The University of La Laguna held its traditional [event/conference/meeting] today, Wednesday, March 11, in the Paraninfo. Institutional Day In commemoration of the 234th anniversary of the founding of the teaching and research center, Rector Francisco J. García Rodríguez closed the event with a speech in which he extolled the enduring relevance of the university's founding values—a commitment to knowledge, the formation of an ethical and free citizenry, and the will to transform society—in this “post-truth era” in which “alternative facts” are constructed for self-serving purposes to challenge the common framework of coexistence.
Citing Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán's book, "The End of the Common World: Hannah Arendt and Post-Truth," the rector lamented that what was once known as "the common world"—understood as the shared facts, experiences, and references "that allow people with different points of view to converse, debate, dissent, and deliberate democratically"—has now been shattered. Without this framework, institutions lose legitimacy "because there is no agreement on a shared reality," and this leads to the dismantling of the norms-based international order being promoted by the current US administration.
The rector, Francisco García.
In this very adverse context, García stated unequivocally that the founding values of the academic institution maintain their relevance and social utility because it is a place where knowledge is built methodically, facts are verified, and there is room for disagreement.
“Our mission is not to impose a single interpretation of the world, but to protect the conditions that allow for rational discussion. In the post-truth era, the university is not only a center for teaching or research, but one of the few institutions capable of upholding the common ground of truth upon which democratic life can exist. In this time of uncertainty, reaffirming these values is not an exercise in nostalgia, but an act of resistance and ethical responsibility,” he stated.
During his address, García recalled that the University of La Laguna was founded at the end of the 18th century, and therefore the principles of the Enlightenment—a period in which education began to be linked with progress—have been part of it since its inception. In this historical overview, he also referred to the process of closures and reopenings that the university underwent during the 19th century, which concluded in 1927 with the creation of a university district in the Canary Islands, ushering in the institution's current contemporary era. Next year will mark the centenary of this milestone, and an ambitious program of commemorative activities is already being prepared.
The rector also had words of praise for the award winners in the different categories, whom he considered examples of those founding values that shaped his speech.
Sara González Pérez.
Institutional awards
The event was presented by Lidia Rodríguez, a journalist from Radiotelevisión Canaria, and during it the University of La Laguna presented its Institutional Awards 2026 to highlight the merits of various representatives from their community. The first of these was the award for Educational Innovation and Transfer, which in 2026 reached its fifteenth edition and was awarded to Sara González Pérez, from the Department of Specific Didactics, for the project “Science Didactics and Education for Sustainable Development in initial teacher training: an interdisciplinary experience with social impact”.
Patricia Delponti.
An honorable mention was also awarded to the project “A journey to a sustainable future. Communicating climate change: the challenges of raising awareness about the impact of CO22, the noise in the sea and its effect on the biodiversity of the Canary Islands. Learning by providing a service,” which was collected by its coordinator, the professor from the Department of Communication Sciences and Social Work Patricia Delponti.
The second award presented was the Third Academic Merit Prize, which recognizes the students with the highest scores in the undergraduate and master's degree excellence awards. In the undergraduate category, the winner was Samuel Pérez Hernández, a mathematics graduate, who was unable to attend the ceremony. In the master's category, the award went to Alejandro Samuel Herrera Hernández, a student in the Master's Program in Regional Development.
Raúl Hernández.
The Internationalization Award is divided into two categories. The first, a group award, was given to the... CajaCanarias-Ashotel-University of La Laguna Tourism Chair For its outstanding contribution to the international projection of the University of La Laguna and its exemplary model of collaboration between university, business, and public institutions. It was accepted by its director, the Professor of Applied Economics. Raúl Hernández Martín.
Luis Capote.
As for the individual category, its recipient was the professor of the Civil Law Area Luis Capote Pérez, who throughout his more than 17 years of research and teaching activity has collaborated with universities and research centers in more than 20 countries.
Montserrat Sanguino.
Next came the V Award for Best Practices in Administration and Services, which on this occasion went to the project “Implementation of the UXXI minor contracts module”, developed by the Economic and Financial Management Service of the academic institution whose head, Montserrat Sanguino Elías, went up on stage to collect it.
Barbara Socas.
