On 17 November, UIC Barcelona conferred honorary doctorates upon Dr Janne Haaland Matláry and Dr Aldo Boccaccini during a solemn event in the Aula Magna. With the addition of the Norwegian scholar and the Argentine researcher, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya now counts twelve honorary doctors since its foundation.

During the ceremony, Núria Montserrat, minister for Research and Universities, described the two honorary doctors as “global leaders” in their fields, emphasising that “their achievements bring prestige not only to this university but to the entire Catalan higher education system”. She highlighted that their work shows how knowledge “transcends borders and rigid disciplines” and reaffirmed their commitment to UIC Barcelona “to foster knowledge transfer, uphold teaching excellence and strengthen the international standing of our institutions”. Núria Montserrat also remarked that the University's Aula Magna had become “a meeting place for two of society's key pillars: institutions and knowledge”.

Ms Belén Castro, general secretary of the University, read the official record of appointment for both recipients. This was followed by Montserrat Nebrera, lecturer in Constitutional Law at UIC Barcelona and director of the Carlemany Institute for European Studies, delivering the laudatio for Dr Janne Haaland Matláry (Mandal, Norway, 1958), highlighting the numerous positions of responsibility and advisory roles in national and international institutions that she has held throughout her career.

Nebrera described Haaland Matláry “as an extraordinary woman – a mother, an academic, a politician…” and emphasised her “ground-breaking contribution to a feminism inspired by Christian humanism, a vision that reconciles women’s dignity and leadership with an integral Christian anthropology, which she has termed ‘new feminism’”. 

Janne Haaland Matláry: a global authority on human rights

Janne Haaland Matláry has served on Norway’s National Defence Commission, the Security Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the parliamentary committee tasked with proposing constitutional reforms for the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution. Focused on foreign policy and European security, she is one of Norway’s most recognised experts in defence, energy policy and European geopolitics. 

In her address, Haaland Matláry reflected on her professional and personal journey, her studies in the United States, and her constant pursuit “of the foundations of justice”, describing political philosophy as her “first love”. Human rights have been another central theme throughout her career. She noted that while “the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is essential, concepts such as family, marriage, motherhood and fatherhood need to be rediscovered”.

The former Norwegian politician concluded by stressing the need to “preserve the freedom of universities” at a time of “such turmoil in international politics”. 

Román Pérez, director of the Bioengineering Institute of Technology and vice-rector for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at UIC Barcelona, gave the laudatio for Dr Boccaccini, "one of the most influential figures in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering" and whose name is associated with "the most advanced developments in bioactive glasses and ceramics, materials capable of interacting with biology to promote the regeneration of bone, cartilage or soft tissues".

From left to right: Dr Montserrat Nebrera; Dr Janne Haaland Matláry; Dr Alfonso Méndiz; Minister Núria Montserrat; Dr Aldo Boccaccini; Dr Román Pérez

Aldo Boccaccini: a global leader in biomaterials development

Aldo Boccaccini (San Rafael, Argentina, 1962) is one of the leading international authorities in the development of biomaterials and is renowned for his integrative approach combining materials, biology and engineering, with a clear focus on innovation and clinical translation. He has authored more than 1,000 indexed publications and holds a prominent position among the most distinguished bioengineering researchers worldwide.

Pérez emphasised that Boccaccini, who also teaches, has fostered a research community at the University of Erlangen “united by a shared ideal: to combine technological innovation with social responsibility and respect for human dignity”. 

Dr Boccaccini explained that from the outset of his career he understood that “the boundaries between disciplines can be highly stimulating for innovation”. His research has focused on glass and its ability to interact with the human body, noting that this material “offers enormous possibilities for tissue regeneration”. He added, “This is a science barely 30 years old and we have seen how a material infused with cells creates a structure that the body recognises, triggering the formation of new tissue”.

Interdisciplinarity and the unity of knowledge

UIC Barcelona rector, Alfonso Méndiz, closed the ceremony by congratulating the new honorary doctors who have joined the university’s academic body. Méndiz observed that although “each comes from a discipline that might seem worlds apart, there is a unity between them, a space for dialogue and mutual enrichment”, in a world where “interdisciplinarity is an added value”. He stressed that the unity of science and knowledge “calls for comprehensive education and training” and that the university “is the place where the integral development of the person is fostered.”

Since its foundation in 1997, UIC Barcelona has conferred twelve honorary doctorates. Janne Haaland Matláry and Aldo Boccaccini now join a distinguished group that includes Eduardo Bruera, Verónica Boix-Mansilla, Paul Levi, Valentí Fuster, Rivka Oxman, Pierpaolo Donati and Peter Franz Riederer.