Maria Vicenta Mestre, Vice-principal for Academic Planning, Teaching Staff, has been the responsible of the closing of the event celebrated today in the Office of the Principal of the Universitat de València. She is aware of the effort which entails not only the academic activity of the teaching staff of the Universitat de València, but also the fact of combining it with the research and the management and she recognised that ‘to take part in this activity is an extra effort whose beneficiaries are the students of the Universitat de València’.

In addition to this, Mestre highlighted ‘the dedication and commitment’ of the professors of the UV whose results will be reflected in the future when ‘the competences of the students will improve their employability. Competences such as working in team, creating ideas, managing time or communicating, which will allow them to improve their professional quality when they finish their studies.’ Mestre also insisted that for the learning of all those things is ‘essential’ the work carried out by the teachers. ‘To have the occasion of share experiences with you like this one, show that the Universitat de València has a good teaching staff which gets involved in its training and in their students one,’ affirmed Mestre.

Fernando Corell, director of the Centre of Institutions of CaixaBank in the Valencian Community, took also part in the event. This entity supports economically MOTIVEM. ‘Nowadays, there are difficulties to find job and they are accentuated by the crisis. Programmes such as MOTIVEM are means for the students to learn how to create their own opportunities. This would be impossible without teachers. In this regard, Corell underlined the importance of the collaboration between the public administrations and the private sector which result in these programmes. ‘Teachers generate excitement, promote creativity and help students to find a way of life through their projects, and this is really interesting’ said Corell.

The Valencian Government also takes part in this project. That is why Mª José Ortolá, General Sub-Director of Social Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Valencian Government, was present at the event. Ortolá highlighted the importance of the MOTIVEM School as a tool to promote the ‘inclusion of entrepreneurial principles at class’. She also spoke about the evolution of its implementation in the other four Valencian public universities. In addition to this, Ortolá also urged to transmit the social function of the entrepreneurship.

The experience of the professors of the School

Two professors of the Universitat de València also took part in the event and told their experience in the MOTIVEM School of this year. ‘We had a really interesting training and I was able to share it with professors and friends of several faculties. For me, it has been a further step to change the authority of the professor at class. As a result, I have changed the fear and the distance for the respect and the interaction with the students’, affirmed Isabel Cordero, professor of the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences. In the case of Pedro Pérez, professor of the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, this year has changed the campus in which he works and now he is in Ontinyent. He has managed to make his students ‘so motivated that they have forgotten the prize’. Pérez also affirmed that the team coordination has made them to think about their role in society. That is to say, ‘to which extent we can be useful for the society from our degrees and how’.