The conferences, organised by the Universitat de València’s Conservation Area, will begin on Wednesday, 8 May at 9:30am in La Nau Assembly Hall. It will be opened by Vice-Principal for Culture and Society of the Universitat de València Ester Alba and Director of the Department of Culture and Sports Cultural Heritage of the Valencian Government Pilar Tébar.

This will be followed by the first conference will be ‘Patrimonio y universidad: legado y memoria’ (Heritage and university: legacy and memory), led by representatives from different Spanish universities: the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Granada, the University of Sevilla of the University of Cádiz. They will describe the current work of their institution and its specificities.

At 12:30pm, the representatives from the University of Barcelona, the University of Salamanca, the University of Zaragoza and the University of Valladolid will present their conferences. In the afternoon, the experiences from historical universities will be shared, such as the University of Santiago de Compostela ‑located in a special patrimonial setting‑, the University of Oviedo, the University of Navarra, the University of Murcia, the University of Alcalá and the University of Alacant, to conclude with the contemporary art collections.

The meeting will resume on 9 May, with the conference ‘Investigar, musealizar, conservar y visibilizar el patrimonio universitario: jornada de debate’ (Research, museumise, conservation and university heritage awareness: debate session). Afterwards, the people in charge of the Universitat de València’s collections (the ICT Museographic Collection, the Historical Library, the Natural History Museum, the Botanical Garden, the Hall of Residence Rector Peset, the Martínez Guerricabeitia Collection, the Astronomic Observatory, the School History Museum and the Scientific-Medical Collection), together with the people in charge of the UV Exhibitions and Heritage, will share their experiences. The diversity of the Universitat de València’s collections explains their history, since they have been gathered over the course of 525 years. Throughout the day, there will be panel discussions aimed at creating synergies between the managers and guardians of the different collections.

The final session will take place on 10 May and is designed to address future challenges. There will be simultaneous debates in the Seminar Halls and the Assembly Hall, called ‘Redes, plan de acción y proyección internacional’ (Networks, action plan and international impact). The conferences will end on Friday, 10 May at 1:10pm.

The conferences are held in La Nau, the Universitat de València historical headquarters, the oldest and most emblematic building of the institution. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1981. During these days, the attendees will be able to visit the exhibition ‘Trobes: 550 años de la imprenta en Valencia’ (Trobes: 550 years of the printing press in Valencia), organised by the UV Historical Library, and features the first book printed in Valencia 550 years ago is shown, called Obres e trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria (1474). This book was also the first one printed in the Crown of Aragon and the first literary book in the Peninsula. This work belongs to the Universitat de València and it dates back to even before than the UV was founded in 1499. Attendees should also visit one of the treasures of the Universitat de València’s heritage: the Botanical Garden, which origin goes back to the 16^th century and it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 2006.