The Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication, and the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy were the last centres visited by the candidate’s team to revalidate the post. The last event, in the faculty where Mavi Mestre has developed her academic career, was full of symbolism and excitement.

Two weeks after it began, the campaign for the election of the Universitat de València’s principal has come to an end. Throughout this period, all the centres, all the campuses and also all the research institutes of the Universitat de València have been able to listen to the key points of the electoral programme (most of which was presented to the Senate) and the current situation of the University, as well as to communicate their proposals, doubts and criticisms to the candidate.

The fact that she chose the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy to conclude the series of events and meetings was obviously highly symbolic, both for her teaching and research work at the centre, as well as for her management responsibilities, including that of being the first Faculty’s woman dean.

The structure of the events was very similar to the rest. Professor Mestre presented her team, emphasising the new developments; she explained the features that have defined a first term of office marked by the pandemic, where co-governance and "putting people at the centre" have guided all the actions, and has advanced that these will also be the basic lines of management over the coming years.

As could not be otherwise, the candidate recounted the grievances pending resolution, mainly by the autonomous and central governments.

As for the first ones, the lack of a funding plan to put an end to the institution's economic difficulties: she stressed that there is an urgent need to draw up a new one, and emphasised the "50 million a year that the University loses every year due to poor funding", and which would have meant, she said, for the institution, "going from suffering to living well", in the words of the acting principal, both in terms of staff and infrastructures.

Even so, it is also necessary to sign the collective agreement agreed with the trade unions in 2018, which the Generalitat does not authorise for reasons that were clear throughout the negotiations in which it participated.

And, finally, the candidate has claimed the urgency to amend a decree of remuneration dating from 2002 and that places the staff of the Universitat de València in a situation of comparative grievance with respect to other Valencian Public Universities.

As for the central government, Mavi Mestre recalled the havoc caused in public universities, year after year, by the replacement rate established by the Spanish government since 2012. The staff shortages have only increased, despite the fact that currently the rate is 120%, we cannot recover, she said, from the losses of a few years when the replacement rate was 0%.

Philology, Translation and Communication

During the visit to the Faculty of Philology, Translation and Communication, Mavi Mestre stressed that the project she proposes for the University will be based on co-governance, a fundamental element that has allowed all of us to face the difficulties that have affected society and the world in which we live. In this sense, she affirmed that the institution has to project itself and adapt to the new times. It has to promote the training of people with specific skills to meet the demands of society.

In response to one of the concerns raised, the principal and candidate highlighted the importance and role of multilingualism, which will be reinforced in this term of office with the vice-principal for Internationalisation and Multilingualism, which will be headed by the former dean and professor of the Faculty, Carles Padilla.

Regarding the structural teaching deficit, Mestre recalled that during her first term of office it has been reduced, benefiting the areas of English Philology, Journalism and Audiovisual Communication. Looking to the future, initiatives will be aimed at encouraging the hiring of full-time trainee lecturer and the stabilisation of adjunct lecturers.

The improvement and updating of the infrastructures will also be a key element in the coming years. The Blasco Ibáñez Campus is the oldest campus of the University and the facilities need to be updated to meet the current users’ needs. In this sense, the different spaces will be electrified to guarantee the correct use of laptops and electronic devices by all students.

Psychology and Speech Therapy

The visit to the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy was the closing event of the electoral campaign. The meeting in the Faculty where Mavi was dean had the theme of lifelong learning for teaching and research staff and administrative and service staff as a fundamental axis. The training and education of these groups in technology, equity and multilingualism fields are essential to guarantee a quality public service. Furthermore, this training will allow for horizontal and vertical progression in our staff professional careers.

The participatory campuses are another of the axes to be strengthened in the coming years. In this sense, the student body integration and participation in cultural activities will be strengthened over the coming years because, as Mavi Mestre said, the University, as well as being responsible for academic and professional training, must also work on the people’s cultural and social training.

In the context of strengthening the teaching staff conditions, the candidate mentioned that the approval of the Science Law will allow the establishment of indefinite contracts for more than 1,400 researchers working at the university, thus improving their employment situation and guaranteeing research in the different fields of study.

Mavi Mestre also recalled the reduction in the structural teaching deficit that has taken place over the last four years thanks to the creation of 10 new teaching posts, the filling of one vacancy and the stabilisation of the adjunct lecturers. Moreover, the candidate, together with her team, has pledged to continue working to improve the situation, providing new full-time trainee lecturers posts in the areas most in need.