The University of Alicante and the Torrevieja City Council sign the agreement to renew the UA headquarters in the town on its tenth anniversary

Eduardo Dolón, Mayor of Torrevieja, and Amparo Navarro, Rector of the University of Alicante, signed this morning the renewal of the agreement between the two public institutions, consolidating their alliance to promote knowledge, research, and innovation through the University of Alicante's Torrevieja branch and the TI·LAB Smart Tourism Laboratory. The agreement guarantees the continuation of joint activities, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the University of Alicante's Torrevieja branch.

At the signing ceremony, the mayor and the rector were accompanied by Rosario Martínez, deputy mayor of Torrevieja City Council, Ricardo Recuero, councilor for Universities and Education, the vice-rector for Culture, Sports and University Extension, Catalina Iliescu, the vice-rector for Research, Juan Mora, the deputy vice-rector of the University Extension Secretariat of the UA, Larissa Timofeeva, and the director of the UA's Torrevieja campus, Jesús Segarra, as well as José Norberto Mazón and Marco A. Celdrán , coordinator and technical coordinator of TI.LAB, respectively.

The mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, emphasized that “the renewal of this agreement reaffirms a solid alliance that, after ten years, has allowed the University of Alicante to be fully integrated into the academic, social, business, and scientific life of our city.” Dolón noted that the upcoming opening of the new Inter-University Center “will mark a new stage in bringing higher education, research, and knowledge transfer even closer to the residents of Torrevieja, consolidating Torrevieja as a university city.”

The mayor also praised the launch of the Master's Degree in Continuing Education in the Management and Administration of Urban Public Services, whose fieldwork will take place in Torrevieja. “This training is closely linked to the realities of local councils and essential services such as street cleaning, waste collection, green space maintenance, and the upkeep of public areas. Torrevieja is thus becoming a hub for practical learning and innovation, helping to prepare the professionals who will manage the cities of the future with criteria of efficiency, sustainability, and quality,” concluded Eduardo Dolón.

Amparo Navarro expressed her satisfaction with the renewal of this agreement after a decade of fruitful relations, “ten years in which the UA campus has become an integral part of Torrevieja's social, academic, research, business, and community fabric.” The rector continued her remarks, stating that in the 2026/2027 academic year, the University of Alicante will continue to promote and strengthen ties with Torrevieja and its surrounding area. To this end, it will offer the Master's Degree in Continuing Education in Management and Administration of Urban Public Services. This master's program will train the professionals who will manage the cities of the future and combines academic knowledge with business experience to meet the growing demand for specialists in urban public service management.

This program is linked to the University Institute of Water and Environmental Sciences of the University of Alicante (IUACA), directed by Professor Andrés Molina. Borja Montaño, a specialist in economic history, environmental history, and natural resource economics, will serve as the academic director of the master's program. The fieldwork will take place in the town of Torrevieja.

Dolón and Navarro were joined at the presentation of this new degree program by Andrés Molina and Borja Montaño , as well as by Ángel Navarro López, Director of Services for the Hozono Global Group, and Daniel Puchol, Technical Director of Actúa (a subsidiary of the group), both collaborating entities of the Master's program. They explained that “Waste collection, street cleaning, maintenance of green spaces, and the upkeep of public areas are part of the daily life of any city. Behind these essential services lies increasingly complex management, requiring professionals capable of combining technical, economic, and legal knowledge with a strategic, sustainable, and innovative vision.”

During the event, the rector emphasized the importance of these kinds of synergies in offering specialized training aligned with the ever-changing needs of the job market. Navarro considers it essential to establish partnerships that allow for advancements in offering university-specific degrees with new, customized formats, taught by top-level professionals. These programs will incorporate and update the new skills required by professionals in various sectors throughout their careers.

A FOUR-YEAR AGREEMENT

The agreement signed today, approved in April by the Torrevieja City Council at a Local Governing Board meeting, will last for four years and guarantees the operation and funding of the University of Alicante's Torrevieja branch and the University Laboratory for Smart Tourism (TI·LAB). The UA branch will be part of the new Inter-University Headquarters building, scheduled to open in early September. The agreement establishes a municipal contribution of approximately €200,000 for the 2026 fiscal year, earmarked for the development of the university branch's activities, the operation of the University Laboratory for Smart Tourism, the academic direction and coordination of TI·LAB itself, and the extremophile microorganism research project being carried out by Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rosa M.ª Martínez, in the Torrevieja and La Mata lagoons. Furthermore, funding of 150,000 euros per year is planned for the years 2027, 2028 and 2029, which will ensure the stability of the project and allow for the planning of new training, scientific and innovation initiatives in the medium term.

One of the main focuses of the agreement is the continuation and consolidation of the University Laboratory for Smart Tourism (TI·LAB), an innovation hub affiliated with the University of Alicante (UA) where university students specializing in tourism research and computer science collaborate. This laboratory will continue to promote research and development projects, specialized training, and knowledge transfer in a sector essential for the present and future of Torrevieja: tourism.

A MASTER'S DEGREE IN URBAN PUBLIC SERVICES

One of the key strengths of this new program will be the direct collaboration between academia and industry. The University of Alicante and Actúa have participated in both the design of the curriculum and the formation of the teaching team, comprised of university professors and professionals with experience in the real-world management of urban services.

This combination will allow practical cases, experiences, and common situations in the provision of public services to be brought into the classroom. Students will learn not only the fundamentals of management, but also how a service is planned, how human and material resources are organized, how its quality is monitored, and how sustainability, digitalization, and innovation criteria are incorporated.

The program will have a strong interdisciplinary focus and will cover topics related to public administration, economics, law, team leadership, and service planning. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of a sector in which public administrations and businesses increasingly need specialized professionals.

Urban public services represent a stable field of activity with a growing need for qualified talent. The modernization of municipalities, the implementation of new environmental regulations, the digitalization of processes, and the search for more efficient management models are generating new professional opportunities.

The master's program is aimed at both university graduates who wish to pursue a career in this sector and professionals from companies, government agencies, and public entities who want to expand their knowledge and take on new responsibilities. The training will enable participants to develop skills for participating in the planning, management, supervision, and improvement of urban services, as well as for analyzing their costs, evaluating results, coordinating teams, and proposing solutions tailored to the needs of each municipality.

Registration is now open at: https://cfp.ua.es/catalogo-de-estudios-de-formacion-permanente/2026-27/ficha-resumen-2026-27.html?plan=9479