3rd Day at UPF Barcelona: From Media and Technology to Innovation and Entrepreneurship, VC Dr. Khushk Focuses on Global Academic Opportunities for Faculty and Students of SALU Khairpur, Pakistan
3rd Day at UPF Barcelona: From Media and Technology to Innovation and Entrepreneurship, VC Dr. Khushk Focuses on Global Academic Opportunities for Faculty and Students of SALU Khairpur, Pakistan, and UPF Ciutadella Campus Barcelona, Spain.
Third Day of Barcelona Engagement: Strategic Academic Linkages Explored in Communication, ICT Engineering, Translation, Creative Industries and Knowledge Transfer at UPF’s Poblenou Campus
Barcelona, Spain
October 21, 2026
Meritorious Prof. Dr. Yousuf Khushk, Vice Chancellor of Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU), Khairpur, Pakistan, continued his official academic engagement at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, on Wednesday, exploring opportunities to connect SALU’s faculty and students with international academic expertise, emerging technologies, innovative research practices and entrepreneurship initiatives.
The third-day engagement, held at UPF’s Poblenou Campus, focused on strengthening prospects for academic linkages in media and communication, ICT engineering, translation and language sciences, digital innovation, creative production and knowledge transfer.
Upon arrival, Dr. Khushk was warmly received by Anna Belchi, Director of the Poblenou Campus, who welcomed him and introduced the campus’s interdisciplinary academic environment. An introductory meeting was followed by a guided academic tour, during which the Vice Chancellor explored specialised teaching and research facilities and interacted with campus representatives on their relevance to potential collaboration between corresponding academic departments of SALU and UPF.
Professor Marco Madella, ICREA Research Professor at UPF, and Silvia Vilanova, International Staff Mobility Officer at UPF’s International Relations Office, accompanied Dr. Khushk throughout the visit, facilitating academic interactions and institutional exchanges.
Professor Asma Gati, Vice President of the University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia, also participated in the academic engagement as a fellow international university representative. Like Dr. Khushk, she was undertaking the visit on behalf of her own institution to explore potential academic partnerships, research cooperation and opportunities for international institutional linkages.
The campus engagement provided insights into UPF’s integration of communication and media studies, engineering, and information and communication technologies. Discussions focused on contemporary teaching approaches, practical learning environments, technological applications and interdisciplinary research, with particular attention to identifying areas where SALU’s relevant departments could benefit from international academic exposure and collaborative initiatives.
Translation and Language Sciences constituted another important dimension of the academic engagement. The discussions explored the academic relevance of multilingual communication, translation studies, applied linguistics and emerging language technologies, including their potential applications in cross-cultural knowledge exchange. Particular attention was given to opportunities for connecting SALU’s language and literature departments with international expertise in translation research, digital language resources, comparative linguistic studies and the wider dissemination of regional literary and cultural knowledge.
A significant part of the programme was devoted to UPF’s Knowledge Transfer initiatives at Espai La Nau, demonstrating how university-based knowledge, creativity and innovation can be connected with professional practice and wider societal needs.
During the session, Malena Ramajo and Maties Salom, Coordinators of Diari de Barcelona, shared experiences relating to university-based journalism, digital media production and communication practices. The interaction also explored the growing influence of social media narratives on public perceptions, the challenges of misinformation and the importance of critical media literacy, responsible communication and independent thinking in the digital age.
Another important engagement focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and creative industries, involving Joan Sala Moyà, Entrepreneurship Officer at UPF’s Innovation Service and UPF Business Shuttle, and Adrián Erre, Director and Producer of the documentary short film Las nucas nos pesan, in connection with the En Residència initiative.
The discussions highlighted the relationship between academic knowledge, documentary filmmaking, creative entrepreneurship and practical innovation, offering perspectives on how universities can encourage students and researchers to transform ideas into meaningful cultural, professional and socially relevant initiatives. The programme also introduced Arsenal among UPF’s knowledge transfer experiences.
The academic interactions highlighted potential areas for faculty-to-faculty connections, student learning opportunities, collaborative research, knowledge exchange and innovation-oriented partnerships between SALU and UPF, particularly in communication, engineering, translation, digital technologies, creative industries and entrepreneurship.
At the conclusion of the engagement, Dr. Khushk appreciated UPF’s interdisciplinary academic environment and emphasised that international academic partnerships should create meaningful opportunities for faculty and students by connecting education with innovation, research with societal needs, and academic knowledge with entrepreneurship.
He thanked Anna Belchi, Professor Marco Madella, Silvia Vilanova, Malena Ramajo, Maties Salom, Joan Sala Moyà, Adrián Erre and other participating UPF representatives for their warm hospitality, informative briefings and valuable academic exchanges.
The third-day engagement at Poblenou Campus reinforced SALU’s commitment to transforming international academic exposure into meaningful opportunities for its faculty and students, connecting regional academic strengths with global innovation, interdisciplinary research and knowledge-driven development.
