with research sub-divisions. It also has a Doctoral School, with more than 350 predoctoral researchers.

In 2019 UOC signed the DORA Declaration. In 2023, a new interdisciplinary research and innovation space was inaugurated- located in the Can Jaumandreu complex.