According to spokespeople from the institutions taking part in the 31st International Education Opportunities Exhibition, AULA 2023 will show why Spain’s public universities are among the most prestigious in Europe and the world. AULA will take place during the eighth EDUCATION WEEK 2023, Spain’s leading education week, organised by IFEMA MADRID on the Recinto Ferial from 22 to 26 March 2023, which this year is focusing on Artistic Education.

The Spanish university sector is synonymous with quality, in fact 90% of its universities are among the world’s top 5%. According to spokespeople from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), they are managed according to an egalitarian, inclusive system: “Spanish universities like the UAM, among others, have an outstanding international reputation” despite receiving “scant government investment in R&D compared to our neighbouring states, which is inhibits their potential”.

The Complutense University in Madrid (UCM) says that “Spanish universities are a meeting point for different cultures, ways of life and experiences, and an opportunity to gain diverse knowledge”. We must harness the two aspects of our history – the European and the Latin American - “to play a leading role in knowledge exchange between our continents, not forgetting their fundamental international role in Asia - particularly in China, India and Africa - with potential for exponential growth”. In this regard, “the advantages for Latin American students studying in Spain are patently clear and, as a hospitable country, our ability to attract them makes us a more desirable study destination for EU students than other alternatives. The Complutense University therefore takes full advantage of these factors to attract students from these other regions that are worth our attention”. 

Likewise, in 2018, the European Commission created the “European Universities”, an initiative whose purpose is to complete the European Education Area by 2025, streamlining international mobility between countries and universities to establish Europe as an area of excellence for education, academic work and research and investigation. Spain’s university sector has an active role in this project. With 24 universities, it is one of the most deeply committed countries. 

Academic and scientific excellence

The Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC) says that Spanish state education is among the best in Europe and the world, appearing in numerous education and research rankings. “All this is evidence of our teaching staff’s rigorous academic and scientific standards. Our main virtue lies in the hard work and motivation of our teachers, particularly the latest generations”.

The Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) says that its courses are “among the best available, a statement supported by cooperation agreements between the UPM and the world's best universities and companies, the career success of its graduates both in Spain and abroad, and the plethora of international certifications granted to its qualifications”. The high quality of the courses provided at the UPM are a proven fact, in fact it is ranked among the best universities in the world for engineering and technology, and is Spain’s top polytechnic university in employability (and 94th in the world), according to the renowned QS World University Rankings”.

According to the National Distance Education University (UNED), “in 2020, Spain ranked sixth in the world in the number of TOP 1000 universities and practically the entire public university system figures among the top 1,000 best universities on the planet, according to the Shanghai ranking. This is proof of the extensive offer of Higher Education in our country and its quality, which is even more significant”. In recent years, “Spanish universities have focused on improving the quality of the education they provide, boosting their science and innovation programmes as drivers of social development to improve quality of life”.

Despite the current challenge to adapt university courses to new times and the obstacles facing society, Spanish universities stand out for their excellent positioning and vigorous expansion in all areas. According to spokespeople from the University of Alcalá (UAH), among their virtues are “high quality teaching, accessibility and equity, with a large number of universities nationwide, many of which are also among the 1,000 top ranking institutes of higher education”.

The UAH, one of the oldest in Spain and one of the five universities listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, “appears among the international rankings as one of the world's most renowned universities, particularly for high quality teaching, lecturers and professors who are accessible to their students, attractiveness to international students, sustainability and transparency, which is synonymous with quality and solvency”.