July in paradise

1996/09/01 Kaltzada, Pili - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Unibertsitateak

July 1. We headed at eight in the morning and the Liceo René Cassin de Baiona. The day has awakened rainy, but we have heard on the radio that by noon we can see the sun. We haven't found a lot of people on the highway, but just entering the capital we have seen the signs that take us to the new headquarters this year. This morning begin the XXIV. Summer courses of the edition. We look at the program and read that Manex Goihenetxe will offer an introductory conference.

There is no doubt that Goihenetxe, who was the first President of the UEU, will have a new era in which he had to pull the car at the end of 1973, when the mere fact of thinking that the Basque Country could never have a university, was considered almost a crime. We do not know if he will do so in his speech today, but in the reflections on the consolidation of the Cultural Weeks of Baiona and its preparation for the future we have heard on more than one occasion Gohienetxe, who began to sow the seed of the Basque Summer University, thinking about that University of Estiu that was celebrated in Catalonia. Will Gohienetxe explain us at today's conference?

Everything is ready for nine in the morning. We only need to receive the students and we have put ourselves at the door to see if they are coming or not, nervous. And they have already begun to come. At this moment we do not know what will be the amount that will be achieved at the end of the week and still looks a little "record". But it will be fulfilled: XXIV. In the edition more than ever will arrive to Bayonne, about 150 students. This year, a recruitment program has been organized. As is well known, the UEU has two venues throughout the summer, in which subjects of interest are offered to students on both sides of the border, there is no distribution, it is not sought that this distribution occurs.

There is no more to analyze the program of Natural Sciences to realize this ideological base of the UEU. And it is that, adapting to the new needs posed by the reform of the education system, this year the course entitled “Evolution of the Landscape of the Basque Country” was organized in Baiona, aimed especially at professionals who will work in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO); the creation of new teaching material in Basque and the resolution of new concerns in teamwork have been the main achievements of this course. For a week is not bad...

12 noon at the Liceo Renè Cassin. It's time to eat in Iparralde. This year the UEU has opened a new headquarters, more comfortable, more suitable, that has integrated dining room, bar, classrooms and rooms. It has also contributed to creating a friendly atmosphere. The organization is very happy, since seeing all the tables filled when it comes to eating does not occur every year. People have responded to the call of the UEU and the courses have been successfully conducted.

On Saturday, July 6, the performance of Mikel Laboa will close the Summer Courses of Baiona. I don't know if we've said it before, but the organizers are happy.

Thermometer of Pamplona

It is the 15th of July, Day of Poor of Me in the Sanfermines of Pamplona. It is the day that marks the end of the party for lovers of the party, but for those who are organizing the Summer Courses is a great day: tomorrow will open its doors the College of Larraona, so the training works will extend today. We expected it and so it was. In Pamplona more than 800 teaching hours will be given in total, organized by 30 departments. It is not any brand.

At 8 am in Larraona, Monday 15. Start the XXIV. the most massive event of the edition, the Courses of Pamplona. At 12 noon Joxe Azurmendi will offer an introductory lecture — Carlos Santamaría has chosen as a starting point the personalist thought — and then a 15-day activity will begin. The students have started to come with heavy bags and backpacks on the back. It's hot in Pamplona and this is just the beginning.

Renewing the annual tradition, one more year the City of Pamplona has officially hosted the UEU. It was time to highlight the harmony between both organizations and to thank each other. Then, eating a snack, we were able to learn more about the social life of Pamplona.

About 200 kilometers from Larraona, on the Leioa Campus, the Governing Board of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) today holds its meeting. Among the topics to be discussed are the list of courses that will be put in homologation process, which will be accepted or rejected. The Basque Summer University presents to the UPV/EHU 25 courses for their homologation.

They will not communicate the decision until Tuesday: The UPV/EHU has approved 25 courses. This decision is the result of several months of work and told us Mikel Aizpuru, director of UEUK, which is a very important step for the future: “The UPV/EHU Governing Board has approved the courses we present for its homologation system, which should be understood as acceptance by the UEU. This means that the activity of the UEU is valued and the academic value of the courses is approved. • • • • • • • • •

Mikel Aipuru gave us an example of the importance of this decision. “The system of free choice subjects allows students to choose between subjects offered by the university or between extrauniversity activities. From now on, the students of the UPV/EHU will take into account the courses organized by the UEU, which will be equivalent to several subjects offered by the UPV itself. And as is known, the faculties cannot adapt the schedules to the needs of the student, so the possibility of completing the studies taking advantage of the summer days will benefit the students a lot”.

As is known, the new planning contemplates different types of subjects, on the one hand the compulsory subjects, especially those that predominate in the first two years of career. In addition, there are optional subjects, a specific group within each degree and, finally, credits of free choice that the student can obtain in different ways: between subjects of licentiate, other licentiates, or in non-university activities. In this last block the UEU has managed to be present for the courses of this year. The Summer Courses had just begun, when the most important novelty came. Then, during those fifteen days, we turned back with homologation. I don't know if we said it before, but the organizers were happy.

Rounding offer

In this year's courses the UEU has held numerous interdisciplinary sessions in both Pamplona and Baiona. History and Pedagogy, Economics and Law, Music and Theater, Music and Bertsolarismo... For the consolidation of subjects, interest has been considered as the main criterion and although coordination between the different disciplines is difficult, the result has been very good. The academic level of this year seems quite high. This is demonstrated by the fact that there are more doctors than ever, which guarantees the scientific value of the courses. In the courses they have wanted to reflect the concerns “detected” throughout the year, so the program has been completely “updated”.

This year three new courses have been organized in Pamplona: Architecture, Language of the Administration, that has gone ahead with the collaboration of the IVAP, and Web pages, in which the students and teachers have given an outstanding result and have turned out successful, so next year there will be new courses on agriculture. In addition, it has been relatively short to carry out the course of Physics for only one week, so it is proposed to expand it to two weeks next year, although for the moment there is no decision.

And in the end, on top!

The Larraona corridor is a large and versatile area. It is an ideal place to publicize the activities that are organized outside the classrooms or to carry out complementary sessions. With the passage of days, the corridors were filled with things and people. In the following image you can see the exhibition of remains of aminalia organized by the participants in the Natural Sciences.

As you may have noticed, we have already mentioned in more than one occasion the word success, since the organization used the word success in the assessment of the last day. There are still many things to work and refine, but in general it can be said that the day of this year has gone very well. The star of this year is participation, which this year has been more numerous than ever in the Larraona of Pamplona, with almost 800 participants. To this we must add the amount of Baiona, so the UEU has come closer and closer to the historical number, with almost 1,000 participants. Summer courses. Congratulations!

As for the participants, one more year the university students were the principal (34.5%), followed by the university teaching staff, with 15.8%. Although Gipuzkoa (39%) and Bizkaia (35.4%) are the main entities that have attended Pamplona, Navarre and Alava have increased compared to previous years. Women continue to predominate (53%), but the difference is less and less.

In this edition has predominated the feeling that the numbers cannot express themselves: things are doing well, the path traveled is correct, but there is still much work to do. We must advance on the road if we really want to reconcile the Basque language with the university, and undoubtedly the next year will be very important. Every year they are important and different, but the following will give a special touch to the Basque Summer University. Next year is 25 years since that first team of the UEU met and began to break the way, taking its first steps. To taste the sweet flavor that the last days have left, without just effort, is time to start working. I don't know if we've said it before, but the organizers are satisfied with what they've done.