ICTA-UAB Ombuds Officer

The role of the Ombuds Officer

The Ombuds Officer is responsible for receiving complaints and observations made regarding the institute, guaranteeing that ICTA-UAB Statues are abided by, and proposing to the competent bodies non-binding resolutions to the issues submitted to them by the members of the university community.

The ICTA-UAB Ombuds Officer carries out their duties independently and with objectivity. They are in no way subject to an imperative mandate, nor do they receive instructions from any authorities, and they act with autonomy and in accordance to their own criteria, as laid down in the ICTA-UAB Statutes.

The representative of this position must be a person of recognized prestige and, to avoid any conflict of interest, must not have any active research or postgraduate training activity connected with ICTA-UAB. 

The ombuds officer is elected by the ICTA-UAB Council by absolute majority and appointed by the university Principal. The ombuds officer holds office for four years and may be reelected only once.

About the Ombudsman

Dr. Josep Enric Llebot is Full Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at the UAB and has worked mainly in areas related to thermodynamics, environmental physics and climate change, a subject on which he has coordinated two studies in Catalonia. He has been Dean of the Faculty of Science and Vice-Rector for Economic Policy and Organisation at the UAB, as well as Secretary for the Environment and Sustainability in the Catalan Government. He is a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies and has received the Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana prize for scientific research and the Prat de la Riba prize from the Institute of Catalan Studies. He was awarded the Cross of Saint George by the Generalitat de Catalunya (2016).

Contact: sindic.icta@uab.cat

Responsibilities

1. Put forward their working regulations to be passed by the Council.
2. Receive complaints and observations on the functioning of the ICTA-UAB and carry out evaluations to decide whether to follow up with legal procedures.
3. Request information to different university sectors or community members aimed at improving the fulfillment of their duties.
4. Request the presence of heads of university bodies or community members when considered indispensable for the fulfillment of their duties.
5. Attend sessions held by ICTA-UAB bodies focused on matters related to the tasks carried out by the ombuds officer.
6. Put forward proposals considered adequate to solve the cases communicated to them.
7. Offer arbitration services when solicited by interested parties.
8. Present the Council with an annual report of its activities which includes recommendations for the improvement of university services.

University bodies are obliged to provide data and information requested by the Ombuds Office, as well as actively respond to different proposals or considerations suggested for their functions.

Complaints

The Ombuds Officer of the ICTA-UAB represents and addresses complaints presented by individual citizens.

Who can present a complaint to the Ombuds Officer? 

• Any individual or collective member of the ICTA-UAB community.
• Any non-member of ICTA-UAB who considers their rights have been violated by any of the different services UAB offers to the wider public.  

How? 

• Complaints must be submitted in writing using the online form (send a complaint to the Ombuds Officer) and filling out the information requested, including first and last name, address, telephone number, relation to Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and reasons for presenting the complaint.
• Contact: sindic.icta@uab.cat
• The ombuds officer does not accept complaints from anonymous parties.

File Closure

The Ombuds Office will inform the interested party of all procedure results and, in accordance with current legislation, will propose to the relevant bodies non-binding solutions or conciliation recommendations to reach a positive and rapid resolution.

Confidentiality

Personal data and all other information, whether spoken or written, received by the Ombuds Office from persons requesting assistance, as well as those obtained during the investigation process, and in general all documents compiled in each case, will be treated with strict confidentiality.