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A new academic year has officially begun at the university. The kick-off was given in the Main Auditorium of the Universitat Politècnica de València, which brought together representatives of the Valencian universities in the solemn opening ceremony of the academic year 2024-2025.

The Rectors of the Valencian public universities, Mavi Mestre (Universitat de València); Amparo Navarro (Universitat d'Alacant); Eva Alcón (Universitat Jaume I) and Juan José Ruiz (Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche), presided over the event together with José E. Capilla, Rector of the UPV, the host institution for the opening of the current academic year.

The role of the university in territorial development

The opening of the academic year was attended by political authorities who praised the role of universities in local, regional and national development.

The Mayoress of Valencia, MªJosé Català, stated that ‘the universities are the heart of knowledge and the torch that inspires, trains and educates our young people, the engine of innovation and development of our society, which is why our collaboration with the universities is a central element in our city strategy’.

For her part, the Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, made a firm defence of public universities as 'the most powerful engine of progress and welfare of our country' and announced that an agreement will be signed with the Generalitat and the universities, with funding of just over 100 million euros, which will allow the incorporation, in this academic year, of 426 academic staff in the Valencian Community.

The President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, has pledged to maintain ‘stable and sufficient’ funding for Valencian universities and has committed to the creation of synergies between universities, academic excellence, the attraction and retention of talent, as well as the transfer of knowledge.

Increased funding for better research

In his speech at the opening of the academic year, the Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València, José E. Capilla, advocated research as the main feature of universities and the need for adequate funding to achieve these objectives.

In this sense, he stated that ‘it is crucial to diversify sources of income, encourage collaboration with the private sector and attract European or international funds for research and development, but it is also crucial that funding refers to indicators of objectives and results, so that citizens, through our accountability, see the usefulness of their taxes allocated to the university system’.

Capilla announced that, shortly, ‘the public universities will present a consensus document, a proposal for a Multi-year Funding Instrument, within the limits promised by the President of the Generalitat at the opening of the previous academic year, which will give us a minimum stability for the development of our educational and R+D+i missions’.

Report 2023-2024

The start of the academic year is a time to assess. The General Secretary of the UPV did so by reading the university 2023-2024 report, in which he highlighted that the 2024 budget will amount to 427 million euros, representing an increase of 5.4% compared to the previous year. Currently, the UPV has 2,638 academics and 1,487 people involved in research, technical, management, administrative, and service tasks.

As for students, in 2023-24, there were a total of 31,207, with an increase of almost 900 students compared to the previous academic year. Of these, 22,509 are bachelor's degree students, 5,879 are studying for university master's degrees, and 2,819 are PhD Students.

In economic terms, in 2023, research activity generated an overall economic volume of more than 116 million euros, the highest figure in its history, with an increase of 22 million euros compared to the previous year.

Resilient construction for the future

This time, the inaugural lecture was given by UPV professor José Miguel Adam, who explained the study that recently made the international cover of the Nature Journal and which deals with the importance of resilient constructions for the future. In other words, they can resist and recover after suffering the effects of an extreme event of any kind, such as extreme natural phenomena, human action or even the ageing of the building itself.

You can watch the full video of the event here.

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