Análisis de estudios universitarios en Fuerteventura presentado por el Consejo Social de la ULPGC
Accompanying the Council Plenary, the majority of the ULPGC government team visited the island with the commitment to boost the educational offer in the upcoming years, based on the work carried out by ULPGC professors Leonardo Romero and Agustín Sánchez, who identify alternative tourism, education for the elderly, teacher training and management of educational centers, and specialized communication as strategic areas in Fuerteventura.
Fuerteventura hosted an extraordinary Plenary of the Social Council of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) today, where the only item on the agenda was the report ‘Analysis of the possible implementation of university studies on the island of Fuerteventura’. Based on the social and productive demands of the island and its employability, it was concluded that the university degrees most likely to succeed in Fuerteventura are the Master’s Degree in Alternative Tourism, the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training, the Master’s Degree in Management and Leadership of Educational Centers, the Master’s Degree in Elderly Tourism, and the Master’s Degree in Specialized Communication.
The President of the Social Council, Ana Suárez, explained in the Plenary that higher education plays a crucial role in the socioeconomic development of any region. «That is why the implementation of new university study programs not only responds to economic demands and the labor market but also reflects the aspirations and needs of society. In this sense, this study focuses on analyzing the determining factors for the successful implementation of face-to-face and official academic programs considering the demands of the territory, employability, and innovation in their content.»
Ana Suárez highlighted that this visit to Fuerteventura, accompanied by a large group of the ULPGC government team, confirms the commitment to «build, through more than 20 years of accumulated work, a new stage of academic and institutional development for Fuerteventura, because we believe that the time has come to give a new impetus to the presence of the ULPGC on this island.» Rector Lluís Serra, on his part, recalled that the ULPGC is the only Canarian university with a face-to-face degree in a non-capital island, «and we want to enhance our presence here with the support of the Cabildo.» He advanced that there is a new range of teaching offered by the ULPGC and research projects that can be strategic for the island, «but for this, we need the ULPGC-Cabildo symbiosis to help us continue growing in Fuerteventura.» The results of the study presented in the Social Council Plenary will be a very useful tool in the future planning of educational projects to be carried out on the island, and the Rector stated «that in this new mandate of six years, we have no excuses not to create a campus of excellence in Fuerteventura.»
The President of the Cabildo, Lola García, explained that «within the work we do throughout the year with the ULPGC to address the training needs of Fuerteventura, a study was necessary to know which degrees could be implemented on the island, focusing on strategic and interesting areas such as alternative tourism, natural resource management, or new technologies, which is positioned as one of the areas that will require more university employment.»
García added that «it is necessary to stabilize the teaching staff of the Nursing studies, which have been in the island for more than 35 years, and continue planning the construction of a new building to launch possible new degrees in the area of the Technological Park.» The President added that «the important thing is that education reaches all people on equal terms, and in this sense, I want to highlight the support we have always received from the ULPGC.»
Presence and commitment of the vice-chancellors
Together with the Rector, the Manager, and the General Secretary of the ULPGC, the vice-chancellors of titles, research, lifelong learning, and culture and sports attended the Plenary as guests. After learning about the results of the analysis carried out by the authors of the study, ULPGC professors Leonardo Romero and Agustín Sánchez, all of them expressed their willingness to support and diversify the educational offer in Fuerteventura in the coming years. «We were already working on several training options such as the development of hybrid studies or the creation of a training center associated with the ULPGC with ‘mirror classrooms,’ but we also want to enhance a joint effort of official training and lifelong learning, adapted to the needs of the island,» said the Vice-Chancellor of Titles and Academic Quality, Luís Hernández Calvento. In that sense, the Vice-Chancellor of Lifelong Learning and Employability, Soraya García, presented the imminent possibility of implementing the microcredentials system in Fuerteventura, which quickly meets the needs of the company and society in the field of professional qualification, with a European quality assurance system. «Following the results of the report presented today in the Social Council, we have already started working on a catalog of offerings in this type of ‘training pills,’ which we want to start discussing in working groups with different social, educational, and business groups on the island.»
The Vice-Chancellor of Research, Transfer, and Entrepreneurship, Sebastián López, also emphasized the support and collaboration of the ULPGC with the Technological Park of Fuerteventura and the connection of university research with the island through its Chamber of Commerce. «We can be the opportunity to enhance the technological maturity level of majorera companies, or promote entrepreneurship among our graduates, so that their results can be extrapolated to other islands like this one.» Finally, the Vice-Chancellor of Culture, Sports, and Society, José Miguel Álamo, highlighted the senior education that has been promoted in Fuerteventura for more than 20 years, «where we have welcomed nearly 1,500 students.»
Professors Leonardo Romero and Agustín Sánchez, authors of the analysis presented to the ULPGC Social Council, informed the Plenary that this work originates from «a holistic vision of the needs of the population of Fuerteventura.» In addition to the information collected from secondary sources, the researchers explained that the report is also based on the views of politicians, businessmen, youth, etc., «who have been essential to achieve informed and strategic decision-making.»
