UJA R&I expertise

Jaén University (UJA) was created in 1993 and is in the Top 50 of the world’s best young universities according to THE (Times Higher Education). This ranking analyzes aspects such as teaching, research work, the university’s international outreach, or integration into industry. Besides, the UJA 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.

Jaén University 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.

Jaén University’s academic courses are designed according to society’s employment and professional needs. The Degree qualifications (35) 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 (7), 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 14 international double degrees and numerous own teaching programs.

In regards to its University Community, Jaén University has more than 16,500 students (not including those that are currently enrolled in the so-called University of the Third Age), from which 949 have participated in incoming and outgoing international mobility programs. Moreover, the UJA comprises more than 490 staff members in administration and services and more than 1000 staff members in teaching and research.

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

CAAI

Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología Ibérica (Iberia Archaeology)

INUO

Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Olivar y Aceites de Oliva (Olive oil and olive grove)

IISTA

Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra de Andalucía (Earth System in Andalusia)

DaSCI

Instituto Andaluz de Investigación Interuniversitario sobre Data Science and Computational Intelligence

CEACTEMA

Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias de la Tierra, Energía y Medio Ambiente (Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences)

CEATIC

Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (ICT)

Besides, the full picture of the over 100 UJA groups covers the following research fields of expertise:

Agrifood (AGR)

Biology (BIO)

Health (CTS)

Social Sciences, Business, Law (SEJ)

Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics (FQM)

Humanities (HUM)

Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (RNM)

Information and Communications Technology (TIC)

Engineering Production Technology (TEP)

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, 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 Jaén University 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 Jaén University, 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 had 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 (2019-2020), 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).

Despite its relatively recent origins, Jaén University boasts highly qualified research and technical personnel as well as up-to-date and efficient research resources, giving it vast potential for competitively participating in international R&I projects.

For this reason, in answer to the target set by the Research Area of the Jaén University 2nd Strategic Plan (Horizon 2020), which advocates implementing a research reinforcement model based on results and on its ability to attain a national and international leadership position and on supporting research targeting the priority areas of the 8th European Union Framework Program, in 2015 we created the so-called UJA International Projects Office (OFIPI), which reports to the Research Vice Rectorate and is a member of the Andalusia O.T.R.I. Network.

The OFIPI is supported by a present and future working plan that aspires to meet the following targets, namely:

Target 1 - Nurturing, promoting and advising UJA researchers in international research programs

Target 2 - Encouraging and exploring University-Enterprise relations to be able to collaboratively take part in European and international programs aimed mainly at businesses while facilitating the establishment of consortiums

Target 3 - Providing researchers with quality administrative support (a) during the drafting phase and presentation of proposals for different international research programs as well as (b) in managing funded proposals

Target 4 - Promoting and disseminating EU policies in the fields of research and innovation

The research areas addressed by the team of professionals comprising the International Projects Office cover our university’s fields of specialization. The full list of UJA research groups is the following one:

Lastly, the range of programs that fund the international consortium-based research managed by the Jaén University International Projects Office is very broad in order to meet the research needs not only of UJA staff but also of the institutions external to the university with which interesting collaborative synergies can be established.