UOC Rural Network

Global impact
#2030Agenda

The UOC's contribution to the current challenges facing rural areas

SpinUOC Rural Award 2026

The UOC Rural Network is focused on co-creation and knowledge transfer, working to facilitate processes of positive change, redress regional imbalances, promote unity and empower rural areas.

17% of our community lives in rural areas.

Women represent 62% of the UOC community in rural areas.

Research and knowledge transfer UOC Rural Network

SpinUOC Rural Award 2026

First edition of the SpinUOC Rural Awards for the best project with an impact on rural areas and the challenges of contemporary rurality.

Cruz Roja Rural Digital Challenge: Basic Digital Skills Courses

Free, in-person training designed for people in situations of digital vulnerability living in rural areas.

Studying without leaving home: the UOC's rural graduates prove that university knows no borders

The stories of three graduates reveal how online education can transform lives and strengthen people's connection to their local communities

UOC Rural grants

These grants are awarded to people living in municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants in order to facilitate their access to higher education. This helps to reduce regional inequalities and makes it easier for people to develop their personal and professional projects in rural areas.

UOC Rural Best Final Project Awards

These awards recognize outstanding bachelor's and master's degree final projects that highlight the importance of the rural world and confront the challenges it faces today.

Internships in rural areas

The Odisseu internship grants are designed to promote paid internships in companies located in rural municipalities. The aim is to increase the competitiveness of businesses and at the same time encourage people to return to and settle in rural communities.

Projects for rural and cultural development

ConectArt-e promotes the connection between contemporary artistic creation and regenerative tourism, integrating both as sustainable drivers of social, economic, and cultural development in the territory. This initiative is committed to a respectful relationship with the environment and a sustainable future. Learn more on the website.

Almanzora Comparte is a collaborative initiative that promotes rural development in the Almanzora region (Almería) through social hackathons. It brings together businesses, institutions, and citizens to foster innovative projects that strengthen the local economy, social cohesion, and cultural identity. Learn more on the website.

Impact of UOC education on rural areas

We want to know to what extent and in what ways UOC education and research are responding to the challenges of today's rural realities, bridging the regional divide and redressing the socioeconomic and environmental inequalities that this entails.

Exploratory study on housing in rural areas

This exploratory study draws on evidence from specific municipalities to characterize housing in the rural world. It also examines the influence of the socioeconomic environment, assesses the effectiveness of the regulatory framework, and identifies private action and activism initiatives in the area of rural housing.

UOC Rural Research Network

Aina Elies Ruiz

Rural women, training, and empowerment through the UOC. In this video, we explore the fundamental role women play in rural areas and how training at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) contributes to their transformation processes, both individually and collectively.

Asun Colom

Through real-life stories and experiences like this one, we'll discover how online education opens up new opportunities, empowers women, and contributes to the sustainable development of rural communities.

At the UOC we are very committed to creating

a strong network capable of promoting processes of positive transformation in the rural world.

Feel free to share your experience and become

part of the UOC rural community.

Share your experience

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