The University of La Laguna will host the first-ever Awards for the Best Final Degree Projects (TFG) on the Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF) of the Canary Islands during the 2024-2025 academic year. This initiative, promoted by the REF commissioner, It is sponsored by CEOE Tenerife and seeks to encourage academic analysis on the role of the Canary Islands' legal system in the economic and social development of the archipelago.
With this objective, the REF commissioner, José Ramón Barrera, today signed a collaboration agreement with the rector of the University of La Laguna (ULL), Francisco García, and the president of the Tenerife Confederation of Employers' Organizations (CEOE Tenerife), Pedro Alfonso. The awards, aimed at the approximately 2,700 students who will defend their final degree projects in one of the 46 degree programs offered by the university, will have three categories and a total prize fund of 6,000 euros: the first prize will be 3,000 euros, the second 2,000, and the third 1,000.
During the presentation, Barrera emphasized the importance of this initiative in improving awareness of the REF (Special Economic Zone) among younger generations. "Our special legal framework is much more than a set of incentives. It's the mechanism that allows us to compete on a level playing field, mitigating the additional costs resulting from our remoteness and the fragmentation of our territory, and it's also part of our historical heritage," he stated. He also referred to a recent survey revealing that over 90% of ULL (University of La Laguna) students are unfamiliar with the REF, a figure he described as "worrying." "This initiative is just the first step in an ambitious plan that seeks to change that reality," he added.
For his part, the president of CEOE Tenerife, Pedro Alfonso, emphasized the importance of linking university research with the economic and business needs of the archipelago. "The REF (Special Economic Zone) is a fundamental tool for the competitiveness and growth of our islands, but for it to remain effective, it needs new ideas, analyses, and proposals," he explained. Alfonso also highlighted that this agreement will contribute to improving communication and dissemination of the REF among the public, professionals, and businesses.
The Rector of the University of La Laguna, Francisco García, emphasized that this initiative represents a decisive step in bringing the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF) closer to students, allowing students from all degree programs to collaborate in understanding and applying it. "What is not known is not used, not defended, and not changed," he stressed, underscoring the need to rethink and adapt the REF to the new challenges of the regional economy. He also acknowledged the university's responsibility in disseminating the Canary Islands' legal framework and highlighted that this action will allow future professionals to use it more effectively and contribute to its evolution.
The REF Commissioner, and the top officials of CEOE Tenerife and the University of La Laguna agreed that these awards will not only recognize the academic effort of the students, but will also serve as a platform to generate innovative ideas that promote the evolution of the Canary Islands legal system for the benefit of the economy and well-being of the Canary Islands.
The call for entries for the awards will open soon. The study of the Canary Islands Special Regime (REF) can be approached from a multidisciplinary perspective in final degree projects (TFG). For example, in Economics and Business Administration, its influence on business competitiveness can be analyzed; in Law, its place within the European and national legislative framework; in Environmental Sciences, its effect on the sustainability of the Canary Islands through green tax incentives; in Engineering, the taxation of innovation and renewable energies; in Social Sciences, its impact on territorial equity and social cohesion; or in Communication, how knowledge of it is disseminated in society. Thus, any discipline can contribute to improving the understanding and application of the REF from its own perspective.
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