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The IPHES is a new research institute of the Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona
One of the main objectives is to provide added value to the academics
The IPHES (Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social), created in 2006 and directed by the archaeologist Eudald Carbonell, is already a new Institute of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili de Tarragona (URV), after the approval of the Conselleria d’ Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya, dated on 8 July and published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat (DOGC) the last August 4th.
Thereby concludes the formalization of a process that began in May 2013 with the signing of an agreement between such counseling and the URV to achieve this recognition, which once published in the DOGC is already fully effective.
The IPHES, located at the campus of the URV Sescelades, whose main objective is to become a center of international reference in the development of research, teaching and transference in the different branches of the study of evolution and human behavior. In this context, from now on it will enhance the teaching area, ensuring the scientific quality and providing added value.
The approval gives a new context to a rich activity that takes place since 2004 in which IPHES researchers elaborate the program to develop the first URV masters Erasmus Mundus in cooperation with three more European universities. Since 2013 it has been also added the Erasmus Mundus doctorate in Quaternary and Prehistory. The expedition of the degree corresponds to the URV.
With regard to the faculty, teaching will be carry out by the researchers from both institutes, IPHES and URV.
The agreement also provides that the IPHES, and in particular, its teaching staff have access to the support services to help in the study and teaching, research and university extension of the URV.
Its origins
Although IPHES was born 8 years ago, its origins go back to 1988, when the archaeologist Eudald Carbonell, co-director of the Equipo de Investigación de Atapuerca (EIA), arrived to Tarragona to join as a Prehistory Professor in the Universitat de Barcelona delegation (UB). Since then, he has worked hard to promote a transdisciplinary team with international projection on the study of human evolution. The first steps were taken with the Grupo de Autoecología Humana when the Universitat Rovira i Virgili de Tarragona was created in 1991, where he is a Prehistory Professor. Currently, IPHES is among the three best research centers in the world in its field.
