The Institut del Teatre and Poire Vallvé receive the "Ad studia humanitatis fovenda" awards

The Institut del Teatre received the award in the collective category in recognition, among other aspects, of the joint work it maintains with the UAB in the realisation of the University Master's Degree in Theatre Studies. Núria Plana, director of the institute, stated that the cooperation with the UAB allows them to "place themselves alongside the great European theatre institutions" and has hoped that this recognition will serve to give continuity to the alliance with the University. Poire Vallvé, director of the UAB Choir, was distinguished in the individual category. In his speech, he declared that "working at the UAB is already an award" and has thanked the collaboration, over the years, with "the singers", the musicians, Cultura en Viu, the Department of Art and Musicology, and the different governing bodies of the University and its centres and services.

Belbel recalled his time at the UAB as a student in the 1980s, when he experienced the process of creating the Aula de Teatre, promoted by professors Manuel Aznar and Jordi Castellanos in the 1983/84 academic year. The playwright recalled the involvement of professor Assumpció Cros, then vice-dean of the teaching centre, who went so far as to stop classes as a way to encourage attendance to the theatre performances that were staged in the auditorium where this morning's event took place. Milestones were achieved, such as, for example, performing a play by Heiner Müller for the first time in Spain, and the Aula de Teatre encouraged Belbel to jump into professional theatre, where he has become one of the most important playwrights in Catalonia. Belbel also thanked the involvement of other lectureres in the early years of the Aula de Teatre, such as Montserrat Cots and José Sanchis Sinisterra, as well as figures from outside the UAB such as Josep Maria Benet i Jornet, who was involved in the project.

At the opening ceremony of the academic year, the Faculty of Arts & Humanities also presented the teaching excellence awards to Jordi Grau, lecturer in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, and Xavier Roqué, lecturer in the Department of Philosophy. Grau stated that teaching is "one of the best jobs in the world", as well as "a task that goes beyond the classroom". Roqué dedicated the award to "all the colleagues and students who have helped me to go beyond my small discipline".

"Naturally optimistic"

In the institutional speeches, Faculty Dean Margarita Freixas reflected on the difficult situation that the world is going through, with the rise of the far right and the current conflicts in Palestine and Ukraine, to ensure that "specialists in social sciences and humanities are, despite everything, optimistic because we study cultures, which are what makes coexistence possible". The dean addressed the rector of the UAB, Javier Lafuente, to express the "commitment" of the faculty "to work together for a better UAB". And in the face of current challenges such as the rapid development of artificial intelligence, Freixas announced that the centre has launched a new project consisting of "rethinking the faculty" in all aspects, from governance to the employability of graduates, through four working groups.

In his speech, Rector Lafuente congratulated the awardees, assuring them that these awards are a recognition of "the good work done" and thanked the dean for her reflections. He congratulated them on the vitality represented by the diversity of degrees offered by the faculty, as well as the prominent position they occupy in international rankings. He praised the research developed at the centre and encouraged them to place more value on the quality of teaching. Rector Lafuente referred to projects such as the Town-UAB digital urban environment, presented yesterday, as an example of interdisciplinary collaboration in research and transfer, and recalled the last honorary doctorate proposed by the faculty, which went to historian Enzo Traverso.