I am the first talk of the day, so I'm going to talk, of course, about what I know, because this is my vice-rector, or not mine, but
the one that I have the honor, as I said, to represent, which is, we're going to talk about internationalization in a digital world.
So, you know, it is, as I said, a privilege for me to be here today to discuss the crucial importance of internationalization in higher education and how our
university, the UNED, addresses this dimension, UNED, you know, amidst the challenges and the opportunities of digitalization and technological advancements.
What I suppose you know, my name is Laura Albajuez, and through the vice-rector that I lead, we strive to advance UNED's international dimension, ensuring that it
permeates various areas of the university by leveraging all available tools and continuously adapting our internationalization strategy to the demands of a global world.
So, you know, before we delve into the concept of internationalization, I
think it is essential to first understand the institution behind it, the UNED.
This is the National Distance Education University of Spain. It was founded in 1972, you
know, with a very clear mission to make higher education accessible to all, wherever they are.
That's, you know, our motto, wherever you are, regardless
of the geographical, personal or professional circumstances.
Then, you know, as it is the largest public university in Spain and the largest campus
in Europe, I have to say, we are a pioneer, you know, in distance and online learning.
And we combine academic excellence with a strong social
commitment with a network of over 60 study centers.
It's in fact 61 centers in Spain, apart
from many other what we call classrooms.
So it's 100 and something classrooms in Spain, but we also
have 24 centers abroad, you know, in different continents.
We have centers in Africa, in America, North and South and in Europe.
And so first thing would be for us to watch a short
video that will introduce you to what UNED is in general.
So let's see if we can watch this.
This is in English, right?
Okay.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[MUSIC]
The UNED is the biggest public university in Spain, with some 200,000 students, close
to 1,400 professors, more than 6,000 tutors and 1,200 administration and services staff,
who from the central office and associated centers strive on a daily basis
to support the students' march towards the completion of their studies.
Courses offered by the UNED include 28 undergraduate degrees, 11 combined
undergraduate degrees, 76 master's programs and 19 doctorate programs,
all adapted to the European framework and set
up through the International Doctorate School,
founded with the aim of encouraging international interaction and
multidisciplinary and transversal cooperation among all its researchers.
Furthermore, the UNED boasts 550 of its own permanent training programs aimed
at bettering and updating personal knowledge, aptitudes and capabilities.
16 language courses from the online, long-distance University
of Languages, more than 500 university extension activities,
170 summer courses held throughout Spain and
the UNED Senior Program for those over 55.
OpenUNED offers a wide-ranging catalog of open content and
university access programs for those over 25, 40 and 45 years old
that allow people who have never before
had the chance to access higher education.
The UNED is able to offer so many courses thanks to its organizational
structure, which is made up of nine faculties and two superior technical schools,
as well as 61 associated centers, 125 university classrooms and more than 700 multimedia
rooms throughout the country, where students can go to seek support and tutoring.
What's more, the UNED can be found in 14 countries on three
continents, with 12 overseas centers and 6 classrooms for exams.
Wherever you may be has been the UNED's hallmark since it was founded in 1972 as
a model of distance learning, a formula repeated by many other universities today.
Since then, the UNED has developed technologically. Long gone
are materials sent by post with textbooks and cassette tapes.
Today, students can follow the tutorials on their mobile devices, attend
a class via video conference and interact with digital whiteboards.
The UNED's educational methodology is based on the
combination of long distance and on-campus learning,
and is supported by the use of state-of-the-art educational
technology, which means that a UNED student is never alone,
always having access to a large online community
with numerous online services at their disposal.
The IUED, University Institute of Long Distance Learning, is constantly working to
improve the quality of its long distance learning and to perfect its methodology.
At the UNED, each student is the protagonist of their own education,
and it is precisely this protagonism that is
the focus of the European Higher Education Area,
which aims to train professionals capable of responding
to the challenges set by our knowledge-driven society.
With innovative, high-quality educational materials and with
the help of professors and tutors at the associated centers,
UNED students have all they need to get the best out
of their studies in the most flexible way possible.
At their own pace, anytime, anywhere.
New technologies in the field of education allow the
UNED to carry out 700,000 on-site exams every year,
all around the world and simultaneously.
This is thanks to the virtual mailbag,
the UNED's own exam management system,
devised to increase security and speed in the control
of on-site exams and save the students waiting time.
