Lara Fernández Rodríguez is graduated in Primary School Education by the Universitat de València. With the scholarship of la Caixa, she will make a post-graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a programme of advanced education focused on design, development, and improvement of study plans and teaching methodologies. The objective is to create educational leaders capable of innovating in the classroom and leading school policies. Fernández Rodríguez will study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lara Fernández was born in Valencia in 1999. In 2021, she obtained the Degree in Primary School Education by the Universitat de Valencia. Subsequently, she studied a Master’s degree in Emotional Education and Character Development at the International University of La Rioja, as well as a master’s degree in Humanities: Arts, Literature and Contemporary Culture at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Nowadays, she is a post-graduate researcher at the Institute of Creativity and Educational Innovations of the Universitat de València. Her research is focused on the multiliteracies based on arts, paying special attention to the artistic dispositions and to their transfer to teaching training in the educational digital context of the 21st century. She has professional titles in piano and clarinet by the Conservatorio Municipal "José Iturbi" of Valencia. She worked as a music and piano teacher, as well as working as an actress in a musical theatre family company, incorporating the artistic training in educational and creative projects. She speaks English and Valencian fluently, and has knowledge of French professionally.

The ceremony for the scholarships took place on Thursday, 9 July, with the presence of king Felipe VI, the ministry of Hacienda, Arcadi Spain, and Isidre Fainé –the president of “la Caixa” Foundation. Luis Sentís, international referent in humanoid robotics and cyber-physical systems, addressed the attendants in behalf of the group of “la Caixa” fellowship holders.

This was the 44th edition of the scholarships’ programme of the entity. Its objective is to boost talent of excellent students by the expansion of training in the best universities and research centres of the world.