First class of university students with degrees completed in Torrevieja

The National University of Distance Education (UNED) began its journey in the salt-producing town in 2022. Since then, dozens of students have trusted this public institution to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education. The UNED Classroom in Torrevieja has reached 235 students officially enrolled in the Early Childhood Education degree. The first graduates will receive their diplomas on October 16, 2025, at an opening ceremony for the academic year to be held at the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Center in Torrevieja, with a world-renowned Spanish artist, as sponsor of the first Torrevieja graduating class.

The enrollment period for the 2025-2026 academic year remains open—with no cut-off mark and no numerus clausus —until October 22nd. It is expected to exceed the number of applicants from previous years. In this way, the UNED branch in Elche is consolidating its presence in the university sphere. Its managers also maintain their commitment to cultural outreach with the aim of transcending its educational and social significance in the Torrevieja area of influence in the Vega Baja del Segura and its surrounding areas.

TEACHING

Located, temporarily, in the International Conservatory (next to the Quirón Hospital), the UNED Classroom in Torrevieja offers the complete Degree in Early Childhood Education, with two years of internship included, and also the University Access courses for those over 25 and 45 years of age, with specific teachers for the subjects of Advanced Mathematics, Mathematics Applied to Social Sciences, English, Spanish Language, Text Commentary or Development of a General Current Topic and Literature.

The UNED method is presented as a flexible opportunity, less expensive than other training options and with maximum solvency: it involves autonomous and self-demanding study, but with the assistance of a specific manual to complete the subject and a personal tutor for weekly support who directs the study of the entire syllabus, corrects the Continuous Assessment Tests (PEC) and prepares the exams that, for students in the area, are taken at UNED Elche.

UNED offers 31 undergraduate degrees (240 ECTC), several combined degrees (282-360 ECTC) and 82 master's and doctoral programs.

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

Since its opening, the UNED Torrevieja Classroom has been involved in engaging programs for young people and adults. Two programs stand out: the Open University and the Film Criticism program. Open University courses, for adults, have been increasing in number of participants and attendees. Senior students can enroll free of charge in these courses, taught by PhDs and specialists in each subject, which take place in the campus's Auditorium. Eight courses have been scheduled for the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year, one per month.

2025. Open University Program

Year 1, October (7, 8, 14, 15, 22, 23, and 29): There's a performance tonight. An overview of 20th-century Spanish theater, taught by actor and stage director Juan León Fabrellas.

Course 2, November (days 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 20 and 26): Life on the banks of the Nile. Ancient Egypt, led by the experienced explorer Santiago Mallebrera.

Course 3, December (days 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 and 10): Contemporary alternative energies, led by engineers Lara Cerdán, José Manuel Pedreño and doctor in civil engineering Alaa Jasim Dakheel Almalik.

2026. Open University Program

Course 4, January (9, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 27, and 28): The Musical Baton: Our Musicians' Musicians. The presentations will be orchestrated by Drs. José Francisco Sánchez, Francisco Joaquín Garres, Luis Sánchez Sánchez, and Aurelio Martínez, with the participation of the prestigious Ukrainian pianist Nataliya Khomyac.

Course 5, February (March 3, 10, 17, 25, and 3): Knowing How to See Film. A workshop on appreciating cinematic language, unmasked by cinephile Carlos Escolano.

Course 6, March (10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th): Human rights, diversity, and coexistence. Ernest Gómez, Paloma Bárcena, Adela Erades, Adriana Rodríguez, and Dr. Juan Antonio Ríos Carratalá will alternate sessions. There will be a theatrical performance by the ONCE group from Albacete.

Course 7, April (14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 29, and 30): From Cell to Experience: Health, Gender, and Aging. We will feature the rigorous and effective presentation of biologist Araceli García Martínez.

Course 8, May (5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20): Contemporary Art: 12 Alicante Artists. The speaker will be Dr. Natalia Molinos, a renowned art critic.

CRITICAL FILM

Also within the University Extension, one of the major attractions of the UNED Torrevieja Classroom is the Critical Cinema cycle, which has been increasing the number of titles it screens during the course and reaches a total of eight, including December, with a documentary containing unaired images about Miguel Hernández.

Each film is presented and discussed by a speaker who is an expert on the subject covered. This presentation is followed by a lively discussion with the audience. The films will be screened on the last Tuesday—or the second-to-last Tuesday in the first quarter—at the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Center in Torrevieja, with free admission.