When students identify themselves at an exam
center, they are given the corresponding exam,
the amount of time they have and the
seat that has been designated to them.
At the end of the exam, the papers are scanned,
sent off to be corrected and the results published.
A similar system allowed the UNED to become the
first ever university to examine Spanish soldiers
who were on a UN peace mission at the
Lebanese military base Miguel de Cervantes.
The success of the experience has meant that
other soldiers stationed in Kabul and Djibouti
can finish their studies without having to wait to return home.
Equal opportunities is another of the UNED's hallmarks,
as it adapts to the personal and working commitments of each student.
More than 40% of students with disabilities studying
university courses in Spain do so at the UNED.
There, to guarantee they have the same
opportunities, are the UNEDIS technicians.
And more than 30% of the UNED students assure that they
wouldn't be able to study in any other kind of university.
Furthermore, there is the University Studies Program,
carried out in penitentiary centers associated with the UNED,
which aims to increase the level of educational
and cultural learning among prisoners.
The UNED's Center of Gender Studies coordinates and promotes
teaching and research activities linked to gender equality.
It sees equality as a key part of the education in a university
that was the first to have a female Dean and
the only one to have had two women governors.
Research and the transfer of results to
society is the objective of any university.
The UNED boasts 111 research groups, covering every
area of knowledge, from humanities to engineering.
A dozen agreements have been reached to
appoint chairs to businesses and institutions.
The aim is to ensure that the research
is not only a means of education, but also a means of social change.
The aim is to join forces and thereby advance the
search for solutions to society's current problems.
Fruit of adopting the concept of "I and D and I",
the UNED receives around 2.5 million Euros a year from
innovative projects, some of which are international.
International collaboration is another of the UNED's priorities.
Each year, it signs around 20 collaboration agreements
with universities and institutions around the world,
such as the Teachers' Training Agreement
with Ecuador and the European project ECO,
aimed at designing the MOOCs of the 21st century.
The UNED boasts numerous services that aim
to offer the best possible public service,
such as the UNED's library, which has been
awarded the 400+ European Stamp of Excellence,
or the institutional archive, eSpacio UNED,
which gathers together the results of
all research and teaching activity,
and is one of the top 100 in the world.
Furthermore, an effort has been made to bring
together all resources in a digital content archive.
This archive contains all audiovisual files generated
by the CEMAF, the UNED's audiovisual media centre.
Another of the services that the UNED offers its students
and graduates is the COIIN, or Work Orientation Centre,
which, with its pool of in-company training,
offers aims to increase students' employability
or help reorient their professional careers.
A large number of sporting and cultural activities,
among which we can find some of the oldest,
such as the visual arts competition and the Short Narrative Prize,
make the UNED a reference point in Spain's cultural landscape.
A university that is present in both
the national and international media,
thanks to its members' academic contributions,
and extremely active on the social networks,
with more than 235,000 followers and 19 million online views,
it is the university to have uploaded
the most videos in the whole of Europe.
Its website, with access to all its resources,
receives over 37 million visits a year.
All this can be added to the UNED's strong commitment to
sustainability, transparency and social responsibility.
[Music]
The UNED is a long-distance university that is very much
up-to-date in its use of new technologies applied to education,
and this allows it to be a borderless
university, the university of the future,
where knowledge moves faster than any other moving thing.
As can be read on the original crest.
[Music] Okay, so.
..
[Speaking Spanish]
Yeah, thank you.
[Speaking Spanish]
Okay, so now that you have seen, you know,
the generalities and the main presentation,
I will continue talking about internationalization.
So, what do we mean by internationalization?
What is it, you know?
Well, from a theoretical perspective,
internationalization in higher education is a process
through which universities integrate international,
intercultural and global dimensions into their core functions,
teaching, research, knowledge transfer and knowledge exchange.
So, internationalization is a transversal dimension,
you know, that affects all areas of university life.
And that's why we think, not just that we think, it is so important.
I always say the same, but you know, the
word "university" comes from "universe",
and you know, knowledge is universal, is international,
and so we cannot deny the importance of internationalization.
So, but you know, each institution must design
its internationalization process to fit its needs,
considering its context, its institutional
structure and its priorities.
And NED is a public university with over, what, 53
years of experience developing models and methodologies
for distance higher education and with students
both within and outside Spain, you know.
And it approaches internationalization in alignment
with its unique institutional characteristics.
Because, for instance, we are the only university
that has so many centers abroad in Spain.
