There is no lupass crisis at the University of the Basque Country

Universities, like so many other institutions, companies and organizations in general, have had to do more than juggle to maintain their activity in times of crisis. The budgets, each year more stuffed, have forced those responsible for knowledge centers to spin very finely, fearful of losing ground in the research area.

In this sense, it is worth highlighting the effort made by the University of the Basque Country (UPV /EHU) during the last few years. As we can find out through the university’s own portal, the results obtained from dwindling budgets could hardly be more positive.

Proof of this is the increase in annual doctoral theses, which has exceeded the 20% forecast for the years 2011-2014, also increasing the theses carried out jointly with third-party universities. On the other hand, publications in scientific journals have also grown substantially and the business incubators supervised by the UPV have not decreased in efficiency, helping to “give birth” to a total of 49 new companies for the same period of time.< /h3>

In the opinion of Fernando Plazaola, Vice Chancellor for Research at the UPV/EHU and as stated on the university website< /a>, “the 2011-2014 Research Plan has resulted in excellent results, and the implementation of the Academic Dedication Plan for Teaching and Research Staff has also contributed to this. Strengthening research has a clear effect in the quality of teaching and in the level of well-being of a society. Even so, there are elements for improvement. Specifically, and due to the effect of the economic crisis, there has been a decrease in the contracts established with companies, public administrations and social organizations, although during these four years a total of 35 million euros have been billed. In any case, the substantial improvement in the quality of the research carried out is evident, which is demonstrated by the increase in funding obtained in European instances or by the publication of our scientific production in the highest quality journals”.