University bid for 50m in subsidies

Mallorca

MALLORCA - THE University of the Illes Baleares (UIB) has declared that it aims to achieve the status of an ‘International Campus of Excellence,’ a prestigious award nominated by the Spanish Ministry of Education. If achieved, the University could gain up to 50 million euros in subsidies for the improvement and creation of new programmes and areas of research.

MALLORCA - THE University of the Illes Baleares (UIB) has declared that it aims to achieve the status of an ‘International Campus of Excellence,’ a prestigious award nominated by the Spanish Ministry of Education. If achieved, the University could gain up to 50 million euros in subsidies for the improvement and creation of new programmes and areas of research.

Only top ranking Universities may consider applying and in order to do so they must present an adequate project proposal and demonstrate that they are, or at least are taking steps to running an environmentally sustainable institution. A total of nine universities will be selected, giving the chosen institutions a new level of prestige. The government hopes that this will improve competition and push Spanish universities up in the academic world ranking.

Being awarded this honour is the dream of the university rector, Montserrat Casas, who has really pushed for converting her hopes into reality. A proposal plan has been drawn up which is based upon the “Sustainability of Tourism”, a project that will involve 46 island institutions, which include, among many, the town halls, a long list of local businesses and of course hotels and restaurants.

President Antich signed the agreement for the five year project which confirmed the governments’ backing of the plan. Antich too is enthusiastic, agreeing with Casas’ hope that this will be the stimulus for a change in the island’s economic model, stating that; “an economy based on knowledge is an obligation, not an option”.