The professor of Chemistry Antonio Hidalgo won the elections for rector at the University of Extremadura last December with 52.91 percent of the votes, compared to 47.09 percent for the candidate Marisa González. Hidalgo succeeded as rector the professor of Animal Health Segundo Píriz, who had governed the UEx for the last eight years, two terms, the maximum allowed. The vote has been weighted by sectors of the university community: 51 percent for PhD professors, 16 percent for other teaching and research staff, 23 percent for students, and 10 percent for administration and service staff.
How do you face this victory in the elections and this new stage as rector of the University of Extremadura?
With a lot of responsibility. In these first two months we have been learning about the state of the different aspects that make up the university (teaching, teaching staff and administration staff, research, etc.) and we are adopting actions and decisions that in some cases have become urgent due to the electoral strike and the period in office of the previous team. Another main source of work and dedication is being the subject of preparing the budgets for 2019 and the financing of the UEx.
What are the main measures of your program in relation to students, Teaching and Research Staff and Administration and Services Staff?
We must offer students the best conditions so that they can receive the best quality training possible, for this they must have adequate means and facilities. For the teaching staff, we want to reduce management tasks as much as possible by automating procedures, a new measure of academic activity that allows recognition of the different activities carried out and regular promotion plans with objective criteria. Regarding the Administration and Services Staff, we propose stable working conditions (reduction of interim) and a readaptation of the general structure that allows the recognition of the tasks they perform and facilitates an adequate evaluation, in addition to offering the best conditions for their professional development.
What main ideas do you think have to change in the University in relation to previous mandates?
During the electoral campaign we already said that one of the changes that had to be produced was in the proximity of the management team with the rest of the members of the university community, seeking their “complicity” and that they detect that the new managers share their problems and work to solve them.
What weight do you plan to give to the internationalization of the University of Extremadura?
In the previous mandate it became a strategic bet that, in my opinion, has not reported what was intended. Without ceasing to pay attention to the challenge of internationalization, we believe that we must work on internal improvement, which will make us more effective in improving the vision we project and more attractive as an institution to other institutions.
What is the main advantage that you would highlight of this university?
We are a University with interesting potential in its projection towards Portugal and Latin America, however, our main function must be to attract students from the region.
The STEM area suffers from a gender gap. Do you have any measures in mind to try to reduce it?
The week for women and girls in science was recently held. In one of the events held, which was attended by two magnificent guest scientists (Margarita Salas and Alba Cervera) together with other scientists from the UEx, we agreed on the need to encourage the participation of girls in STEM activities. One of the most shared conclusions was the importance of making science and technological activities reach girls at an early age and, above all, that they find models that serve as a reference and reaffirm their decisions to become scientists, engineers and/or or technologists. We will continue to celebrate and expand our outreach activities, in cooperation with primary and secondary teachers. I myself was on February 28 in an informative activity at the Colegio San Antonio de Padua in Cáceres.
How do you think the prestige of Spanish public universities is after the latest scandals?
It is true that some of the recent events related to the University have not been adequate. We all want our image to be represented by the constant work of hundreds of teachers and researchers who support higher education in Spain on a daily basis. However, it is inevitable that there are professors who behave inappropriately or illegally and who have entered into collusion with personalities who sought university merit that they did not possess. The relevance of these people is what has turned the events into a media scenario where the entire University has been affected. I would like to think that everything will be seen very soon with a more objective point of view and where the responsibilities will be applied where they correspond and the rest of the university system will not be doubted.
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