The Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) is the leading educational institution in the Canary Islands and is woven into the social fabric of the region. Although studies at the University were originally limited to the humanities and experimental and social sciences, over the last ten years the ULL has introduced an increasing number of technical qualifications, giving its students a wider range of options that reflect changing social priorities. The ULL was the first higher education institution in the Canary Islands to embark on the process of convergence to the European Higher Education Area, and in 2008 introduced the official EHEA bachelor´s degree in journalism. A further twenty official degrees were planned for the 2009-10 academic year.

Higher education has existed in the Canary Islands since 1701, when Augustine monks established a centre for higher learning in the city of La Laguna. The development of the institution during this period is marked by a series of provisions and annulments that began in 1744, when a Papal Bull granting the centre the title and status of an Ecclesiastical University was not recognized. In 1792, a Royal Decree issued by Carlos IV ordered the creation of the first Literary University in the Canary Islands in the city of La Laguna, which was the capital of Tenerife at the time. However, ensuing periods of political instability led to a series of closures and re-openings, and it was not until 1927 that the Universidad de La Laguna was officially recognized by Royal Decree.

The Universidad de La Laguna offers a total of 55 academic programs at undergraduate level, consisting of 21 bachelor´s degrees, 7 second-cycle degrees, 15 university diplomas, 7 engineering degrees, 4 second-cycle engineering degrees and one full engineering degree. In addition, the University offers 21 official EHEA master´s degrees, 23 ULL-endorsed postgraduate degrees, and the Degree in Journalism.

The ULL has strong research potential, and excels in astrophysics, biomedicine, psychology and natural products. The 300 research groups at the ULL are supported by the latest networking technologies and a series of agreements with companies and other institutions, and the University recently unveiled its new research portal, which gives its scientific infrastructures a greater on-line presence. The new European Project Office, opened earlier this year, provides advice and administrative support to researchers looking to take part in competitive projects or seeking new funding channels.

The Universidad de La Laguna offers a variety of non-academic and lifelong learning activities, and has a series of ongoing agreements with local organizations throughout Tenerife, as well as specific agreements with town councils in other parts of the Canary Islands, where it operates cultural initiatives tailored to the interests and needs of local populations. The ULL is driven by a commitment to effective institutional relations, and has harnessed its strategic geographical location between Africa and North America to create cooperation agreements with higher education institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, including universities in developing countries. These agreements have a twofold aim: to promote cultural development in poorer nations and to consolidate the ULL´s reputation as a centre for teaching excellence.

The ULL is an active participant in numerous exchange and mobility initiatives. The Erasmus program is one of the most prominent examples, and following the extension of the Erasmus University Charter in 2007, a range of new mobility agreements were introduced, governing company placements for students and training for teaching and research staff and administrative and services personnel. Specific initiatives involving countries outside the European Union include the PBCA program, which is part-funded by the regional government and provides study grants for students from African countries to complete a master´s degree or doctoral studies at the ULL. The program was introduced in the 2008-09 academic year, and 10 students were awarded funding for 2009-10. Since 2008-09 the ULL has also overseen a series of cooperation projects aimed at promoting development in African countries. The 1st Conference of Rectors of the Canary Islands, held in Tenerife in June 2009, was co-organized with various African universities and was used as the foundation for a cooperation plan between universities in the Canary Islands and their African partners. The ULL also offers short courses in entrepreneurship and sustainable tourism in north Senegal, which are organized jointly with local institutions and NGDOs. Following the provisional launch of the Pablo Neruda Program, which promotes mobility of master´s degree and doctoral students and teaching staff between the ULL and Latin American universities, representatives of the ULL have attended a series of international higher education events to seek agreements for the full phase of the project, which is planned for 2010.

The ULL has sports facilities on each of its campuses and offers students a range of services designed to ensure their full integration into the academic and cultural life of the University. The Information and Orientation Service informs and advises current and prospective students on a range of matters related to education and university life, and provides a direct link between the student population and the institution. The various measures to facilitate the learning process of students with physical disabilities are indicative of the education-for-all policy espoused by the Universidad de La Laguna.

Thanks to its privileged location in the Macaronesian islands of the North Atlantic, the Universidad de La Laguna has a number of features that distinguish it from other Spanish universities. The unique geographical conditions of the University´s surroundings provide a natural observatory for the direct study of plant and marine communities found nowhere else on earth, and the ULL allies these natural advantages with expertise in astrophysics, marine biology, plant biology and sailing. As a research institution, the ULL is particularly renowned for its work in renewable energies, aquaculture, bio-organics and tropical diseases. http://www.ull.es - sioinfo@ull.es

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