Rafael Ventura is the academic coordinator of the Master in Communication and Business Relations at UPF Barcelona School of Management, and a lecturer, both on this Master and on the Master of Arts in Communication Management (UPF-BSM). He is also a member of the think tank Centre for Gender Studies (CEdGE) and the consolidated research group CritiCC.

He has participated in several research projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN). He has taught communication theory, digital journalism, media industries and media audiences at various universities. His research interests focus on LGBTQ representation in the media. As a result, he has published articles in high-impact journals in the fields of gender and communication. He has also taken part in more than 20 international conferences hosted by prestigious organizations such as the International Communication Association (ICA), the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS). He has obtained and led several competitive teaching innovation projects with the objective of implementing the results of his research into educational resources. He has been accredited by ANECA as Profesor Contratado Doctor, and by AQU as Lector. His doctoral thesis was awarded by the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC), and he has also received the special doctorate award from the Communication Department at UPF.

Rafael holds a PhD in Communication from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). He graduated in Advertising and Public Relations from Universitat Jaume I (UJI), where he also completed an International Master's Degree in International Peace, Conflict and Development Studies, and a Postgraduate Degree in Intercultural Relations and Management of Cultural Diversity. He also holds a Master's Degree in Social Communication from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). He extended his graduate communication studies at the Panteion University of Athens (Greece) and the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (Mexico). During his doctoral research, he was a visiting researcher at San Francisco State University (United States), University of Antioquia (Colombia) and University of Leicester (United Kingdom), funded by the Spanish National Research Training Program (FPI-MINECO).