Universities all over the world are experiencing deep changes due to several factors such as scientific advances, training requests, continuous and qualified formation, business demands connected with innovation productivity and technology transfer , science parks development, services' quality and re-engineering processes and, specially, knowledge internationalisation regarding new technologies. We are facing an era, which has been called " society of knowledge".
 

Lastly, the Spanish universities are facing this new challenge from a certain disadvantageous situation. On the one hand, we have the huge advance experienced by our university demand -with more than one million students and a half- in the last years and the progressive advance on research and relations with enterprises. On the other, the shortage of related resources due to the inadequate proportion of the gross national product (GNP) directed towards education expenses in comparison to the amount spent in most developing countries. This situation limits the development in many of the basic elements in the present university: postgraduate studies, research competitiveness, quality, internationalisation...Aspects that have been pushed into the background when asking ourselves about the university autonomy reach, according to its most elemental structure of  identity: its centres and studies.

The University of Alicante, despite its youth (1979) has increased –in less than five years- the number of registered students, from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand. It is considered one of the Spain's most go-ahead universities and its excellent campus, designed according to the American campus philosophy, enjoys a well-deserved prestige within the European and international context.  Finally, the University of Alicante, with the most reduced subsidy per student than the rest of the country, is trying to face the most outstanding challenges within the Spanish universities environment. Its President for the last four years (1994-1997), Andrés Pedreño, Chairman of Applied Economics, recently re-elected by historical absolute majority in the Spanish university world, deals in this book, with the University of Alicante's project and model that has been carried out, providing us an idea about the possibilities and restrictions this University and most of the Spanish universities have faced.

* The royalties derived from the sale of this book, will be assigned to postgraduate scholarships allotment for Latin American students.

Page maintained by the President's Office  Last Update: 13 November 2000