UIC Barcelona Doctoral School took part in the annual meeting of the Catalan Association of Doctoral Schools (ACED), held on 9 July in the Aula Magna of the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona. The event brought together representatives from doctoral schools from across the Catalan university system to share experiences, coordinate areas of work and address the key challenges facing doctoral education.

Organised by the Doctoral School of the University of Barcelona, the meeting featured a series of working sessions on strategic issues affecting the future of research doctoral programmes, including interuniversity programmes, quality assurance, transversal training activities, microcredentials and extraordinary doctoral awards. A key area of discussion was the impact of artificial intelligence on research training and the measures universities are implementing to support its responsible use.

Dr Núria Casals, director of the UIC Barcelona Doctoral School, also contributed to the discussions as a member of ACED’s working group on artificial intelligence. Her involvement reflects the University’s commitment to the ethical, critical and collaborative integration of AI into research training, supervision and doctoral research, as well as to the development of shared criteria across the Catalan university system.

The meeting also addressed the emotional wellbeing of doctoral researchers, building on the work promoted by the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia. UIC Barcelona is actively involved in the Healthy Doctorates initiative, which aims to promote emotional health and wellbeing among researchers in training.

Through its participation in this annual ACED meeting, UIC Barcelona is strengthening the role of its Doctoral School within the Catalan university system’s forums for collaboration and reflection. At the same time, it is reinforcing its contribution to the strategic discussions that will shape the future of doctoral education, from academic quality and digital transformation to the responsible use of artificial intelligence and the wellbeing of the research community.