Elections for rector 2025: voting takes place from 13 to 16 May

Candidates Francesc Torres and Daniel Crespo
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Candidates Francesc Torres and Daniel Crespo (from left to right)

Electoral procedure

A total of 33,852 members of the university community are called to vote: 1,244 permanent teaching and research staff with PhDs (PDI-A); 3,881 other teaching and research staff (PDI-B); 26,704 bachelor’s and master’s degree students (EGM); and 2,023 technical, management, administrative and service staff (PTGAS).

This election is the first to reflect significant changes brought about by the new Organic Law 2/2023 on the University System (LOSU). Since the updated UPC Statutes are not yet in force and pending publication in the Official Gazette of the Catalan Government (DOGC), the current election is still governed by the 2012 Statutes. Key changes include the eligibility criteria*, which now require candidates to be full-time, permanent teaching and research staff with PhDs, three six-year research periods, three five-year teaching periods and four years of university management experience in a single-person position.

Another major change is the duration of the term, now set at a single, non-renewable six-year mandate, as established by the LOSU. In addition, blank votes will now count toward the total in the first round.

The election follows a weighted universal suffrage model, meaning that all registered members of the UPC community are eligible to vote, but the weight of each vote differs by group. The weighting coefficients for this election are:

  1. Permanent teaching and research staff with PhDs: 51%
  2. Other teaching and research staff: 14%
  3. Bachelor’s and master’s degree students: 24%
  4. Technical, management, administrative and service staff: 11%
According to article 51.2 of the Organic Law on the University System (LOSU), a candidate will be elected rector in the first round if they receive more than half of the valid votes cast, after applying the weightings assigned to each voting group and factoring in blank ballots.

If more than one candidate is running and none obtains more than half of the valid weighted votes (including blank ballots), a second round must be held.

In the second round, the winner is the candidate with a simple majority, again based on the same weightings and excluding blank votes.

* According to decision JEU/2025/01/03 of the UPC’s Electoral Board, single-person management roles are those defined in the 2012 Statutes and related regulations referenced in articles 79, 82, 86, 89 and 92 of the 2012 Statutes, as well as the general guidelines for drafting internal regulations of schools, departments and research institutes, including the Doctoral School and the Institute of Education Sciences.

The candidates for UPC rector are professors Daniel Crespo Artiaga and Francesc Torres Torres. From today, 13 May, until 16 May, voting takes place by electronic ballot on the website eleccionesrectorat2025.upc.edu. The provisional results will be made public on 16 May. A candidate will be elected in the first round if they receive more than half of the valid votes, after applying the weightings assigned to each voting group and factoring in blank ballots. If none of the candidates reaches this threshold, a second round will be held between them. In the second round, the winner is the candidate with a simple majority, again based on the same weightings and excluding blank votes.

May 13, 2025

Daniel Crespo Artiaga and Francesc Torres Torres are the candidates vying for the position of rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) in the elections to be held online from 13 May (starting at 10.00 a.m.) to 16 May (ending at 9.59 a.m.). The vote count and early results will be broadcast live on the election website: eleccionsrectorat2025.upc.edu. 

Vote from 13 May (starting at 10.00 a.m.) to 16 May (ending at 9.59 a.m.)

Provisional results will be announced on 16 May. A candidate will be elected in the first round if they receive more than half of the valid votes cast, after applying the weightings assigned to each voting group and factoring in blank ballots. If none of the candidates reaches this threshold, a second round will be held. In the second round, the winner is the candidate with a simple majority, again based on the same weightings and excluding blank votes.

In the event of a second round, the election will take place from 27 May (10:00 a.m.) to 30 May (9:59 a.m.), and the results will be known on 30 May. In that case, the final proclamation of the candidate will be on 4 June.

Daniel Crespo Artiaga - candidacy and programme


Francesc Torres Torres - candidacy and programme 


Campaing event agenda

Upcoming dates in the election calendar

First round

  • 13 May (from 10.00 a.m.) to 16 May (9.59 a.m.): voting
  • 16 May: provisional declaration of elected candidate
  • 19 to 20 May: appeal period
  • 21 May: official declaration of elected candidate


Second round

  • 22 May: if no candidate receives more than 50% of valid votes, a second round will be triggered
  • 23 May: election campaign
  • 26 May: election silence
  • 27 May (10.00 a.m.) to 30 May (9.59 a.m.): voting
  • 30 May: provisional declaration of elected candidate
  • 2 to 3 June: appeal period
  • 4 June: official declaration of elected candidate