History

The Universitat Politècnica de València is a public, dynamic and innovative institution dedicated to research and teaching which, while maintaining strong ties with the community in which it carries out its activities, strives for a strong presence abroad.

It is a young university, which celebrated its 50th anniversary during the 2018-2019 academic year. Therefore, it has been here for over half of a century providing uninterrupted teaching

Its community is currently made up of around 28,000 students, 2,500 teaching staff and researchers and 1,500 administration and service professionals, spread across its three campuses in Alcoi, Gandia and València. The UPV comprises 13 university centres, of which 9 are higher technical schools, 2 are faculties and another 2 are higher polytechnic schools. In addition, it has a Doctoral School and 3 affiliated centres (Florida University, Berklee College of Music and EDEM Business School).

EThe origin: the Instituto Politécnico Superior de Valencia (1968). The initial centres: the 4 higher technical schools*

The Universitat Politècnica de València's history dates back to 1968, when Instituto Politécnico Superior de Valencia (IPSV) was created by Decree-Law 5/1968 of 6 June 1968, on Urgent University Restructuring Measures and, four months later, under Decree 2731/1968 of 24 October 1968, sthe centres that would comprise the IPSV were established.

The School of Agricultural Engineerss
The School of Architecture
The School of Civil Engineering
The School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII)

In the 1968-69 academic year, Agriculture studies and the first three Architecture courses were included, in addition to the first courses of the newly-created School of Civil Engineering and School of Industrial Engineering of València.

The School of Agricultural Engineers (ETSEA) of València had been created by Decree 1283/1959, of 16 July 1959, and its academic work began in the year 1960-61, in the Valencian town of Burjassot, within the old "estación naranjera" ('orange-growing station'). Years later, specifically during the 1965-66 academic year, its premises were moved to Burjassot, to a newly-constructed building designed for that purpose, at number 21 of what was formerly Paseo de Valencia al Mar (now, Avinguda de Blasco Ibáñez) in the city. And at the beginning of the 1980s, it was finally moved to its current location, on the Vera campus.

It was urgently necessary to bring agricultural engineering studies to the Valencian Community, given the production potential of its farming industry. The achievements made by the classes of agricultural engineering graduates and the contributions made by the institution in the realms of academia, education and research have been and are extremely valuable and they have warranted the recognition of society in València, Spain and abroad.

Chronologically, it was the second agricultural engineering school in Spain, only preceded by the Agricultural School of Madrid, which was created in 1855.

After operating as the ETSEA for forty years (from 1960 to 2010), in 2010 the school decided to merge with the UPV's former University School of Agricultural Technical Engineering, which in turn had become the School of the Rural Environment and Oenology in 2002, merging to create a single centre, which is now called the School of Agricultural Engineering and the Environment (ETSEAMN).

The School of Architecture (ETSA) of València was created on 24 October 1968, although two years earlier, in 1966, the first classes had been taught on this subject in the old Exhibition Centre in València, serving as a delegated department of the School of Architecture of Barcelona. Since its inception, this school has had a decisive impact on the configuration of the city of València and its surroundings.

Chronologically, it was the third school of architecture in Spain, following the ones in Madrid and Barcelona, which were created in 1844 and 1875, respectively.

The School of Civil Engineering (ETSECCP) of València was also created on 24 October 1968. It was born out of the need to expand and improve the infrastructures involved in development planning in Spain in the 1960s, in particular on the Mediterranean corridor. This led to further specialisation in these areas of engineering studies, thus increasing the educational offering and, consequently, the number of qualified professionals. Since its inception, it has been and remains a ground-breaking centre for the integration of degrees and a leading institution in Spain.

Chronologically, it was the third school of civil engineering in Spain, following the one in Madrid, created in 1802, and the one in Santander, established in 1963.

The School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII) of València was newly created by decree in 1968. However, in the middle of the 19th century, the creation of special, higher schools had already been proposed in different parts of Spain due to the need to strengthen the industrial sector. It was in the 20th century, in a new economic climate, when a significant number of these university schools were finally created, including the ETSII in València, which has provided substantial support for the establishment of prominent companies in the Community, especially in the field of education, as it has trained thousands of university graduates who engage in this profession both within and outside our borders.

Chronologically, it was the sixth industrial engineering school in Spain, following those in Barcelona (1851), Bilbao (1899), Madrid (1901), Terrassa (1962) and Seville (1963).

The Universitat Politècnica de València (1971). The Vera campus

On 11 March 1971, under Decree 495/1971, the Instituto Politécnico Superior became the Universitat Politècnica de València. This meant more than a change of name, it involved becoming fully integrated into the university system, which had an impact on the organisation and management of educational centres, degrees, teaching staff access, etc. In short, it had the same legal impact as the General Education Act had for universities in general. Moreover, the hitherto President of the IPS became the Rector of the UPV.

This was the first time that polytechnic universities had been created in Spain. On the same date, the first three polytechnic universities were created in three successive decrees: the ones in Barcelona, Madrid and València.

From October 1968, with the newly-created IPSV, it was established that the four schools would start teaching that very year. In those days, the School of Agricultural Engineers and the School of Architecture already had suitable facilities - they had established the curricula, hired teaching staff and tenured professors and allocated students. But this was not the case for the Civil and Industrial Engineering schools, which were assisted by being provided with classrooms by the School of Agricultural Engineers, adapting and optimising the use of shared spaces and resources. Provisional curricula were very quickly drawn up for the new centres. They expanded the search for and hiring of the necessary additional teaching staff. In short, within just three months of its creation, the IPSV managed to start running all of the degree courses in its various centres.

This situation continued for two academic years, 1968-69 and 1969-70, because in 1970 the facilities from the primera phase of the Vera campus project came into operation. The Civil and Industrial Engineering schools were based there for a time. They were joined by the School of Architecture soon after. And at the start of the 1980s, with the second phase of the construction of the campus completed, the School of Agricultural Engineers moved and the other three schools were relocated.