On Friday 10 May, coinciding with the Institutional Celebration Day of the Higher Polytechnic School of the University of Lleida, the 11th alumni lunch was held. The lunch took place at the ABV restaurant of the Club de Tennis Urgell in Lleida, attended by close to a hundred people including students, alumni, teaching staff, university personnel and authorities.

As is now customary, the lunch provided the setting for the presentation of a series of prizes and distinctions linked to the activity and life of the university school. In this context, the UdL Higher Polytechnic School gave awards to the best students on each degree and master's programme.

The award for the best academic record of the 2022-23 academic year on the Master's Degree in Leather Engineering went to the student Lluís Garcia i Pla. The prize, sponsored by Leather Cluster Barcelona, was presented to him by Jordi Vidal, executive director of the cluster.

Also presented during the event was the "Joan Gimbert" EPS Teaching Quality distinction, in recognition of the teaching work carried out by the staff of the university school, awarded by Delfí Robinat, chair of the Social Council of the University of Lleida, Ferran Badia and Marta Oliva. In this category there were special mentions for Maria Rosa Cantero Gómez and Maria Mercè Solé Ferrer, lecturers in Industrial Engineering at the Igualada-UdL University Campus.

The Master's Degree in Leather Engineering taught at the Igualada-UdL University Campus is unique in Europe in its field. With the knowledge and skills acquired on this master's programme, graduates become a highly attractive professional profile for companies across the entire value chain of the leather industry.

Leather Cluster Barcelona actively supports the master's programme in the conviction that it responds to the need for highly qualified professionals in the leather sector.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving forward the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector within the framework of Shared Value policies. The cluster is an accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters programme and has the support of Acció.