An institution with a history

UNED was established by decree in 1972 and opened in 1973. It is a nationwide public university that lets people study by distance learning. To enable students to have direct contact with their lecturers, it has a network of centres round Spain, and the building in Nou Barris is one of the newest and most innovative.

Occupying 2,600 square metres ceded by the City Council, the Nou Barris centre has, since 2012, been serving the more than 12,000 students enrolled at UNED in the province of Barcelona, most of whom live in the city. It has classrooms, laboratories and innovative facilities, such as rooms equipped with web conference technology and a library with 20,000 books that has already become a benchmark centre.

The new university neighbourhood

The opening of the centre has led to a new university campus being set up in Nou Barris and this has given the Porta neighbourhood, where it is based, an educational and cultural boost. The centre wants to become an open space in the area, opening the library to all local residents who can use it throughout the year except at exam time, when it is reserved for students.

On top of that, it has helped to revive the district and given a new boost to a little-known part of the city, full of very appealing places for young people such as the two shopping centres nearby and the Can Dragó Sports Park.