Jaume I University (Universitat Jaume I)

Universitat Jaume I (UJI) came into being as a higher education and research centre on 27 February 1991 to meet the unanimous social demand in the Castelló area. It was also the fruit of a tradition in education inherited from the Teacher Training studies at the old University College of Castelló (Col·legi Universitari de Castelló, CUC), which dated from 1969. In its first year, the ten lecturers at the CUC gave classes to 21 Science students and 85 from Philosophy and Arts. The CUC became part of the Universitat de València at the end of 1979.

The seeds of what is now UJI were sown in December 1989, when the President of the Valencian Regional Government at that time, Joan Lerma, announced the creation of a new university in Castelló. A year later, on 15 October 1990, the Valencian regional government named Professor Francesc Michavila as director of the project to set up Universitat Jaume I, and it finally came into being thanks to a law that was passed with the approval of all the political parties that made up the Valencian Regional Parliament. The main aim of the new institution was to extend its teaching and research activities to the whole of the northern part of the Valencian Community.

The first academic year got underway in September 1991 and the centre was officially opened with a speech given by the Nobel Chemistry Prize winner, Professor Aaron Klug. From the moment it was set up, UJI has strived to become a modern, high-quality university with a clearly European orientation, whose purpose is to attain a level of excellence in the teaching, research and services it offers society.

Universitat Jaume I is currently the leading higher education and research centre in the north of the Valencian Community and it is continually seeking to enhance the social, economic and cultural development of the society in which it is immersed through the creation and transmission of knowledge. In this sense, UJI has always wanted to play an active role, as shown by initiatives such as the opening of new off-campus offices in the different areas throughout the province of Castelló, its extra-mural activities, or its collaboration with the UJI Alumni and Friends Society (SAUJI).

Today, Universitat Jaume I has consolidated itself as a dynamic and enterprising university. There are currently 31 degree and diploma courses available to about 15 000 students. These figures allow the University to offer its students personalized attention and to remain free of the problems of overcrowding so often suffered by other universities. Its new and attractive single campus, which is well linked with the town of Castelló, helps to maintain this policy by encouraging closer human relationships.

Universitat Jaume I teaches new, flexible and competitive curricula and programmes of study that enable students to satisfactorily cope with every challenge set by modern society. The interdisciplinary nature of Universitat Jaume I guarantees students' autonomy and increases their chances of getting a job in the future thanks to work placements for all students enrolled at our University.

Universitat Jaume I has a wide network of international contacts made up of about 145 university-partners in Europe, the United States and Latin America, which has given rise to exchange programmes between students and between members of the academic staff, as well as educational and research projects.

Universitat Jaume I participates in all the international programmes implemented throughout the European Union, such as Socrates-Erasmus, Leonardo, Tempus and Alfa, and also those organized by the Spanish government, including the Interuniversity Cooperation Programme. The University is open to new schemes that help enhance the quality of the teaching and the research carried out here. Some of the more noteworthy initiatives related to teaching include the UNESCO Chair on the Philosophy of Peace, the Jean Monnet Chair of Law and European Economics Module, the EURINSA and EURUJI programmes for the training of engineers in Europe and, finally, the programme of Master's Degrees in Latin America, among many other initiatives.