This year, the four faculties of the Blasco Ibáñez Campus participate again, with professionals of Medicine and Dentistry, Psychology and Logopedia, Nursing and Podiatry, and Physiotherapy. The Faculty of Physics has once again joined this 2024 edition, this time with the Degree in Optics and Optometry and a specific activity hosted by the Dental Clinic of the Fundació Lluís Alcanyis of the Universitat de València.

The main welcoming ceremony of the Forum, in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, was attended by the Principal of the Universitat de València, Maria Vicenta Mestre, accompanied by the Dean of the Faculty, Amparo Ruiz, and the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology and Logopedia, Antonio Ferrer.

“In 1492, the Universitat de València was born, already as a health studies centre, with Medicine. Therefore, it has been open to the Valencian society for 625 years, prioritising health, with a progressive specialisation with different undergraduate degrees and postgraduate degrees”. The principal began her speech with this statement.

In this sense, Mestre highlighted the value of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Simulation in Health (CESIS-UV), “because it is increasingly important to work in interdisciplinary teams, to have a comprehensive view of health, in all dimensions of people," said the principal, also highlighting the work of the university clinics of the Fundació Lluís Alcanyís "oriented to the assistance part and people, in addition to the training aspect”.

The principal of the UV took the opportunity of the meeting to dedicate a few words to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Psychology studies, as well as to point out the need "to invest in health and mental health".

Regarding the insecurities of future graduates to face their professional future, Mestre highlighted the educational quality of the institution, among the three best Spanish universities and in the top positions at European level, according to the international rankings. "This must give you confidence and strengthen the sense of belonging to the Universitat de València", she added.

Finally, Maria Vicenta Mestre reminded the audience that the Universitat de València "would not really fulfil its mission in terms of teaching, research, transfer, and culture if we did not work to guide students towards professional life. This is why we are in this Forum”.

The dean of Psychology and Logopedia, Antonio Ferrer, thanked “the joint efforts and the organisation” of the decanal teams of the centres and the UVjob service, whose motivation is “to give you as much information as possible to improve your future employment situation”.

With regard to the prospects of employability among the students, Ferrer encouraged the audience to consult the studies of employability of the different degrees of the area of studies and analysis of UVjob, “where you can see that 75% of Psychology students graduated from our Universitat have a job”.

The event was also attended by the vice-principal for Lifelong Learning, Educational Transformation and Employment, Ángeles Solanes; the deans of the Faculties of Nursing and Podiatry, Antoni Merelles, and Physiotherapy, Sofía Pérez; vice-deans; the general director of the Lluís Alcañiz Foundation, professor José Manuel Almerich; manager of the General Foundation of the Universitat de València, Cristóbal Suria; delegate of the principal for Internships and Employment, Jesús Soret; as well as representatives of the professional associations, the organisation of the Biomedical Research Congress, teaching staff, and students.

Academic activity

The day started at 09:30 with the academic programme, designated specifically for each degree and simultaneously in different areas of the Blasco Ibáñez Campus. Psychology students attended a debate on “The current state and future perspective of professional practice in Psychology. Professional association”, in which intervened Pilar del Pueblo and Josefina Carboneras, board member and vice-secretary of the Governing Board of the Official College of Psychologists of the Valencian Community (COPCV), respectively.

At the same time, the Faculty of Psychology and Logopedia hosted the conference of the dean of the COPCV, María Jesús Luch, who spoke on the same topic but regarding the studies of Logopedia.

The activity of Physiotherapy focused on the analysis and reflection on entrepreneurship in the area as a way of generating employment, with interventions and personal experiences of entrepreneurs in this field.

Lastly, the Dental Clinic of the Fundació Lluís Alcanyis of the Universitat de València hosted the seminar aimed at the student body of Optics and Optometry. Presented by professor Inmaculada Bueno, the seminar analysed the personalisation of visual attention by experts.

More than 40 business and organisations

From 10:00 to 14:00, the employment fair opened at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry with the stands of the more than 40 participating companies and organisations, including Fundació València Activa; LABORA-GVA; the opticians Alain Afflelou y Multiópticas; Industrias Ópticas Prats; Official College of Optics and Optometrists of the Valencian Community (COOCV); Imed Hospitales; BBi Nordics; BGB Dentistry; Kate Cowhig International Healthcare Recruitment; STEM Future Education; and Talent-EPHOS.

Organised by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Lifelong Learning, Educational Transformation and Employment, through UVjob, the Health Sciences Forum also had the collaboration of the faculties of Nursing and Podiatry, Psychology and Logopedia, Medicine and Dentistry, and Physics and Physiotherapy, thus joining in a programme created to connect the Universitat and the working world, and facilitate the employability of future professionals in the Health Sciences sector.