Viana Building
Viana Street 50.
Postal code 38201. San Cristobal de La Laguna.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Spain
Tel.(+34) 922 31 95 59
Projects with external funding
Funded by the Vice-Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands (Resolution 164/2024 dated 04/16/2024)
In progress
The MINPLASTIC project, led by the University of La Laguna in collaboration with the local association Hahatay and the Gaston Berger University of Senegal, is being developed in the rural community of Gandiol, located in the Saint-Louis region of Senegal. This initiative seeks to establish a sustainable solution to the critical problem of plastic waste, promoting equitable human development, environmental preservation, and community empowerment.
With a comprehensive approach, the project promotes the strengthening of the social enterprise DEFARATT, dedicated to the recycling and transformation of plastics through the use of solar energy, enabling sustainable operations even in a context of limited resources. Furthermore, the project promotes the training of technical staff and supports the design of strategies to ensure the company's financial and operational sustainability.
In the area of awareness-raising, community workshops are organized on waste separation, environmental awareness, and community empowerment. MINPLASTIC promotes the integration of cultural activities, such as an interactive play and audiovisual programs, as a way to mobilize the community toward sustainable practices. These actions directly involve the local population, especially women and youth, in environmental protection.
The project also works to install containers for waste sorting and improve the technical capacity of community centers. Through agreements with local authorities, the implementation practices are maintained and a replicable model is created in other communities in Senegal.
With an expected duration of 12 months and funding of €80,000 from the Vice Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands, MINPLASTIC is an example of international cooperation that combines science, culture, and sustainability to address environmental and social challenges in a vulnerable region.
Workshops for identifying projects with self-funding from the Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization and Cooperation
The Call for Aid for the implementation of Cooperation project identification workshops, launched for the first time in 2025, represents a significant advance over the previous Call for projects, given its eminently technical approach and its link to a training plan for applicants.
The objective of the workshops is to identify alternatives that may constitute, in the future, CUD projects, promoted by the VIC, which can be submitted to external competitive calls, both national and international (AECID, Calls of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Island Council of Tenerife, etc.).
The call for applications therefore has four purposes:
- Identification of members of the university community who, beyond routinely developing collaborations with ODA recipient countries, are interested in doing so with a UDC approach.
- Technical training of these people and, with it, the formation of a pool of experts who can lead CUD projects eligible to receive external funding.
- Advising applicants on how to submit selected projects to external calls for proposals.
- Gathering ideas for potential projects that also serve to diagnose the ULL's know-how in the field of CUD.
Identification for the design of educational transformation strategies in Dakar (Senegal)
Location: Dakar, Senegal
The team comprised of Isabel Teresa Martín Mateos (PDI) and Sara González Pérez (PDI) conducted an identification process in Dakar aimed at analyzing, together with local educational stakeholders, the main challenges facing the school environment in several public schools. The initiative included participatory workshops based on the Logical Framework Approach, which focused on stakeholder analysis, problem tree analysis, objective tree analysis, and intervention alternatives.
During these meetings, key information was gathered on learning conditions, teachers' needs, and the educational system's institutional priorities. The diagnostic results provide the foundation for a future project focused on strengthening teachers and improving healthy learning environments.
Identification of educational, energy and community needs in Diogo (Thiès, Senegal)
Location: Diogo, Thiès region, Senegal
This identification process was coordinated by Alicia González Navarro (PDI) and involved a multidisciplinary team comprised of María Díaz Delgado (Teacher Training student), Raquel Gómez Navarro (Social Work student), Abdou Kane Ka (president of the Diogo Migrant Association), Fernando Lahoz Zamarro (PDI), Francisco José Ledesma Rodríguez (PDI), Lourdes Melero Bosch (PDI), and Sara Martín Martín (PTGAS). Through participatory workshops with the elementary school, high school, nursery school, health center, women's associations, and migrant groups in Diogo, a structured analysis was conducted of the main problems affecting access to education, energy, and community services. This work allowed for the prioritization of two key areas for the formulation of a future project proposal: • improving the energy supply of the health center through photovoltaic systems; • equipping the high school with a science lab to enhance students' hands-on learning. The diagnostic results provide the necessary technical and community basis to move towards a sustainable project with high local impact.