The Research Prize is also divided into two categories. The Junior category, which in 2026 reached its fourth edition, is aimed at people under 41 years of age with a solid scientific career, and was awarded to the assistant professor with a doctorate from the Department of Chemistry. Barbara Socas Rodriguez.
Arturo Hardisson and Artemio Herrero.
Meanwhile, the 15th edition of the general category, for people with a longer career over time, was awarded to the professor of Astrophysics at the University of La Laguna and researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands. Artemio Herrero Davó; and the professor of Toxicology Arturo Hardisson de la Torre. The awards ceremony for both categories was attended by the Minister of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Migdalia Machín Tavío.
Fernando Berge.
Finally, the Patronage Award was given for the first time in its history to an individual rather than an institution: Fernando Berge Royo, president of Cajasiete until 2025, during whose tenure he promoted important initiatives in cooperation with the university, including the creation of several university chairs. His commitment to an economic model geared towards collective well-being and social progress reflects values fully aligned with the principles of this public university.
Oscar Agustín Marrero Pérez.
ULL Alumni Awards
The first part of the event was dedicated to the presentation of awards organized by the Alumni ULL association. The first was the 14th Prize for Best Academic Record at the University of La Laguna for the 2024-2025 academic year, worth 1,000 euros, which was awarded to Philosophy graduate Óscar Agustín Marrero Pérez.
Next came the VIII Awards for the Best Final Master's Projects of the 2024-2025 academic year, each endowed with 600 euros and convened with the collaboration of the Social Council of the University of La Laguna and the "la Caixa" Foundation.
Sara Hernández spoke on behalf of the award winners.
The award winners were, in the Arts and Humanities category, Samuel Trujillo Abreu, from the Master's in Research in Philosophy for “Searching for God, Kant, Adorno and Negative Morality”; in Sciences, Fernando León Delgado, from the Master's in Modeling and Research in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, with “Elimination Theory and Applications”; in Health Sciences, Montserrat Megías Peralta, from the Master's in Bioethics and Biolaw for “Action Plans in the Face of an Air Medical Emergency: Ethical Responsibility and Legal Implications”; in Social Sciences and Law, Carla Marrero Yanes, from the Master's in Teacher Training, for “Didactic Programming of the Subject of Economics and Entrepreneurship in 4th Year of Secondary Education”; and in Engineering and Architecture, Sara Hernández Suárez, from the Master's in Video Game Development, for “Land of the Forgotten”.
Ramón González and Fernando Iturrate.
The XXIII José Luis García Pérez Alumni ULL – Social Council of the University of La Laguna Human Values Award, endowed with 1,500 euros with the collaboration of Cajasiete, was awarded to Film Classroom from the University of La Laguna, whose director, Ramón González Trujillo, accepted this distinction accompanied by Professor Fernando Iturrate, which recognizes its outstanding cultural and social work in promoting cinema as a tool for education, reflection and development of society.
José María Fernández-Palacios Martínez.
Finally, the 16th Alonso de Nava y Grimón Prize honored the professor of Ecology José María Fernández-Palacios Martínez, in recognition of a scientific career dedicated to the study of ecology and biogeography, with special attention to island and Macaronesian ecosystems.
Luis Ortigosa.
The president of Alumni ULL, Luis Ortigosa, took the floor at the end of this session, noting that 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of his organization, which is now fully established and boasts over 2,600 members. He announced that several events will be held in the coming months to commemorate this anniversary, including a tribute to the founding members and a variety of cultural activities. He also mentioned other initiatives launched by his organization, such as the Sponsorship Program, the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award, and the recently created Sustainability Projects Award.
Ortigosa also referred to the “worrying context of international crisis” and the recent geopolitical shifts that have upended the world as we know it in recent decades. “We must say no to the collapse of an international order that protects us all. No to assuming that the world can only solve its problems with conflict and bombs. We stand for international law; we must stand for peace and for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. That is why we say no to war.”.
Olga Cerpa.
The gala featured a musical performance by singer Olga Cerpa and pianist Augusto Báez, and two audiovisual presentations were also shown: the opening video, “What Made the News in 2025,” which reviewed some of the institution's milestones from the past year in fifteen minutes; and a reminder In Memoriam of the people in the university community who have died since the previous Institutional Day.
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