A History of Collaboration

The relationship between Johns Hopkins University and Pompeu Fabra University began over two decades ago, when the former Mayor of Barcelona, Mr. Pasqual Maragall i Mira, was a visiting researcher and guest professor at the Hopkins Center for Urban Affairs in Baltimore.  He reached out to the School of Public Health for advice on addressing several public healt hissues impacting Barcelona. 

The partnership with the City of Barcelona and its Public Health Department was further cemented when Mr. Pasqual Maragall was elected President of the Catalonian Government; a spearheadedd Barcelona's successful bid for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, with public health advice and collaboration of the Bloomberg School.  When Pompeu Fabra University was established in 1990, professors and administrators partnered with several Johns Hopkins Faculty to create the Public and Social Policy Program. 

Another early initiative that thrives today is the Fall Institute, developed by the Bloomberg School's department of Health Policy and Mangaement, Pompeu Fabra University and the Public Health Agency of Barcelona.  The relationship between Johns Hopkins and Pompeu Fabra University provided the cornerstone for Hopkins being appointed a European Union Center of Excellence, a group of 10 Centers who excel at teaching and research on the European Union and its member States.