Identification for improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene in rural schools in Louga (Senegal)
Location: Louga / Saint-Louis, Senegal
The process was coordinated by Luis Antonio González Mendoza (PDI) with the participation of María Maravillas Aguiar Aguilar (PDI). Its purpose was to analyze, together with local authorities, school administrators, and community associations, the shortcomings affecting access to drinking water, sanitation systems, and hygiene practices in rural schools in the Louga region. Through an intensive workshop based on the Logical Framework Approach, the problem tree, the objectives tree, and preliminary intervention alternatives were developed collaboratively. The diagnosis revealed significant deficits in infrastructure, community management, training, and awareness-raising, thus establishing the essential elements for the future formulation of a project in collaboration with locally based organizations such as Le Partenariat and CIDEAL. The information gathered will allow for the development of a robust proposal aimed at improving school health and strengthening educational equity in rural areas.
Identification for an empowerment program for young women with disabilities and family responsibilities in Praia (Cape Verde)
Location: Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
The process was coordinated by Matilde C. Díaz Hernández (PDI), along with Yasmina Álvarez González (PDI). It also included the participation of Carmelita Afonseca Silva (CIGEF, University of Cape Verde) and Vanesa María Felipe Martín (PTGAS). Through meetings and workshops with community organizations and the Center for Research and Training in Gender and Family, the team developed a comprehensive assessment of the situation of young women with disabilities and family responsibilities in the Jamaica and Safende neighborhoods. The work identified multiple barriers related to economic autonomy, access to services, training, social participation, and equal opportunities. The information generated forms the basis for formulating a project aimed at promoting the economic and social empowerment of these women, integrating tailored training, community support, and institutional strengthening actions in the area of gender.
Participatory identification with community groups for the formulation of an intervention proposal in Cojímar (Havana, Cuba)
Location: Cojímar, Havana, Cuba
This process was coordinated by Natalia del Pino Brunet (PDI) and developed in collaboration with Amanda Negrín Plata (PDI), Óscar Acosta Díaz (PTGAS), and María Bernal Rodríguez (a Social Work student), with the Faculty of Geography at the University of Havana and the community-owned company ISLA SRL. Over several weeks, meetings, observation tours, and workshops were conducted with community focus groups, local leaders, and institutional representatives. The diagnostic assessment allowed for an analysis of the main economic, social, and environmental problems affecting the area: waste management, environmental degradation, vulnerability to flooding, lack of transportation, and the fragility of community networks. The process concluded with the development of a preliminary intervention proposal aimed at strengthening community resilience, promoting social participation, and improving the quality of life in Cojímar. The information generated will allow for progress toward a complete project formulation in collaboration with local stakeholders.
Previous Projects
With external financing
Training for the development of micro-enterprises for vulnerable women through a medicinal, aromatic, and spice plant nursery at the Padre Julio Marrero Botanical Garden in Santo Domingo, Ecuador.
Funded by the Vice-Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands
(Resolution of 07/27/2022, BOC No. 157 of August 9)
The purpose of this project is to promote social and gender inclusion in a highly marginalized neighborhood in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. The project included the construction of four greenhouses in the Padre Julio Marrero Botanical Garden, owned by the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) in Santo Domingo, as well as a training program for 80 women in micro-enterprises related to plant cultivation and marketing. The training included agricultural techniques, entrepreneurship, financing plans, and marketing plans.
The 17-hectare Botanical Garden boasts a rich biodiversity, which PUCE maintains for educational, conservation, and research purposes. It is a member of several global conservation networks and accredited by BGCI Botanic Conservation International. It will serve as a research and internship center for the ULL community.
Needs assessment, design and implementation of a training program to support rural social entrepreneurs in the Santa Clara region (Cuba), within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Funded by the Vice-Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands
(Resolution of 12/13/2021, BOC No. 256 of December 17)
The purpose of this project was to develop a training program related to business entrepreneurship for harvesters belonging to three agricultural cooperatives in the Santa Clara region (Cuba), in collaboration with the National Institute for Research in Tropical Root Vegetables (INIVIT). Other objectives included supporting the ULL in the preservation and transformation of local socioeconomic systems, the recovery of the productive fabric, and the strengthening of democratic governance in the participating productive structures. As a result of this project, chili peppers are being exported, as well as direct distribution of all agricultural products to local hotels.
Founding of a training and social education center to provide educational support for boys and girls, promote educational interventions with women, and develop curricular cooperation practices for ULL students.
Funded by the Vice-Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands
(Resolution of 12/17/2020, BOC No. 269 of December 30)
The proposal involves the rehabilitation of an existing elementary school located in the Saint Louis region (largely unusable due to deterioration). The goal is to convert it into a school internship center and the development of socio-educational and community intervention projects, with the cooperation of ULL interns and faculty. This facility will also serve as a development cooperation center promoted by the ULL and a future reference point for innovation and research projects, as well as for the development of students' final degree projects.
