For more than 25 years, the IEMed has built a close collaboration with the university sector that culminated in 2010 in the holding of the WOCMES (World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies) in Barcelona. From this close collaboration, the Aula Mediterrània programme was born in 2014, a stable framework between the IEMed and the academic world.

Aula Mediterrània is held in coordination with more than a dozen master’s degree programmes from different universities that, in their syllabuses, teach content related to the Euro-Mediterranean region, and especially to the Middle East and North Africa. The aim of Aula Mediterrània is to support knowledge and research on Mediterranean issues and contribute to the internationalisation of local academia through the opportunity to mobilise experts, academics and actors who are relevant in the knowledge and study of the Mediterranean environment. Through this programme, they have the opportunity to network with universities around the world.

With the various universities involved, the IEMed structures the programme into three pillars, based on two lines of work concerning research and reflection: a series of lectures, an academic seminar and the Aula Awards for the Best Master’s Degree Final Projects on Mediterranean issues. These three pillars are complemented by student-led activities, research seminars organised by the teaching staff, which are supported by the IEMed, and initiatives such as film series and debates with key social actors in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Academic freedom ‒ the participating universities choose the topics and the participants in the different components, and therefore set the agenda of the programme ‒, plurality, and academic internationalisation and interdisciplinarity are the three premises that underpin Aula Mediterrània. All this with the ultimate desire to stimulate interest, study and research opportunities on Mediterranean issues among young university students. Aula Mediterrània encourages academic interest and innovation and is a pole for the creation of a critical mass of young people, interested in promoting relationships and knowledge around the two shores of the Mediterranean. By mobilising important figures from the academic, political, social and cultural world, from Europe and especially the southern shore, Aula Mediterrània is an essential event in the Mediterranean academic and cultural world.

Since the 2020-2021 academic year, Aula Mediterrània has twinned with the newcomer Aula Árabe, promoted by Casa Árabe from 2019-2020, to expand the range of lectures and encourage exchange between participants in both programmes.