Higher Education and Research

Deputy Secretary General

Joan Borrell is a Spanish career diplomat and the UfM Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Higher Education and Research Division since August 2024. Since joining Spain’s diplomatic service in 2010, he has primarily focused on Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-Latin American affairs.

Prior to the UfM, he served as Deputy Assistant Director for the Maghreb at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Desk Officer for the Middle East Peace Process. His international assignments include Tunisia, the Spanish Mission to the UN in New York, and roles in Latin America as Consul General in Bolivia and Director of Spain’s Cultural Center in Panama.

Before joining the Spanish diplomatic service, he had a career in audiovisual production, working for nearly a decade in documentary filmmaking, having trained at the Madrid Film School, La Fémis in Paris and the Baden-Wurttemberg Film Akademie. As a filmmaker, he specialized in international coproduction dealing with EURIMAGES, MEDIA and IBERMEDIA schemes.

A strong advocate for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, Borrell champions expanding EU initiatives like ERASMUS and HORIZON to the southern Mediterranean and promoting film and TV co-production agreements.