With own financing
Zoonotic agents in
human and animal feces in Cape Verde
The INPA (Parasitology Research) research group has participated continuously in this call since its creation in 2020, focusing on training Cape Verdean researchers to specialize in the detection of pathogens of epidemiological relevance in an increasingly extensive geographical area of the archipelago.
This year's edition featured a training course for students and staff of the Cape Verdean Directorate-General for Agriculture, Forestry, and Livestock. Dr. Denise Andrade Colito, a renowned Cape Verdean researcher, had the opportunity to train in microbiology and parasitology techniques at the University Institute of Tropical Diseases. ULL students, for their part, also benefit from this project by completing their final projects and master's thesis in the same fields.
Innovation and valorization
in photovoltaic energy in
agribusiness in areas
rural areas of Senegal
This is the fourth project in which students of the Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics have had the opportunity to present their final projects and master's thesis projects in the field of renewable energy, which, through small-scale installations, have a significant impact on the quality of life in rural areas in Senegal.
The designs were designed to meet the water and lighting needs of a crop area and a poultry farm in the Casamance region, both operated by women's cooperatives. Women also received training in facility maintenance from the local installation company. ULL students were able to collaborate.
with other students and professors from Assane Seck University in Ziguinchor, Senegal, the project's local partner.
Techniques in equality, in
advancement of rights
fundamental and in
sustainability for university cooperation
This project focuses on the dissemination of SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), through the organization, both at the ULL and at Gaston Berger University, of training days, with the participation of Senegalese and Spanish teaching staff, aimed not only at students from both universities, but also at members of women's cooperatives and teachers from schools in Saint Louis, among which Hydrobase stands out, where the ULL financed, in 2021, an extensive renovation and inaugurated a School Center for practice and development of socio-educational and community intervention projects.
Advances in Cooperation
with Gambia: Gender and
Social Entrepreneurship
(AVACO-Gambia)
AVACO-Gambia focuses on promoting and seeking synergies between the ULL, the University of Gambia, the University of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, and various local stakeholders, building on the contacts established and agreements signed as a result of the project funded in the previous call. Among the results of this project are the identification of academic areas of common interest, such as the participation of Gambian universities in the Erasmus+ program and the strengthening of doctoral training in that country. Furthermore, discussions were held and objectives were set for the implementation of gender equality initiatives at Gambian universities.
- Climate Change and Social Entrepreneurship as axes of collaboration with Gambia (CCES-Gambia)
The CCES-Gambia project aims to generate effective cooperation spaces with various entities in Gambia, seeking to transfer knowledge to the social environment in collaboration with NGOs that operate directly in Gambian-populated areas. CCES-Gambia aims, on the one hand, to establish stable and ongoing cooperation between the ULL and the University of Gambia, and, on the other, to cooperate with the social environment through two lines of action: cooperation within the framework of university research and cooperation activities for training aimed at meeting specific needs among local population groups. These two lines of action are, in turn, structured around two specific thematic areas: Climate Change and Social Entrepreneurship.
- Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. in animals from Santiago Island, Cape Verde.
The main objective of this project is to conduct molecular analyses for the genotypic characterization of Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium sp. species and genotypes in animals from Santiago Island, Cape Verde. It also aims to evaluate their anthroponotic and/or zoonotic transmission pathways. This project is part of the existing research activities under the agreement between the University of Cape Verde, the University of La Laguna, and FUNCCET, and has a partnership with the Cape Verde Ministry of Environment and Agriculture. Research team members have conducted research work for the project, as well as provided training activities for students in Cape Verde.
- Design and implementation of solar pumps for wells in farming communities in Senegal.
The project focused on the implementation of a solar pump, powered by photovoltaic energy, in the town of Darou, in the Casamence region of Senegal. The design was carried out by two students who, during the on-site implementation phase, received training in cooperation with the NGO Alegría Sin Fronteras. They also received advice from photovoltaic energy experts from the University of Ziguinchor, Senegal, located in the Casamence region.
Specifically, two undergraduate thesis students in Physics completed their academic training under the supervision of professors from the ULL (University of the University of Santiago de Compostela) and with the assistance of faculty from the University of Ziguinchor, Senegal. The training project was implemented using the APS (Service-Learning) methodology, in which the knowledge acquired by the students is used in a real-life service that improves the environment of a community (near or far), while providing the service expands and consolidates the learning content. The solar photovoltaic pump, installed on a farm with female labor, provides irrigation water conveniently, quickly, and efficiently. Collaboration with the local population has been essential to ensuring the project's success.
- A collaborative approach in a Gambian village.
