Students in the first cohort of the Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine at Blanquerna-URL begin classes, marking a historic milestone

Barcelona, September 15, 2026. This week marks the beginning of a new academic year that will be a turning point in the history of Blanquerna and Ramon Llull University. Around 150 young people have officially started classes in the new Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine, one of Ramon Llull University’s major inter-institutional initiatives, which is being added to its academic offerings for the first time. The arrival of the students from this first cohort marks a long-awaited milestone that turns the desire to train doctors prepared for the future into a tangible reality for the institution.

A very emotional prelude to the start of the academic year took place last Wednesday, September 9. The Blanquerna-URL School of Health Sciences hosted the traditional white coat ceremony, a deeply symbolic event during which the students received their coats from representatives of Blanquerna, the various institutions of Ramon Llull University, and the degree’s clinical and healthcare partners. In the presence of their families—who were able to follow the celebration live—the future doctors also read a joint manifesto to seal their early commitment to the values of the medical profession.

The director of the Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine, Dr. Jordi Ibáñez, highlights the emotional and professional significance of the start of this academic year: “After years of exhaustive academic design and coordination with the institutions of Ramon Llull University and our healthcare and research network, finally seeing the students in the classrooms is a truly emotional moment. Starting today, with these 140-plus young people, we move from planning on paper to the real, day-to-day work of building this degree’s identity.”

The Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine at Blanquerna-URL is distinguished by an educational model that perfectly balances two key elements: cutting-edge technology and human connection. The curriculum responds to the healthcare needs of the 21st century and integrates highly innovative required courses (High Tech)—such as Digital Medicine, Artificial Intelligence in Health, and Robotics—while also placing a strong emphasis on new therapies and on healthcare management and leadership.

This top-tier scientific aspect is complemented across the curriculum by a solid humanistic and ethical education (High Touch and High Commitment). The program emphasizes bioethics, mental health, the doctor-patient relationship, and support through grief and at the end of life. “We want to train professionals who are very well prepared technically, but who are also committed on a human level,” says the

dean of the Blanquerna-URL School of Health Sciences, Dr. Montserrat Esquerda. “This approach takes shape in what we call High Tech, High Touch, High Commitment: a model of medicine that is humanly scientific and scientifically human, where training in clinical excellence is inextricably linked to a deep commitment to warm, personal care and empathy toward the patient.”

This academic milestone is the result of a long journey that began on November 16, 2023, when Dr. Montserrat Esquerda assumed the leadership of the project to create the new degree. The consolidation process reached its main turning points on October 8, 2025, when the curriculum received favorable accreditation from AQU Catalunya, and shortly afterward, on October 30 of the same year, when it was approved by the Council of Universities. This process has also been strengthened by the appointment of Dr. Jordi Ibáñez as director of the degree at the end of 2025 and by the establishment of the degree’s Advisory Board, chaired by the renowned Dr. Jaume Padrós, in June 2026.

The new degree has been conceived as a true inter-institutional collaboration project of Ramon Llull University, bringing together the experience and talent of the Sarrià Chemical Institute (IQS), La Salle, Esade, the Borja Institute of Bioethics, and the Vidal i Barraquer Foundation. This wealth of academic expertise is complemented by a strong alliance with a leading hospital, healthcare, and research network that includes Quirónsalud hospitals, Fundació Hospitalàries, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, FIDMAG (Research Foundation), and ACEBA (the association of self-managed primary care providers).

For the rector of Ramon Llull University, Dr. Carles Pérez Testor, the start of this academic year represents the culmination of a collective aspiration: “Getting here has taken a great deal of hard work and effort and, above all, a lot of shared enthusiasm. Today is the first day the dream becomes a reality. As the president of the Blanquerna Board of Trustees, Dr. Josep M. Carbonell, kept saying all these years, ‘We will do it,’ and today we can finally say: we have done it.”

Likewise, the general director of Blanquerna-URL, Dr. Jordi Riera, emphasizes how the launch of this degree consolidates the institution’s identity: “The arrival of this first cohort crowns a collective history of over seventy-five years dedicated to excellence in higher education. The degree, built on an exemplary intercampus network, is a direct expression of the union of ‘being’ and ‘knowing’ that has inspired us throughout our history: to train technically excellent professionals who at the same time grow as individuals committed to the transformation and well-being of society.”

With full classrooms and a new building that will expand the Blanquerna Health Campus in Barcelona over the coming months, the institution is taking a giant step toward consolidating a unique educational model, adapted to a changing world and fully dedicated to serving and caring for people.