Biociencias

UVic has founded the Postgraduate School, which is taking over from the institution's International Centre for Continuing Education, in order to enhance and improve the focus of its lifelong learning courses.

Catalonia has been working to prevent food loss and waste for some years, through the Catalan Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and the Catalan Waste Agency. In fact, Catalonia is the first region in Europe to have specific legislation in this area: Law 3/2020.

Eleven lecturers and researchers at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) appear on the World's Top 2% Scientists list of the world's most cited scientists, which was recently published by Stanford University (USA).

56% of the world's consumption of fresh water for industrial uses takes place in the food and beverage industry. In the meat sector, pig slaughterhouses can use between 250 and 550 litres for each slaughtered animal, with the cleaning of carcasses and equipment and sanitisation of the facilities accounting for the highest levels of water consumption. The amounts used in cattle slaughterhouses are even greater: between 500 and 1,000 litres per carcass.

Livestock farming is a very important economic activity in the European Union (EU) and the one that makes the most use of land, either directly or indirectly. European livestock farms produce 1,400 tonnes of manure, and only a very small fraction of this amount is processed, while the rest is applied to agricultural soil as fertiliser, leading to a heavy environmental impact. The European Fertimanure project (Fertilizers from animal manure) is being undertaken to help overcome this situation.

The minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Government of Catalonia, Teresa Jordà, visited the new facilities of the BETA Technology Center at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) this afternoon. She was accompanied by the rector of the university, Josep Eladi Baños, and the director of the BETA Technological Center, Sergio Ponsá, and was able to see the centre's new space and research project for herself.

The Universitat de Vic - Universitat  Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC) will kick off academic year 2021-2022 by expanding its range of academic programmes to a total of 37 degrees taught between the Vic and Manresa campuses, the new Barcelona campus, the branch in Granollers and its affiliated centres.

Fresh water on planet Earth is scarce, as it accounts for only about 2.5% of the total. Between 30% and 50% of this total fresh water area is in pools and ponds, a resource that despite being exceptional is home to 70% of Europe's aquatic species. They also contain more rare, endemic and endangered species such as amphibians, invertebrates or plants, than those found in lakes or rivers. The small size of pools and ponds has even today led to doubts being raised over their status as resources that contribute to the planet's biological balance and to the fight against climate change.

According to the Catalonia Waste Agency (ARC), 911,480 tonnes of waste was generated by the food industry in Catalonia in 2018. One of the challenges facing the sector is how to optimise the management of the waste it generates and lower the economic and environmental cost this entails by minimising its transport and obtaining by-products with high added value.

Over the past few decades, cities in the Mediterranean arc have been experiencing progressive population growth and concentration and an increase in construction and tourism. The limits to growth faced by these urban environments means that proper waste management is key to guaranteeing a healthy living environment. In Catalonia alone, almost 4 million tonnes of waste are generated, of which more than a third is organic waste.