The needs of an educational center in Garawol Kuta, Gambia, were studied based on a request from the school director. The center was equipped with electrical wiring and a water extraction pump powered by photovoltaic panels. The design was created by two students from the ETSI (Technical Technical School of the University of Gambia) as part of their final project, and the execution was carried out by a local company, contracted in collaboration with the NGO Maman África.
- Participation, human sustainability, gender and emotions: strategic lines for social transformation and human development.
The overall objective of this project is to contribute to sustainable development and improved quality of life by empowering young people and training them as agents of change. This includes training activities on human sustainability, gender, and emotions, aimed at university students in the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, young people in general, technicians, and local disadvantaged groups, all linked to NGOs and social organizations.
- Design of a water extraction and distribution system at the “Pierre Yerima” school (Kandi, Benin).
In collaboration with the NGO Vie pour Tous, which has a long history in the area, and based on a final project written by a recent graduate, this project involved installing an electric hydraulic pump and several photovoltaic panels to power it, freeing the boarding school girls from the work of extracting and carrying water. A Basic Hydraulics course was also given to students at the school's Vocational Training Center in Construction.
- Bioactive metabolites from Veracruz ecosystems (Mexico).
The objective of this project, designed by the ULL BioLab research group, is to study the biological activity of metabolites from the vast biodiversity of the ecosystems of the state of Veracruz (Mexico) in cultured human solid tumor cell lines. After analyzing 156 samples from the state of Veracruz and extracts from four endemic Canary Island plant species, the study generated a final thesis, a final thesis, and two scientific articles.
- Development cooperation in the classroom: Service-Learning Final Degree Project. Studies and design of alternatives for action in Sare Bala (Senegal).
In collaboration with the Tenerife-based NGO MamanAfrica Humanitaria, which has a 10-year history of implementing projects in the village of Sare Bala, the participating students conducted a preliminary and implementation study for a stable electricity supply system for the village using renewable energy. The project has provided a primary school consisting of two classrooms with over 100 students with the necessary photovoltaic energy to provide access to electricity, primarily for lighting and fans. The adult population also uses the surplus energy for other purposes.
- Study of etiological agents causing diarrhea on the island of Sal (Cape Verde).
The project's objective is to continue the epidemiological study selected in the previous call to expand its geographic coverage. The pathogens under study are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in children under five years of age, in developing countries. The pathogens present were identified, which has been extremely useful for implementing appropriate treatments. The project includes training activities for both ULL students and students from Cape Verde, including supervision of Bachelor's thesis, Master's thesis, and Doctoral Theses for various programs.
- The projected image and reputation of Venezuela, Morocco, and Cape Verde from the oblique perspective of audiovisual narratives: migrations and displacements.
After relaunching the Calima network through the project selected in the previous call, the network's coordinating research group is focusing, in this project, on continuing its activities and launching an analysis of the media coverage of migration. As a general result, it is worth noting that institutional strengthening efforts to connect the Canary Islands, Africa, and Latin America have been intensified, focusing on Communication for Development.
- Development of photovoltaic solar energy in rural and isolated environments in Senegal.
The project's purpose was to foster solidarity, values, and cooperative actions among students by offering them the opportunity to complete final projects focused on the implementation of photovoltaic systems at two locations in Senegal (the Dioula kindergarten and the Madina Souane health center), in collaboration with the NGO Alegría sin Fronteras. Both installations have significantly improved the lives of the host communities and provided a highly enriching service-learning experience.
- Atlas of Interuniversity Cooperation Canary Islands-Africa (Carmen Marina Barreto Vargas) is a commitment by the ULL Center for African Studies to promote knowledge and dissemination of interuniversity cooperation projects, increasing their reach and social impact.
- Etiology of intestinal infections in children under twelve years of age in Praia, Cape Verde (Foronda Rodríguez Pilar) project that focuses on cooperation for sample analysis at the University of Cape Verde and the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands at the ULL.
- Design, optimization and implementation of a renewable energy system in a rural environment in countries receiving development aid (Fernando Lahoz Zamarro), in collaboration with members of the NGO Alegría Sin Fronteras (ASF), is developing renewable energy, specifically photovoltaic technologies. The project studies the design of a real photovoltaic system that meets the needs of a rural community in Senegal. For more information, click here. link.
- City and Communication for Development: Culture and New Communication Contexts from Diversity and Transnationality (Carmen Rodríguez Wanguëmert) aims to continue with the Communication for Development and City constructs promoted by the Calima network.
- Development of a basic training program in Mauritania for the training of qualified personnel in the detection of counterfeit medicines. (José Bruno Fariña Espinosa) addresses a basic training program in Mauritania that develops available technologies as the most effective way to obtain immediate results in this area.