First meeting

The President of the Valencian Regional Government, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, received the rectors of the five public universities in Valencia at the Palau de la Generalitat, in what was the first official meeting since his appointment on 27 November as the highest political authority in the Valencian Community.

During the meeting, which lasted approximately one hour, the President was accompanied by the Regional Minister for Education, Culture and Universities, María del Carmen Ortí Ferre, and the Regional Secretary for Universities, María Esther Gómez Martín, Pérez Llorca proposed the creation of a Network of Universities of the Valencian Community for Employment, to adapt the range of degrees on offer to the demands of society and the labour market, as well as improve and effectively monitoring the employability of university graduates.

José E. Capilla: 'We are starting from a good position, but there are many problems that go beyond the university: transport, housing, agility in implementing infrastructure...'

'I think coordinating all our employment observatories is an issue we all agree on' said José E. Capilla Roma, Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), after the meeting. 'It is a complex issue, and we are well aware of it, but knowing more precisely what is happening will help us to update or improve our offer with a view to the future employability of our graduates.'

Apart from Pérez Llorca's proposal, Capilla indicated that, during the conversation, they discussed "all the issues that concern both the Generalitat and the public universities. In this regard, we are starting from a very good position, as we have a Multi-Year Financing Plan in place that provides stability, peace of mind, and planning flexibility. However, many other issues on the table go even beyond the university itself: transport, access to housing for young people, the agility to be able to implement infrastructure, etc.," he added.

More strength to combat the shortage of scientific and technological vocations

Finally, Capilla explained that, in his capacity as Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de València, he has placed particular emphasis on "one of the issues that concerns me most, which is the lack of scientific and technological vocations. I always ask the authorities to do things that go beyond what we can do at the universities themselves, and, well, the minister also has full responsibility for primary and secondary education, so I think we can make progress in that regard."

Along with Capilla, María Vicenta Mestre Escrivá, Rector of the University of Valencia (UV), Juan José Ruiz Martínez, Rector of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), Amparo Navarro Faure, Rector of the University of Alicante (UA), and Eva Alcón Soler, Rector of the Jaume I University of Castellón (UJI), were also received.