The University of Barcelona (UB) is Spain’s leading research university, publishing more research than any other Spanish institution with the exception of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Third European Report on Science and Technology Indicators).

The UB has 106 departments and more than 5,000 full-time researchers, technicians and research assistants, most of whom work in the UB’s 243 research groups as recognized and supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). In 2010 the UB was awarded 175 national research grants and 17 European grants and participated in over 500 joint research projects with the business sector, generating an overall research income of 70 million euros.

The University of Barcelona is the most formidable public institution of higher education in Catalonia, catering to the needs of the greatest number of students and delivering the broadest and most comprehensive offering in higher educational courses. The UB is also the principal centre of university research in Spain and has become a European benchmark for research activity, both in terms of the number of research programmes it conducts and the excellence these have achieved.

The work of these groups is overseen by the UB’s research centres and institutes which collaborate with the leading research institutions and networks in Spain and abroad. The UB is also home to three large research foundations: the Barcelona Science Park Foundation (PCB), which includes the Institute of Biomedical Research (IRBB); the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS); and the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL).

The guidelines for research policy are drawn up by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Research. Research activities are managed by the UB office Research Management (OGR), which is in charge of national research programs, the UB office European Research Projects (OPER), which is responsible for European projects, and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), which oversees knowledge transfer and relations with the business sector. The Science and Technology Centres (SCT) are a group of UB centres that support research both in the university and in other public and private institutions.