"The'procés' would not affect the validity of official titles" - La Provincia

At present, how many Canarian students are enrolled in any of the studies on-line offered by the UOC?

To date, we have 1,051 Canarian students enrolled in master's degrees, degrees, or specialization courses. This figure represents a very important growth if we compare it with the last course, since there has been an increase of 30%. In addition, if we compare this data with those collected in 2014, the increase has been 130%. This is because we have increased our presence throughout the national territory. In addition, to this we must add that, since 2015, we made the decision to lower the prices of the training we offer in Spanish and set the same as for the Catalan language. All this has increased the interest of students to start some type of training with us.

Is Canarias one of the autonomous communities that most demands this type of training?

The Canary Islands have a high demand, and even more so if we take into account their population level. In this sense, we could say that the communities with the highest enrollment are Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Comunidad Valencia, Aragón, Canarias, and Madrid. In the specific case of the Canary Islands, we have two locations: one in Gran Canaria and another in Tenerife. The first is located in the Literary Cabinet of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the second one in the Círculo de Bellas Artes.

Why do you think that interest in education has increased on-line?

The formation on-line It offers many advantages. To begin with, accessibility. Anyone can study, regardless of where they are, because we use an asynchronous method. Making use of the mobile phone, student and university can be in permanent contact, and each one chooses his moment of study. The truth is that the UOC was born in 1995 with the idea of ​​offering the opportunity to study all those people who in their day did not have the possibility of going to university, or they started a career, and for different reasons, they could not finish it Now, with the passage of time, and with the advantages offered by new technologies, we have all kinds of profiles. While it is true that the predominant student over 30 years that combines life work with academic life, there are also many young people of 23 who choose to enroll in one of our masters.

Considering accessibility, could it be said that online training has advantages for people with some type of disability?

People with disabilities are part of a very prominent group in our institution. The UOC in Catalonia is the first university in number of enrollments by these students, while it ranks second in Spain, behind the UNED.

What are the most demanded degrees and master's degrees?

For some years now, the most demanded careers are Psychology, Business Administration and Management, and the different Computer Engineering. With respect to the master's degrees, the most claimed is the University Master's Degree in Learning Difficulties. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that it is a training that earns points when it comes to accessing an opposition. In fact, one could say that this master's degree is the most claimed at the national level.

What new degrees have been incorporated over time?

The most innovative degrees that we have incorporated are related to Big Data, and have been very successful. We have been expanding as the quality agencies of the Spanish university system have allowed to go accrediting the different degrees. Like all universities, we have our approved training field, that is, one that is recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science, after having passed through an accreditation system through quality agencies. And then, we have the so-called own titles, with a somewhat higher price for not receiving the subsidy from the public administration.

Has the sovereignty process of Catalonia affected the number of registrations?

Throughout the past year, the license plates stopped in a certain way, but not in significant numbers. What is certain is that we have solved many doubts related to the validity of the degrees if the right of self-determination and independence was achieved. In this sense, and as I have mentioned previously, the official titles are recognized by the Ministry of Education, and in no case would they be lost by the you procés.

This week, the institution will proceed to sign a collaboration agreement with Radio ECCA in the capital of Gran Canaria. What are the most significant aspects that it contemplates?

We are going to offer the students of Radio Ecca the option to continue their training at the UOC, with an important discount plan. Something that is also going to apply to the professionals of the entity. In addition, we will sign an internship agreement so that our students can do training on Radio ECCA. Finally, we are rehearsing a proposal that is based on raising the students who are preparing their Final Degree Project or Master to carry out an analysis of the specific needs presented by the entity, and address this issue in their different investigations. It will be the first center of the Canary Islands where we will try this idea.

Why have you focused your interest on this training center?

First of all, I would like to make reference to our relationship with Radio ECCA. One of the people who has helped us a lot to establish the UOC in the Archipelago is Professor Francisco Rubio, who was vice chancellor of the educational institution, and who also suggested that we strengthen ties with Radio ECCA. We must bear in mind, that it is an entity that was very innovative at the time, because it developed distance training through radio. Therefore, we did not want to miss the opportunity.

What are the objectives for the future?

Recently, we have started a project with the Jesuits that consists of carrying out the professional training they carry out, putting into practice the UOC system. This is a very interesting initiative, because we are going to take advantage of the situation to innovate our method. An example of this could be the elimination of the concept of subject. Thus, instead of the subjects, we will work according to projects. These will have a monthly dimension, which will allow us to set up a circular system where we will accept new registrations at the beginning of a new month.