The Polytechnic University of Valencia (or Universitat Politècnica de València, UPV, in Spanish) is the leading technological university in Spain. It has 30,000 students, 3,700 lecturers and researchers, and 1,400 administrative and service professionals, spread over three campuses in Alcoy, Gandia and Valencia.
In just over 50 years of history, the UPV has established itself as a young, well-prepared international institution with an excellent ability to monetise the services provided by its academic and research staff. The Academic Staff is younger than the average for Spanish universities, and 8 out of 10 are PhD. Students at the UPV also outperform their counterparts in Spain. On average, students at the UPV are more academically successful in their studies and pass 13 points higher than other technological universities overall.
The UPV offers a wide range of academic programmes, including 45 bachelor's degrees, 15 double degrees, 104 university master's and double Master's degrees, and 32 PhD programmes. Most of these programmes are in the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) branch.
72% of Polytechnic University of Valencia students are already employed one year after completing their studies. This is mainly due to paid internships in companies. In addition, the UPV manages the search for part-time jobs compatible with their studies. All this places the Polytechnic University of Valencia among the 250 universities with the highest employability in the world.
The UPV was the first Spanish university to obtain the four most important international accreditations, ABET, EUR-ACE, EQAS and EURO-INF, which certify the quality of studies in the field of engineering worldwide and confirm that UPV graduates have the skills required by the profession, regardless of the country in which they work.
Top students of 114 nationalities
Regarding internationalisation, 7% of undergraduate students are international students. The percentage rises to 21% for Master's degrees and 38% for PhD studies. The UPV has over a thousand agreements with universities in Europe, Latin America, the United States, Canada, Australia, China and Japan, allowing students to be exchanged. It is the sixth in terms of Erasmus students in Europe out of a total of 4,500 institutions participating in the programme. In fact, the UPV currently welcomes students from 114 different nationalities to its campuses, representing 60% of the countries in the world.
As for complementary training available, the UPV offers nearly a thousand courses a year, allowing students to tailor their curriculum to their individual needs. In terms of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), UPV is in the top 5 worldwide, with only Harvard, Microsoft, MIT and the University of Delft surpassing it.
The UPV offers a supportive environment for students, with an impressive 91% of undergraduate students passing their exams on the first attempt. Furthermore, 93% of graduates would return to study at the UPV.
For these reasons, the UPV is the third university in Spain with the most top graduates, according to the Spanish Society of Academic Excellence. These graduates have 'outstanding CVs and an exquisite education resulting from preparation and effort'.
UPV Design Factory, the icing on the cake
Apart from the purely academic side, the UPV Design Factory programme, a UPV launch pad to support student teams participating in national and international competitions, is very popular. The idea is to put into practice autonomously everything learned in the classroom. Among the best-known projects are Formula Student UPV, which is building a single-seater car capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds; iGEM UPV, winner of the world's most important synthetic biology competition in Boston; Hyperloop UPV, which is designing the train of the future; and Azalea UPV, which is revolutionising sustainable architecture.
National leader in R&D&I
In just over 50 years, the UPV has produced nearly 145,000 scientific publications. It protects and transfers its research through licensing and generates 30 patents and 30 new software programmes each year, making it a national leader. The UPV collaborates with over a thousand companies and is a key factor in attracting investment from technology multinationals to Valencia.
The UPV encourages the creation of start-ups by students and supports the creation of around 4 spin-off companies per year. This entrepreneurial and research ecosystem is housed in the Polytechnic City of Innovation (CPI), an infrastructure equipped with first-class services and located in an area of 140,000 m2.
Free sports
The UPV's excellent sports facilities are free to the university community and offer up to 70 disciplines: fencing, climbing, aikido, capoeira, cycling, yoga, beach volleyball, etc. In Valencia, the Vera Campus covers an area of around 700,000 m2 (about 70 football pitches) and measures almost 2 km from one end to the other. It is pedestrianised and has more than 125,000 m2 of green areas.
Particularly noteworthy is the Student Recreation Centre, a 5 200 m2 building managed by the students themselves. It is equipped with computer rooms, study and group work spaces, a photography lab, a rehearsal room, etc., similar to the MIT Student House.
As for the other two campuses, Alcoy combines history, nature, and culture in a wonderful setting between the Font Roja and Sierra de Mariola Natural Parks, areas of great scenic and ecological value. Gandia has 300 days of sunshine a year and a campus right on the beach.
Committed to the environment
In recent years, UPV has positioned itself as one of the 200 most sustainable universities in the world. It is the only public university in Spain to have EMAS accreditation, the European label that aims to achieve continuous improvement in this area.
Thanks to this commitment to sustainability, the Polytechnic University of Valencia has reduced its energy consumption by an amount equivalent to the annual consumption of 5,293 households, reduced its carbon footprint by 6.69% and ensured that all the electricity used in its facilities comes from renewable sources.
