Funding Boost for Universities in the Canary Islands
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 28 July – Migdalia Machín, the Canary Islands’ Minister for Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture, has proposed a new funding agreement for the Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) and Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) for the period from 2027 to 2030. The plan includes a 16% increase in funding, raising the total to €1.242 billion.
The new funding framework aims to replace the existing annual negotiations with a more stable and assessable plan, aligned with the autonomous budget laws for each year. This agreement will provide an additional €45 million in regional funding by 2030, compared to earlier projections.
While the proposal includes Canary Islands’ contributions for technology, it does not yet address potential state funding or special funds, which remain unspecified. Each year’s allocation must be included in the region’s budget law.
Machín emphasised the importance of stability for universities, stating, “They need it to plan, and it must lead to better teaching, more research, and greater opportunities for students.”
The agreement prioritises basic funding aimed at personnel costs, operational expenses, maintenance, usual investments, structural research, and scientific infrastructure. It also includes a €9.7 million levelling fund to address discrepancies between structural costs and regional contributions from 2021 to 2026.
Under the proposal, ULL’s funding could reach €173.24 million by 2030—a 15.76% increase—and ULPGC could receive €153.65 million, reflecting a 16.18% rise. The disbursement formula considers differing cost structures and includes competitive funding linked to increases in full-time student numbers, with variable funding expected to start in 2028.
Canary Islands’ plans allocate €34 million for technological modernisation over four years, with increasing amounts each year. The government will also seek an equivalent contribution from the state through relevant agreements, although this is not yet confirmed.
Each university is required to develop its own financial plan in collaboration with its Social Council. The agreement includes provisions for analytical accounting, annual economic reports, verifiable information, external audits, and oversight committees representing the Ministry, the universities, and their Social Councils.
The meeting also addressed key technical aspects that need clarification, such as indicator rules, application guarantees, governance structures, and extraordinary financing for infrastructure needs. The Canary Islands government will continue technical discussions with both universities until the agreement is finalised, with no specific date set for signing.
“Our aim is to reach a clear and useful agreement for both universities, providing stability, resources for the system, and shared objectives for improvement,” Machín concluded.
