“Before, we teachers wanted to go to public universities.”

–Was the approval of the new university ordinance hasty?

—This decree was approved under considerable pressure, especially as new private and online university projects are being considered. It would have been nice if an independent analysis of compliance with the 2021 requirements had been carried out in advance, as the deadline set in the previous regulation (2021) was expected to end in 2026, some of which had already been considered, such as the 5% survey. Even the deadline for the previous legislation has not been met, and a new document has already been approved.

— Is it fair to talk about educational beach bars?

I don’t like to speak in general terms that disparage institutions that specialize in higher education. Because we believe that all those educational institutions are part of the Spanish university system. It doesn’t matter whether the university is public or private, it has to be of high quality. I think there are two basic elements to this. The first factor is that the degree is fully accredited. It should be noted that all formal degrees taught by universities, both public and private, are pre-accredited. The second step for me is research. A university that does not conduct research cannot be called a university.

—There are several aspects of this statute that are particularly controversial. That includes a minimum of 4,500 students over six years, 10% accommodation, and a bank guarantee.

–I think the requirements for bank guarantees are correct. When I was in the General Secretariat, there was a university project with a capital of 3,000 euros, which did not seem the most appropriate. Regarding the offer of 10% room rate, I don’t understand why it’s 10% and not 15% or 20% or 7%. The same can be said about the minimum number of students. I believe that a university needs a certain number of students to be called a university. So why 4,500 and not 3,700, 5,200, or 11,400? 4,500 is a poor explanation.

Very specific limitations like this will only cause problems in the future, for example with regards to skills. Additionally, we must not forget that our demographics are declining.

— Is there a mismatch between the number of locations and market demand?

In my health science career, I miss the prospective studies that estimated how many professionals we would need in 10 years. As far as possible, in such a way that the needs of the country and the supply of places are matched. If we don’t run the risk of creating a particular career bubble where we can’t find a professional outlet after completing our studies. I think specialized institutions and related departments should pay attention to this point.

–Do you think private stores will close?

Online universities will have problems with research. But I also think there are other aspects of this ordinance that have not received much attention and may be problematic. That’s a figure of 2% of the resources that universities must allocate to attracting competitive projects. This 2% is proportional to sales and can be significant. In any case, you need to check whether the private stuff is really closed, but it all depends on how it is implemented. I completely agree with most of this legislation, but there are some limitations that, when the time comes, will probably prove to be poorly thought out. This is not just an administrative issue, but can have economic and therefore potentially significant legal implications. What if there are only 4,422 students? What is happening? Will the university’s accreditation really be revoked?

―You were dismissed from your position as university administrator in May 2024. Why did you resign?

I am very grateful that I was able to gain experience and learning that I could never have imagined as a university teacher. Minister Diana Morant was not satisfied with my actions and decided to change me. We differed on some things and disagreed on others. If we had discussed them, would we have reached a point of agreement? Perhaps. From the moment I entered the university, I thought, “Six years is a long time, and it’s too long, so I want to go back to university.” The only thing that hurt me about my retirement was the way it took place. Yes, I wish the Minister had told me personally. After spending so much time in the University Administration Office, Forms felt a little blank.

—The Minister seems to be more focused on the path to generalitat than on the Ministry of Universities…

I am not affiliated with any political party, but as a citizen, it seems logical that if she is going to be president of the Generalitat, at some point she would dedicate “full time” to it. Universities’ portfolios are very complex and require negotiating and collaborating with many stakeholders and reaching agreements with autonomous communities, which is currently virtually impossible. I hope the person in charge knows how to integrate knowledge and diplomatic qualities.

—Why are listed companies losing customers?

Best of all, you’ll lose them with a master’s degree instead of a degree. Generally there are offers for master’s degrees that are very research-oriented and very technical, but employability outside of university is less clear. The internal process of creating a master’s degree requires agreement between faculties, faculties, and government agencies and takes longer than in the private sector. In addition to this, there is one thing in particular that I am very worried about. Maybe public universities don’t know how to take care of their students. It’s not that I don’t want to take care of them, it’s that I don’t know how to take care of them properly. But I’m also concerned about the erosion of trust in the system, the constant talk about economic problems and the loss of students. Previously, teachers and researchers wanted to teach in open classes, but with the new generation, the situation has changed.

— Complutense University is very up-to-date these days…

I think the university is underfunded, but it is also true that it needs to review its internal resource management. There is no other choice. We need to analyze what led us here and see why other universities in Madrid are not so bad, or maybe they are actually bad universities and yet it is not known. We must examine our conscience and make decisions accordingly. It is clear that public funds cannot be given without compensation. But I would argue that that doesn’t mean Kirozero is underfunding public universities. The other thing is that there are universities that are managing it well and there are universities that are managing it poorly.