We have 24 centers, and then other universities in
Spain maybe have one, if they have any, you know.
So, our conditions, our situation is very
particular, and we have to work accordingly.
Then, so we're going to speak about the
internationalization model at the UNED, you know,
as a public university with a clear function.
UNED has adopted an internationalization
model that emphasizes academic objectives
and is supported by values such as cooperation,
collaboration, transparency and mutual benefits.
Actions are carried out within a framework of inclusion,
equity and the right to access quality education.
So, the university has developed a multi-annual institutional
strategy that identifies international projection
and presence as one of its objectives.
And within that main objective, we have many and
various, let's say, secondary sub-objectives.
Since 2002, then UNED has implemented an
annual internationalization strengthening plan
to promote and enhance our main internationalization instruments.
We have a specific budget for this plan, and we
try to help the members of our community, you know,
for any kind of internationalization
action that they're interested in pursuing.
Okay, then, regarding the institutional
organization areas of work, you know,
UNED has an institutional structure and tools that allow it to address
both internal and external expressions of internationalization.
Internal internationalization aims to
improve educational quality and effectiveness
by introducing international benefits to our academic
community and teaching and research offerings.
External internationalization seeks to
promote an increasing international project,
sorry, projection and presence to connect our
educational offerings, capabilities and resources
with the opportunities and windows a
globalized and digitalized world provides.
So these two expressions are complementary action areas
that reflect the dual nature of internationalization
and explain how UNED is internally organized.
Under the direction and coordination of the Vice
Rectorate for Internationalization and Multilingualism,
our structure of internationalization includes, first of all,
the Vice Rectorate for Internationalization and Multilingualism,
and we are responsible for promoting and coordinating the university's
internationalization policy across its various areas of work,
which are internationalization, international mobility,
multilingualism and university cooperation for development.
And here, we haven't included, but, you know, we also have,
we're in charge of every cultural activities at the UNED,
because culture is also considered to be international
and within cultural activities, we have several programs,
you know, that have to do with, for instance, dance.
I mean, we have what we call UNEDANSA, which is, you know, a program
about all knowledge about dancing and dance all over the world.
And we also have an award for literary, two or three literary awards.
We also have a plastic art awards, but different things, you know, and there,
we, of course, we promote art and culture all over Spain and the world.
Then the area of internationalization and centers abroad with a technical
office for internationalization and cooperation manages, you know,
UNED centers abroad and, you know, also international mobility in all its formats, international
projects and agreements and various initiatives in university development cooperation.
And then we also have the Center for Distance
Language Learning, which is the CUID.
And then other critical units are UNED centers
abroad, ensuring the presence in numerous countries,
we have already said that, faculties and research centers
with various deaneries for international relations.
And these also play a key role in decentralizing
and promoting internationalization within UNED.
And then the key instruments and their impact for internationalization.
You know, here we divided into four main areas, the internationalization area, the international
mobility area, the multilingualism area and the university cooperation for development area.
And so some of the main instruments and their relevance are, you know,
international programs and projects, particularly within the Erasmus+ program,
enabling educational cooperation at the European level and significant academic, technical
and research exchanges with European universities and other international institutions.
Over the last decade, UNED has participated in more than
150 projects funded by Erasmus+, mobilizing 5 million euro.
And currently UNED is involved in nearly, as I
said before, 30 international project proposals.
Then, of course, another instrument, as I said, is the international mobility,
which is a crucial instrument for developing global and intercultural competencies,
promoting more inclusive, more diverse
and quality university education.
And over the last five years, UNED has conducted over 600 mobility
experiences with 70% of them being in-person, not virtual.
Then the rest has been virtual mobility, which is
another of our pioneering areas and programs here.
And then, of course, there's the
instrument of international agreements.
That's another thing I have to manage almost
every day because we maintain, you know, to date,
we have 400 active agreements with institutions beyond our borders, reflecting
our networked internationalization model with universities on the five continents.
And then language learning. We have the UNED Centre for
Distance Language Learning, which enrols over 9000 students,
enhancing linguistic competencies and
contributing to professional growth.
OK, then, of course, we understand digitalization
as a driver for internationalization,
because, as you very well know, digital
technologies have revolutionized higher education,
transforming internationalization into a
more accessible and sustainable phenomenon.
As a distance education university with over 50
years of history, I would say 53 to be more precise,
it is in our institutional DNA to develop and to promote teaching and learning models that
transcend geographical barriers and physical mobility to access quality higher education.
