The president of the Social Council of the University of La Laguna, Francisco Almeida Ossa, recently held working meetings with representatives of the Government of the Canary Islands to discuss the funding of the Canary Islands' public universities. These meetings included those with the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, and the Minister of Finance and Relations with the European Union, Matilde Asián. Representatives from the governing bodies of the Social Councils of the two Canary Islands public universities were also present.
This initiative continues the line of work initiated after the previous meeting between the President of the Government of the Canary Islands and the President of the Social Council of the University of La Laguna, in which the importance of moving towards a funding model that provides stability and sustainability to the public university system of the Canary Islands had already been highlighted.
During the meetings, various proposals were analyzed aimed at strengthening the financial sustainability of the Canary Islands public university system and improving its medium and long-term planning capacity, recognizing the strategic role played by public universities in the economic, social and scientific development of the archipelago.
Among the issues addressed, the need to move forward with the implementation of a multi-year funding plan was highlighted, which would provide stability and predictability to the public universities of the Canary Islands, facilitating more efficient planning of their teaching, research and knowledge transfer activities.
It was also suggested that the participation of public universities and their Social Councils in the Canary Islands Development Fund (FDCAN) should be strengthened, facilitating access to resources for strategic actions related to university infrastructure, innovation, research and development, areas that are fundamental to the progress and competitiveness of the Canary Islands.
Another topic addressed during the meetings was the need to continue advancing in the evaluation of the efficiency of public resource use. In this regard, the Minister of Finance and Relations with the European Union expressed her commitment to promoting instruments that allow for measuring and evaluating this efficiency, contributing to increasingly effective and transparent management of resources allocated to the university system.
The meeting with the regional minister also addressed potential tax measures aimed at strengthening the Canary Islands' university system. In this regard, the minister pledged to study the application of a zero IGIC (Canary Islands General Indirect Tax) rate for university residences and halls of residence, a measure that would help improve access to accommodation for university students.
The Social Council of the University of La Laguna positively valued these spaces for institutional dialogue and the receptiveness shown by the Government of the Canary Islands to the proposals put forward, highlighting the importance of continuing to promote collaboration mechanisms that allow the consolidation of a solid, competitive public university system aligned with the present and future needs of Canary Island society.
Spanish 
English 
French