Alongside the Fundación Universitaria de Las Palmas [Las Palmas University Foundation] and the ULPGC Vice-rectorate for Students and Sports, the Social Council will soon launch a public call for applications with the aim of minimising the digital divide among university students.
The chairman of the ULPGC Social Council, Jesús León Lima, announced a call for applications for financial aid for those students who require it to purchase IT equipment. A budget of 40,000 euros will be allocated for this purpose. Jesús León Lima explained that this initiative will be undertaken alongside the Fundación Universitaria de Las Palmas and the ULPGC Vice-rectorate for Students and Sports, which will provide support concerning administrative management and establishing the rules surrounding the aforementioned aid respectively.
It is the view of the chairman of the Social Council that the primary aim of this ambitious call for applications is to help those students who need support to purchase their own IT equipment, with the aim of tackling the digital divide which exists among ULPGC students.
The chairwoman of the ULPGC Student Council and member of the Social Council plenary, Ada Santana, welcomed this call for applications for financial aid for those students who still experience this digital divide, “we currently have an extensive distance learning timetable and IT resources are vital for the coming months”.
At the request of the plenary’s representative for the ULPGC administrative and services staff, Santiago Bolaños, the chairman of the Social Council similarly promised to earmark resources for the those ULPGC staff members currently working from home as a result of the pandemic to purchase IT equipment.
Approval of the ULPGC 2021 Budget Criteria
The Social Council plenary also ratified the criteria for drawing up the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s 2021 budget and for the objective distribution of the financial resources among faculties, schools, departments, and university research institutes within the exceptional circumstances of the economic and health crisis caused by COVID-19.
The budgetary resources allocated to ULPGC centres, departments, and university research institutes will be primarily determined by two key criteria: structure-based funding, depending on the size and undertakings of each academic unit; and objective-based funding, which aims to achieve the continual improvement of each centre, department, and research institute, encouraging them to take responsibility for that within their remit.
Moreover, the vice-rector for students and sport, Antonio Ramos Gordillo, presented the latest Annual Report Monitoring the ULPGC Regulations for Academic Progression and the Right to Continue Studying to the Social Council plenary. This report deals with the 2018-2019 academic year and concludes on 31st December 2019, prior to the pandemic. The report demonstrates that the number of students who have had to leave their studies as a result of these regulations is small in scale.
The secretary of the Social Council, Miguel Ángel Acosta, also presented a new handbook to the plenary. This seeks to provide an introductory explanatory guide for the members of the plenary with regard to university organisation – specifically that of the ULPGC – in addition to the roles, responsibilities, and undertakings of the ULPGC Social Council.