So digitalization is undoubtedly a key strategy
for UNED, which seeks to expand its reach,
strengthen its global reputation and enhance
the educational experience for its students.
In this context, digital technologies, of course,
facilitate hybrid and virtual mobility, online learning,
international collaboration and globalized learning
experiences without the limitations of physical mobility.
And precisely because we always say wherever you may be,
we have these programs of virtual or hybrid mobility,
for people, let's say, handicapped students who cannot travel abroad,
or they can anyway have the experience through
our virtual mobility experience and program.
Then, regarding technological advancements in digitalization,
well, these advancements have enabled UNED to
have virtual learning platforms, of course,
which allow an annual enrollment of more than 200,000
students in official programs and virtual courses,
creating a global learning ecosystem.
Then hybrid and virtual mobility programs, as
I said before, which enhance mobility options,
such as the PIMIBA program, which enables participation
in exchanges without physical displacement.
And this is mainly with Latin America.
Then artificial intelligence and data analytics integration, enabling adaptive
learning and contributing to the personalization of distance higher education,
regardless of student location, wherever they may be.
And then, of course, MOOCs, free online courses.
And then here we offer globally accessible
online courses with over 525,000 enrollments,
over 200,000 of which have been certified, emphasizing
lifelong learning and professional development.
Then another area, pedagogical innovation,
international collaboration, of course,
fosters the adoption of new teaching and learning methodologies
based on technologies and multicultural experiences,
like the one we're having here now, for instance.
Then the COEL methodology, which develops
virtual exchange programs with 40 universities,
such as collaborations that we have with the UNAM in
Mexico and the National University of Comahue in Argentina.
Then digital students experience implementing
interactive multilingual learning platforms,
developing virtual learning communities and networking opportunities.
And then, of course, we have many
various regional and global alliances,
which strengthen relationships and the
presence in alliances and networks,
enabling new consortia agreements and projects
with foreign universities and institutions.
So next, I'm going to speak about the Open
European University, Open EU, which is, you know,
it goes within the European University Initiative, which
promotes the creation of European university alliances,
fostering long term cooperation among
European EU higher education institutions.
And these alliances aim to enhance the quality
of higher education in all its dimensions
and contribute to the development of the European education
area and the competitiveness of European universities.
So the UNED, our university, is part of the Open EU Alliance.
It's been hard work to get to this
point because we've been working hardly.
I mean, one of them has been our, you know,
director of the UNESCO chair, Ángeles.
She has been a key person in this project and
she still is because she is a coordinator.
And this is, of course, the largest European distance education campus.
Without, I mean, before belonging to Open EU, we
already were the largest campus in Europe, the UNED.
So now we are the super largest campus in Europe
and it consists of 10 European universities.
You know, two of them are not open universities, they are not
distance, but they are in the process of digital transformation.
So just for you to know, the 10 universities are Universitat
Oberta de Catalunya here in Spain, you know, in Catalunya.
We, the UNED, Universitat Oberta from
Portugal, Bifrost University in Iceland,
Open University of Cyprus, Daugavpils University in
Latvia, then Fern Universitat in Hagen from Germany,
Hellenic Open University in Greece, Open University
of the Netherlands, and then Sensibilität Methodius
University of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria.
And this is an on-site together with Latvia, they are on-site.
You know, but then we have many associated partners from
Europe and different institutions, not only universities.
For instance, the Open UK University is an
associated partner, but she cannot, I mean,
they cannot be a member with their full rights because
they are not Europe now, they've opted for Brexit.
So we are very sorry, but they can't.
And so, you know, here in numbers, I could tell you that we
have over 400,000 students, you know, it's more than that.
Here, the last number I have here is 378,000.
Then the mean age of the students is 36 years old
and 84% of them study and work at the same time.
And we already have all together the
universities around 700,000 graduate students.
And they are students of all kinds and of all walks of life
and from more than 100 countries outside the European Union.
So I think that the best thing to do here
now, well, is for you to see the video,
which will tell you the most important
facts about this important large project.
We can put it on the screen.
[Video playing]
[Music]
Currently, 64 European University alliances have
been approved by the European Commission since 2017,
consisting of more than 560 higher
education institutions from 35 countries.
The third country in the European Union with
the most relations in this area is Spain.
