Advanced societies are immersed in a set of changes as a consequence of the progress in science and information and communication technologies that has characterised the last two decades.

This digitalisation of everyday life has been accelerated as a consequence of the measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. A permanent challenge in the coming years will therefore be the digital transformation of both management and university activities.

This pandemic has highlighted, more than ever, the importance of science in the progress and development of societies and people's quality of life.

At the same time, there has been a process of population ageing which is also reflected in the university system, and which requires a commitment to retaining and attracting university talent.

Research, cutting-edge and innovative research, and its transfer to the productive system and society, is essential for progress. Universitat de València, as a public university with an unbeatable research capacity recognised in the most important rankings, must continue to make a clear commitment to retaining and attracting talent, placing all its training and capacity at the service of basic and applied research and innovation.

These policies linked to the human resources of university systems have been seriously affected by certain government policies and regulations, which have been imposed on us over the last decade and which continue to make it more necessary than ever to make a firm commitment to a planned renewal of the staff.

The evolution of ways of working also implies a renewal of teaching methodologies, requiring a commitment to modern and specialised infrastructures for quality teaching and cutting-edge research.

Likewise, it is necessary to respond to the new professional and personal skills required by 21st century society. In this sense, and within the framework of recent regulatory changes, developing lifelong, life-wide training programmes, integrated and coordinated with socio-economic agents, is a challenge for the future in a global and interconnected world.

All of this requires financial sufficiency and stability to enable medium- and long-term planning of programmes with high levels of investment and coverage of staffing needs over time.

And, together with resources, we have the important challenge of exercising effective university autonomy within the framework of possible regulatory changes. This autonomy must be associated with accountability and transparency in management.

Responsible, effective and efficient management in order to optimise the resources that society entrusts to the university system.

All these challenges take place in the context of the climate emergency declared by the European Parliament and the Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the United Nations.

Sustainability and healthy lifestyles that we must also promote from the campuses as part of the social responsibility of the public university. Sustainability for intelligent and inclusive social progress, with equality and diversity.