The Junta joins forces with universities to combat marine debris within the Ecomares project

Crespo releases on the beach of Bolonia a loggerhead turtle recovered at the Cegma of Algeciras from the wounds in one of its flippers.

The Andalusian government will finance with five million euros research projects to combat marine debris and advance the sustainability and protection of the Andalusian coast. It will be through a collaboration agreement to be signed with the Campus of International Excellence of the Sea (Ceimar), which promote Andalusian universities, the Portuguese Algarve and Morocco.

This was announced Thursday by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, Carmen Crespo, in the Cadiz beach of Bologna, where he released a specimen of loggerhead turtle, recovered in the Center for Management of the Marine Environment Andalusian (Cegma) of the Strait of wounds in one of its fins.

Crespo, who has detailed that this initiative is carried out in the framework of the Ecomares project to protect the coast together with the fishing sector, has pointed out that this collaboration agreement seeks to “take advantage of the knowledge and talent of the university community to open new ways that allow us to continue advancing in the sustainability of the coasts and the Andalusian seas”.

In this sense, the counselor has stressed the need to “raise awareness and sensitize society to the importance of caring for marine biodiversity and protect our coastline.” “With simple daily actions we can contribute to prevent marine debris, especially plastics,” she remarked.

In the last two years, a total of 13 sea turtles that were stranded along the Andalusian coast have been returned to the natural environment, after entering the recovery centers of the Board. The specimen that the counselor has released this Thursday on the beach of Bolonia has remained the last year in the Cegma del Estrecho, in Algeciras, after being found injured on the beach of Chipiona to be entangled in a fishing line. Despite losing two thirds of one of her fins, she is now strong and in good health to return to the sea. When she was rescued weighed just over six kilos and now exceeds nine kilos.

The counselor stressed that with this release “the Andalusian Government visualizes its commitment to the preservation of the rich biodiversity of the community”, which is one of the cornerstones of the Green Revolution undertaken by the Executive presided by Juanma Moreno.

Between 2019 and 2020, 21 turtles were admitted to the Junta’s recovery centers. Sixty-nine percent were due to natural causes and 26 percent for reasons of anthropogenic origin.

Two years waiting for the University of Vigo to apologize to her for making her disability public

The young man, who suffers from an autism spectrum disorder, was informed yesterday of the return of his tuition after repeatedly claiming it.

A Vigo student at the University of Vigo last year has been waiting almost two years for the institution to apologize to him for making public his participation in the Integration Program for University Students with Specific Educational Support Needs (PIUNE). In the document, which appeared on the website of the School of Telecommunications Engineering, his name and surname appeared.

“I asked them to remove the name and they put initials, but the damage was already done. Everyone in class who entered the website could see the disclosure of data,” explains V. P., a former student of Teleco, who suffers from a disorder included in the autistic spectrum. At the time he went to the teacher who allegedly had something to do with it to ask her to apologize and is still waiting for a response. She also approached the university’s data protection officer, the head of the school and the rector in search of an apology.

“So far I have only received administrative silence and discrimination. Sending more than 18 pages of incidents is too much for my mental health, I only wanted them to apologize for the mistake,” she says.

The vice-rector for Social Responsibility, Internationalization and Cooperation, María Isabel Doval, has avoided commenting on the case “due to data protection regulations”. The rector’s office informed that they are studying the case as it is a bit complex.

Coincidentally, just yesterday the University informed the former student that it will return the amount of the tuition that corresponds to him from last year, something for which the student had also fought after presenting the documentation of disability and for which he had not received a response. Dissatisfied with the treatment received and the lack of consideration for his illness, this year he decided to continue his studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Andalusia places seven of its universities among the most outstanding institutions in the Shanghai rankings

The UCA joins, for the first time, this prestigious list in which the UJA and the UMA have also climbed positions.

The Andalusian university system improves, for the second consecutive year, its overall position in the prestigious ranking of Shanghai (‘Academic Ranking of World Universities – ARWU’). If in 2019 it placed six of its eleven universities (10 public and one private) among the best in the world with the incorporation, in that edition, of the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), in this latest update, corresponding to 2020, the region manages to add one more: the University of Cadiz (UCA).

The UCA is the most recent addition to this renowned list, considered one of the most reliable and transparent in the world in terms of methodology and results, which was created in 2003 to help Chinese students and researchers to choose a destination abroad.

Of the 1,000 institutions listed by ARWU, seven are Andalusian: the University of Granada (UGR), the University of Seville (US), the University of Cordoba (UCO), the University of Jaen (UJA), the University of Malaga (UMA), the UPO and the UCA. However, only the UGR and the US are included in the Top 500, in the 201-300 and 401-500 ranges, respectively. This is reflected in a report prepared last April by the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, through the Andalusian Knowledge Agency (AAC), which analyzes the position of the universities of the community in various international rankings.

