The Research Institute of the School of Communication and International Relations

The Research Institute of Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations groups together the body of research professors of the School, as well as doctoral students. These researchers are divided into six different research teams recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia). Its work has an impact on both standard research (linked to the academic world) and applied research (linked to companies and institutions).

Director of the Research Institute of Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations: Dr. Marçal Sintes Olivella

 The mission of the Research Institute is to contribute to the qualitative and quantitative improvement of research by the School.

Its objectives are:

1. To support the research teams in the achievement of their projects and especially in taking part in competitive tenders to obtain financing funds.
2. To encourage a policy of publication of research in index-linked academic journals  in the Web of Science (WOS) and in Scopus.
3. To stimulate the internationalization of research through collaboration with international research institutions and by means of participation in conferences of international reference.
4. To encourage the presentation of proposals in international tenders, especially for the European H2020 program.
5. To promote the accreditation of the faculty of the FCRI Blanquerna for AQU and for ANECA.
6. To create a program for promotion of research in the field of International Relations.
7. To attain the level of Excellence for the doctoral program in Communications.

Our research has multiple guarantees of quality. The six research teams the researchers of the FCRI Blanquerna comprise have been recognized by the Agency for Management of University Grants and Research (AGAUR) of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The researchers of Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations are a part of a network of collaboration with academic institutions, public bodies and business sectors, both Catalan and Spanish as well as international. In this sense, the core pillars of research of Blanquerna are included in the Focus Areas established in Aristos Campus Mundus, a project driven by the universities of Ramon Llull, Deusto and Comillas. Since May 2010 these three universities constitute a Campus of International Excellency and have signed an agreement of advanced cooperation with the North American universities Georgetown, Boston College and Fordham. This strategic cooperation opts for for social, equitable, responsible and sustainable innovation.

Currently, Doctoral Dissertations of the PhD in Communication may be supervised by the following professors:

• Dra. Sue Aran Ramspott. Associate professor
• Dr. Jordi Busquet Duran. Associate professor
• Dr. Joan Cuenca Fontbona. Assistant professor
• Dr. Fernando de Felipe. Associate professor
• Dr. Iván García Gómez. Assistant professor
• Dr. Pere Masip Masip. Associate professor
• Dr. Alfons Medina Cambrón. Associate professor
• Dr. Josep Lluís Micó Sanz. Full professor
• Dr. Jaume Radigales Babí. Associate professor
• Dr. Josep A. Rom. Full professor
• Dr. Carlos Ruiz Caballero. Associate professor
• Dr. Albert Sáez Casas. Associate professor
• Dr. Ferran Sáez Mateu. Associate professor

Research teams

The research activity of Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations is organized into six research teams, all of them recognized by the Agency for Management of University Grants and Research (AGAUR) of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

• DIGILAB: Media, Strategy and Regulation
• EIDOS: Studies of culture and communication
• FAHRENHEIT: Research team on control and limits of media representations
• GLOBALCODES: Globalization, conflicts, security and development
• GRECP: Strategy and creativity in Advertising and Public Relations
• STREAM: Society, Technology, Religion and Media

Priority Areas of Research

Sociology of communication. Among other things, this includes the study of social conflicts, its treatment by the media and the social perception of violence, the digital divide and intergenerational conflicts, or the representation of the other in new media.

Business communication. This includes a wide range of subjects: audits of communication, the role of strategies of communication to drive change in organizations, strategies of corporate communication, new trends in brands, public relations and corporate culture, advertising creativity and planning, issues management and the use of the new technologies in political communication.

Cinema and television. Politics and cultural identity across the media, audio-visual narratives and transmedia communication, identity in cinema, television and transmedia. The intersection between cultural citizenship and television, and new forms of cinematographic exhibition in the digital age.

Technology and communication. This tackles topics such as the impact of technology on journalistic and communicative practices, media convergence, responsibility and journalistic ethics, technology and policies of communication or technology and media regulation.

Journalism, politics and democracy. Developing of research projects about political commitment, media and citizenship, international communication, professional journalism, participation and active audiences in the public digital sphere, among others.

International relations. This includes study and research in the field of the international relations from historical, political, economic, cultural, juridical, and sociological perspectives and of communication of globalization. Research projects are carried out regarding the commitment that diverse social actors play in globalization.