54 Spanish universities participate in 52 of these alliances.
Its aim is to improve the quality and
competitiveness of European universities
through cooperation in the joint development of research,
innovative educational programs and technological advances.
[Music]
It is in this international context that OpenEU was born,
following the approval of the European Commission in July 2024.
It is the first step towards the only pan-European
university based on open, distance and digital education,
thus filling the gap left by other university alliances.
OpenEU brings together 14 universities,
9 of them leaders in distance education
and 13 academic, business, rural, municipal
and civic associations from all over Europe.
UNED is a full member of OpenEU.
[Music]
OpenEU's mission is to promote quality European higher
education for all people throughout their lives,
at any time and from anywhere, regardless of
their personal or professional circumstances,
age, gender, nationality, time constraints
or place of residence, leaving no one behind.
To this end, OpenEU establishes an international
network of digital, inclusive and sustainable learning,
providing its students with tools that
enable them to make the most of their skills
and thus increase their employability
in the European Union and beyond.
[Music]
OpenEU offers joint programs, both official,
with joint bachelor's and master's degrees,
and unofficial, including micro-credentials, and
promotes multilingualism through advanced tools
for use in the alliance's multilingual community and a
wide range of courses for learning the 12 OpenEU languages.
[Music]
OpenEU democratizes the internationalization of higher education,
offering multiple mobility options for students,
professors and administrative and service staff.
In particular, thanks to digital technologies, it takes
advantage of the possibilities of virtual and hybrid mobility,
offering international experiences between universities
and partners of the alliance without leaving home.
[Music]
OpenEU also contributes to the digital transformation
of European higher education institutions,
supporting the integration of emerging
digital technologies in education
and mobilizing the results of research and innovation
in education, including artificial intelligence.
[Music]
OpenEU promotes Democratic and European values
and is committed to fighting climate change through the creation
of an active and innovative European university community.
[Music]
OpenEU is governed by a model based on five pillars.
Quality through a global and transversal
quality assurance plan throughout the alliance.
Ethics and integrity based on an ethical
and responsible use of technologies
and the promotion of community welfare in the digital environment.
Equality, diversity and inclusion, promoting student participation
and equal opportunities, for example, with the gender equality plan.
The promotion of open science and innovation and
environmental sustainability in all processes.
[Music]
OpenEU is the future of open, digital
and distance higher education in Europe.
[Music]
UNED is called to be a key player in the process,
which requires the involvement and commitment
of the entire university community.
[Music]
We are not lagging behind.
It is a unique opportunity that must be seized in
order to remain at the forefront of higher education.
[Music] Okay.
So this was about OpenEU.
And so, okay, so now it only remains for me to
get to the conclusions and final reflections.
Of course, you know, as a summary of everything I've said,
I'd like to say that the internationalisation of higher education is a
dynamic and a complex process requiring flexible and adaptive strategies.
That's why it's so flexible and dynamic.
UNED has successfully established a comprehensive internationalisation model based
on strategic alliances, technological innovation and global academic collaboration.
The challenge is daunting, but achievable
for universities embarking on this journey.
One key is leveraging digitalisation and building
inter-institutional cooperation networks.
So one we are building here now.
The future of higher education is global and digital, no matter what.
I think it's the same for every kind of university,
even if they are not a distance university.
And as we continue working on projects like Prodigy, let's strengthen education quality and
expand learning opportunities for all students, regardless of their geographical location.
So it only remains for me to wish you that you
may all bask in the light of digital education.
And but not only in the light of digital
education, but also and mainly in your stay here.
I hope that you also bask in the light of friendship and collaboration,
because this is what it is about, about dialogue and collaboration.
Our rector always speaks about dialogue,
which is a very important thing.
And that's how we learn. And it's wonderful to share
things and all kinds of education involve a transformation.
So I hope that after these days here with us,
you also come out transformed in a positive way.
And not only because of this, but also because of your knowledge or a little bit more knowledge
of Spain and Madrid and a different culture, which is in the end what opens our minds.
I mean, to be able to be open to other cultures,
other ways of looking at things, our other languages.
I also hope you learn a little bit of Spanish after this week, you know,
that that opens our mind and also makes us more tolerant, you know,
because we realize that there are other places in the world where people you may find good
and bad people as everywhere and where people look at things from different perspectives.
And they're fine anyway. So and also it's interesting to remember that
when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
That's something to reflect upon. So thank you very much.
Welcome again. And I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.
So now we have the picture we have to take outside.
Outside.