We are happy to announce that the Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Lluís Serra Majem has sworn today in for a second term as Rector of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). The solemn ceremony of inauguration took place in the Auditorium of the Institutional Headquarters, led by the presidency of Fernando Clavijo Batlle, President of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.
In his speech, the Rector outlined six major challenges, which, from his perspective, are crucial for the ULPGC.
“Funding goes first,” he stressed. “In the last 15 years the budget of the autonomous community has grown by almost 12%, while that of the ULPGC has been reduced by almost 2%. Adequate funding is crucial for the success and development of our university. A well-funded university becomes an engine of change and progress, contributing decisively to the social and economic development of our region.”
The second of the challenges that Serra addressed in his speech was “the public or private education pairing”. In this regard, he pointed out that “public education promotes equal opportunities and equity, but it needs adequate funding. The cost of private education is high, and many families cannot afford it, therefore it is crucial to find a balance that allows both modalities to coexist and complement each other ensuring a fair and equitable education.”
The third challenge is productivity. Serra noted that between 2011 and 2019 the Canary Islands was the only region that experienced a reduction in productivity. In addition, he said that the President of the Canary Islands Government has proposed a pact with management, unions and public universities.
Moreover, as a fourth challenge, Serra defended the institution, not only as a centre for academic training, but also as a “pillar of research and innovation”. “Through research programs, we tackle global problems and collaborate with companies and governments to transfer our discoveries into the real world. At the ULPGC, we have made significant progress in patents, technology-based companies and research transfer, moving from the bottom third to the top of the Spanish university ranking in four years”.
The energy and environmental transition along with digitalization “will continue to be the cornerstones of our organizational transformation and of our teaching and research activity”, remarked the Rector. Along these lines, and as the sixth challenge, he referred to the internationalization of the institution as “essential for the development and competitiveness of the ULPGC”, since “it promotes cultural and academic exchange, improves the quality of education, increases the employability of our graduates, strengthens research and innovation, and promotes cooperation and understanding among our students”.
ULPGC: 5 rectors in its 35-year history
Throughout its 35 years of existence, the ULPGC has been led by five elected rectors: Professor of Applied Physics Francisco Rubio Royo (elected Rector by the University Senate in 1990 and 1994), Manuel Lobo Cabrera, Professor of Modern History (elected by the University Senate in 1998), Professor of Cellular Biology José Regidor García (elected by vote of the university community in 2007 and 2011), Professor of Latin Philology Trinidad Arcos Pereira, who held the position of provisional Rector during a brief interim period, Rafael Robaina Romero, Professor of Physiology and Biotechnology (elected by the university community in 2016), and lastly the Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Lluís Serra Majem, current Rector, and elected by the university community in 2021.