2025. Cinecritico Program

1. Gorillas in the Mist . October 21. With Dr. María Luisa Molina.

2. The Mission . November 18. The speaker will be Rev. José Antonio Gea.

3. Miguel Hernández . December 16. Moderated by Dr. Jesucristo Riquelme and Carlos R. Talamás.

2026. Cinecritico Program

4. The post . January 27. Presented by journalist and Cultural Management Master's degree holder, Susana Juan.

5. A Clockwork Orange . February 24. Again with Jesucristo Riquelme and psychologist Carlos R. Talamás.

6. 1917 . March 24. By Dr. Sergio Boj Bri.

7. Captain Phillips . April 28. Captained by navigator Juan Bernabé.

8. The Judge . May 26. With Magistrate-Judge María Teresa Martínez.

University Extension also includes UNED Torrevieja's participation in the Torrevieja Book Fair 2026, in educational workshops, job fairs, and other conferences and symposia.

SOCIOCULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL EXPANSION

This program includes various initiatives for the new academic year that seek to enrich the cultural interests of those participating. Over the next few weeks, visits will be made to the Printing Museum in Torrevieja, owned by veteran printer Miguel Aráez, and activities will be planned for the Chair of Childhood and Adolescence at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), to which UNED Torrevieja belongs: a Gastronomic Health Day in May, and the presentation of the proceedings of the conference on child poverty in Spain.

A second presentation of the book "Manual de emergencia. Español para ucraianos" (Urgency Manual. Spanish for Ukrainians ), which was presented in May, is being prepared in Mutxamel (Alicante), along with a second, revised and expanded edition. Other proposals related to road safety training—a road safety game—and the creation of Spanish conversation groups for foreigners will be finalized later, with requests for meetings both at the university department of the SEOFER Chair, Road Safety and Smart Mobility, at the University of Valencia (UV), and at the Cervantes Institute (Madrid). The project for a guidebook of routes through Torrevieja is being maintained as a critical basis and a means of strengthening cultural tourism.

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY CULTURAL PROJECTION

In compliance with the agreement with Torrevieja City Council, and with the adjustment of its modest annual budget, the UNED Classroom continues to promote cultural outreach at the national level and even beyond our borders. This is reflected in activities such as:

Participation in the Sol International Film Festival, directed by Anna Semenova, in October 2025, where eight short films will be screened. The jury consists of actor Vicente Gil; casting director Pep Armengol; Miguel Herrero; director of the Sax International Film Festival; and Jesucristo Riquelme; screenwriter and film commentator.

The planned agreement with the Cervantes Institute in Manila, Philippines, to promote the work of Pedro Salinas, with a bilingual edition of the poetry and plays of the Spanish writer from the Generation of '27.

Painting exhibitions: the donation of oil paintings by Antonio Ballesta (requested in the Vistalegre room), samples of watercolors by José Miguel Masiá and Manolo Sola, a selection of social photographs in the Third World by Javier Castillejos (requested for the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Center room).

The preparation of the International Congress of the Generation of '27, at the UNED Elche headquarters (autumn 2026), as a national and international prelude to the centenary of the poetic group of '27 (1927-2027).

To promote reading and educate children's and adolescent literature, we are promoting the annotated publication of the short novel El almirante enamorada (The Admiral in Love) by Nemesio Martín Santamaría, in a posthumous edition. It will be presented at institutional, cultural, and academic venues in the provinces of Valladolid and Alicante, with a special invitation to singer Amancio Prada.

It is also announced that the Riquelme-Talamás family is expanding its donation of bibliographic materials to create a 24/7 library-study room in one of the new cultural facilities near the future university headquarters in the AGAMED building, on Constitución Street. This smart library will contain a collection of nearly 7,000 volumes and documents, specializing in humanities subjects (philology and literary criticism, Spanish language, national and foreign literature, art, film, history, etc.). This collection will complement the library of books acquired by UNED or UNED textbooks, which number nearly 1,000.

Torrevieja will finally be able to enjoy a concert of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot opera, commemorating the centenary of its premiere. This performance is part of the 3rd Festival of Great Composers organized by the UNED (National University of Elche) (April 2026). More than a hundred participants will perform, with dancing and dramatizations.

To learn more about the proposals, obtain more information about the educational offer, Open Classroom courses, registration applications or any aspect related to UNED Torrevieja, the contact telephone number is 603 875 563 and the email address is: torrevieja@elx.uned.es