The University of Jaén (UJA) was created in 1993 and has received the distinction of Campus of International Excellence in the fields of Agrifood (CEIA3) and Climate Change (CamBio), plus it also leads the Andalusian CEI project on historical heritage PatrimoniUN10. Besides, the UJA highly ranks for its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals according to THE - Times Higher Education (World University Rankings).

The UJA has five faculties (Social and Legal Sciences; Humanities and Education Sciences; Health Sciences; Experimental Sciences and Social Work) and two higher polytechnic schools for engineering (Linares and Jaén) as well as an associated center (SAFA Professional School in Úbeda). In turn, these centers are organized into 35 departments. It also has two Postgraduate educational centers (Doctorate School and Postgraduate Study Center) and a Study Center in Modern Languages.

The University of Jaén’s academic courses are designed according to society’s employment and professional needs. The Degree qualifications (37) and Double Degree qualifications (10) are an example of this. Moreover, UJA boasts a comprehensive offering of master’s degrees (45) and double master’s degrees (8), which are second-cycle studies in advanced education of a specialized or multidisciplinary nature aimed at academic or professional specialization or at initiation in research. In addition, Jaén University offers attractive Doctorate programs (20) presenting a broad variety of research opportunities in all fields of knowledge: Art and Humanities, Social and Legal Sciences, Sciences, Health and Engineering. This comprehensive range of academic courses is complemented with 18 international double degrees and numerous own teaching programs.

In regards to its University Community, the University of Jaén has 14,470 students (not including 675 that are currently enrolled in the so-called University of the Third Age), from which many have participated in international mobility programs. Moreover, the UJA comprises more than 518 staff members in administration and services and 977 staff members in teaching and research.

In regards to its research, there are six specialized centers at Jaén University:

Besides, the full picture of the 127 research groups at the University of Jaén covers the following fields of expertise:

We should also highlight that UJA has in place the so-called Central Research Support Services (SCAI), which also report to the Vice Rectorate for Research and Knowledge Transfer, comprising a group of laboratories capable of providing support for scientific research, whose instruments, tools and technical equipment, either due to their own characteristics or their field of action, exceed the needs of a Center or Department. The purpose of the SCAI is to support the research activities conducted at the University of Jaén as well as at other institutions and public and private establishments. It also collaborates with these resources in specialization courses and in the teaching of university studies.

One of the two centers comprised within the SCAI is the so-called Scientific-Technical Instrumentation Center (CICT) of the University of Jaén, which offers more than 100 instrumentation resources for conducting the research activities of UJA, as well as other institutions and public and private establishments. It also collaborates with these resources in specialization courses and in the experimental teaching of university studies.

We should also point out that UJA has generated numerous patents and spin-offs, since knowledge transfer occupies a prominent place in our university’s strategy and is viewed as one of the key actions in job creation and long-term growth, in improving competitiveness and in addressing international challenges. This task is unfailingly complemented with the work carried out by the UJA’s Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+I), which includes among its objectives that of kindling new scientific vocations but also that of improving training in the dissemination of Science and Innovation; contributing to ensuring the rigor of scientific and technological information in the media; or succeeding in increasing the visibility of the results of the work performed by our research structure and the accountability of our universities and research centers in the work they perform in this field.

In terms of funding, in addition to sources external to the university, UJA has launched a Research Support Plan (2023-2024), which is structured around three major objectives:

• Support for research groups and teams to incentivize target-led productivity and work, taking into account the specific features and needs of each research group or team and of the Branches of Knowledge.
• Hiring of research staff to favor the training of young researchers, boosting the increase of human resources engaged in research, right from the starting phase of a research career.
• Internationalization of research to stimulate the participation and leadership of UJA’s research staff in international competitions (such as Horizon Europe), a task performed through its International Projects Office (OFIPI).