Spain is the eighth country in the world with the most institutions included in the Shanghai ranking, with a total of 40. The University of Granada continues to be the best positioned of all Andalusian institutions and, nationally, occupies second place (between positions 2 and 5), sharing the rankings with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Valencia. The first national position is for the University of Barcelona.

As a novelty, in this last edition the UJA and the UMA have climbed positions in the global ranking, both going from the interval 801-900 to 701-800. The UGR (201-300), the UPO (801-900) and the US (401-500) have maintained their previous positions, while the UCO has dropped from 601-700 to 701-800.

ARWU by scientific areas

Since 2009, the Shanghai ranking has also included a classification by scientific areas or specialties (ARWU-FIELD), in which the institutions are classified into 54 subjects encompassed within five major fields: natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.

In this type of analysis, in the 2020 edition the University of Granada continues to stand out, as on previous occasions, maintaining its presence in 35 scientific disciplines. Specifically, the UGR continues to have five specialties in the world scientific elite: documentation (from 36th to 32nd place); food science and technology (from 37th to 36th place); mathematics (rank 76-100th); mining and mineral engineering (76-100th); and tourism (76-100th).

The US also stands out, with a presence in 24 disciplines and four specialties in the top 100: food science and technology (50th); instrumental and technological sciences (rank 51-75); electronic and electrical engineering (76-100); and automation (76-100).

Also included in that top 100 are UCO’s veterinary sciences (51-75); and UMA’s tourism studies (76-100). It should be noted that the UCA has entered the ARWU with a presence in four disciplines: mathematics (rank 401-500); engineering and environmental sciences (401-500); chemical engineering (301-400) and oceanography (101-150), the latter entering very close to the top 100.

This second ranking, the ARWU-FIELD, highlights the strengths of one more Andalusian university: the University of Almeria, which is highlighted for its teaching in agricultural sciences (401-500).

Other rankings

The report prepared by the Andalusian Knowledge Agency also includes an analysis of the Andalusian university system in other international rankings, including ‘The World University Ranking 2021’, which includes more than 1,500 international institutions from 93 countries. Eight Andalusian universities (Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Jaen, Malaga, Pablo de Olavide and Seville) are included in this ranking. Once again, the UGR is the best rated among the Andalusian universities, ranking among the 601-800 best institutions. The universities of Cordoba, Jaen, Pablo de Olavide and Seville are placed in the 801-1,000 best, while the UAL, the UCA and the UMA are in the 1,001 range and above.

In the ‘QS World University Rankings 2021’, which takes into account 1,186 universities in 94 countries, 27 Spanish universities are included. Of these, the only Andalusian universities that stand out are the UGR, which improves its position and moves from the 511-520 range to be among the 501-510 best; and the US, which also rises in rank and moves from 601-650 to 581-590.

The University of Malaga rises in the Shanghai rankings

The University of Malaga (UMA) climbs positions in the prestigious Shanghai ranking, which every year evaluates the best educational institutions in the world. If last year it was among the 900 best valued, this year it enters the range between the 701 and the 800 best institutions.

The Andalusian university system improves, for the second consecutive year, its global position in the prestigious ranking of Shanghai (‘Academic Ranking of World Universities – ARWU’). If in 2019 it placed six of its eleven universities (10 public and one private) among the best in the world with the incorporation, in that edition, of the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO), in this latest update, corresponding to 2020, the region manages to add one more: the University of Cadiz (UCA).

Of the 1,000 institutions included in ARWU, seven are Andalusian: the University of Granada (UGR), the University of Seville (US), the University of Cordoba (UCO), the University of Jaen (UJA), the University of Malaga (UMA), the UPO and the UCA. However, only the UGR and the US are included in the Top 500, in the 201-300 and 401-500 ranges, respectively.

This is reflected in a report prepared last April by the Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities, through the Andalusian Knowledge Agency (AAC), which analyzes the position of the universities of the community in various international rankings. This means having one more Andalusian university in the ranking than last year.

The UCA is the most recent inclusion in this renowned list, considered one of the most reliable and transparent in the world in terms of methodology and results, which was created in 2003 to help Chinese students and researchers to choose a destination abroad.

Spain is the eighth country in the world with the most institutions included in the Shanghai ranking, with a total of 40. The University of Granada continues to be the best positioned of all the Andalusian institutions and, at the national level, occupies second place (between positions 2 and 5), sharing the ranking with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Valencia. The first national position is for the University of Barcelona.

Since 2009, the Shanghai ranking has also included a classification by scientific areas or specialties (ARWU-FIELD), in which the institutions are classified in 54 subjects encompassed within five major fields: natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences. The University of Malaga’s Tourism studies stand out in the top 100.