The Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) is the oldest and largest university in Spain. It was established in 1293, when King Sancho IV founded the Escuelas Generales (General Schools) . The official founding was in 1499 when Cardinal Cisneros created the university in Alcala de Henares via a Papal Bull.

Dr. Rafael Puyol Antolin, professor in human geography and demography, was elected for the second time as Rector of the UCM, being one of the intellectual leaders most known internationally in the university field. He is from Asturias, 54 years old, and does not believe in academic Isolation. Every university has to keep in touch with the international network, not only the regional one, and have cultural, technological and research exchange. His innovative ability and his ideas about university associations have travelled around the world.

Q. - You have said that the university in this new century can not remain as an ivory tower on the sidelines of history, so what is the role of the university in these times of globalization?.

A - There are two reasons that show the new strategic importance of education.

The first one is that the globalization process pivots on the value of knowledge, and therefore, the mechanism that enables its progress and diffusion.

The second reason is that globalization would not be possible, at the present rhythm and expansion, without the conjunction of technology, and the technological capacity and development of a country, and this factor is a function of the training of its human resources. Both reasons give education the statute of the core of globalization.

Both reasons require the configuration of educational systems to be extremely flexible and adaptable to the rapidly changing demands and contexts.

The ability to adapt to change is the most important and significant contribution of education to economic growth, this being a process of continuous generation of inequalities and further adjustments.

In a global context, education will continue to play the role of the transmitter of democratic values and the preparation for combating the negative aspects of globalization, especially in terms of segregation, marginalization and exclusion. The educational systems are powerful mechanisms for guaranteeing cohesion and social integration and even more to give citizens the tools needed to question the implications that processes, such as globalization, can have on their identity and well being.

On the cultural aspect, education has to continue to be the principal stronghold in the defense of cultural identities, and also the preparation of a more internationalized world.

Q - Doctor Puyol, as Rector from 1995 to 2003 of one of the most prestigious universities in Europe, how would you resume the international outlook of the UCM for the future?

A - The disappearance of distances is without a doubt, one of the most comforting characteristics of the actual world. The world has become more complex but also more integrated. Technology confirms and unifies countries in a process of modernization; but at the same time, the different cultures and civilizations neutralize any kind of uniformity. On the one hand, the world is more equal but on the other hand, more diverse. Dialogue and cooperation become indispensable for ensuring that differences do not become a seed of confrontation. For this reason the UCM has committed itself to the creation of a wide network of international collaboration through the different European programs, from cooperation with Latin America and the USA, to a large number of agreements with universities around the world. Together with academic activities, the UCM is also developing a large number of international research projects especially within the framework of the European Union. Our international projection shows in the centers we have created abroad, such as the Colegio Complutense at Harvard and the European School of Higher Education Miguel Servet in Paris. We believe that the future is integration and this is our policy.

Q. How would you sum up the presence of the UCM in the field of international relations ? What efforts have been made by the university to increase the presence of foreign students? What are the present agreements? How many foreign students are actually studying at UCM? What scholarships are offered by the university to foreigners?

A. We have an extraordinary and growing presence in the field of international relations as shown by the more than 150 agreements UCM has with universities around the world, also we created an Institute of International Studies to strengthen our ties. The UCM actively participates in all the European exchange programs and has given scholarships for different chairs abroad and implemented numerous collaboration agreements. Actually there are more than 2000 foreign students in the university.

Q. In some of your published articles it is noted that one of your aims is to reduce the number of students from 90,000 to 70,000, and in some other of your articles that one of your priorities is to increase the number of users, what is the explanation for this?

A. During the past two decades the UCM grew to 120,000 students; but the demographic implosion and the increase in university offers has considerably reduced our number to a little more than 90,000 students. It is a reasonable number for the size of our establishment and faculty and staff. We do not look to increase the number of students but to select the best ones.

Actually the UCM offers 76 degrees in four specific areas: humanities, science, social science and health; for a total of over 90,000 students distributed in 20 faculties, six university colleges and 184 departments.

As is said by Dr. Puyol Antolin the UCM has agreements with other foreign universities to exchange teachers, students and researchers. In 1999/2000 the UCM gave 5,837 million pesetas for research, and increased its international relations and presence in the centers abroad; and ratified programs in 12 latin American countries.

For further information about UCM;

http://www.ucm.es

http://www.ucm.es/info/gprensa/centenaria.html

For statistics about students by cycle and by faculty:

http://www.ucm.es/info/gprensa/alumnos.html

Exchange programs can be found at

http://www.ucm.es/info/gprensa/relaciones.html