Sea Sciencies and Nautical Engineering joing the UIB's academic offer

Universities and Education counsillor, Antoni Vera, and the rector of the Balearic Islands University (UIB), Jaume Carot, has presented this Thursaday, December 4th, in a press conference the addition of new degrees in the UIB, with the goal of giving an answet to the training and socioeconomical needs of the territory.

This initiative arises from a report by the Economic and Social Council (CES), which highlights the need to expand the academic offering in order to reduce the outflow of students to other regions and strengthen the competitiveness of the Balearic university system. According to this report, among the nine Spanish universities that are the sole institution in their region, the UIB ranks second to last in number of degree programmes relative to its population and offers a limited range of engineering courses and double degrees, which affects its ability to retain talent. This will suppose an answer to the demand of professionals in strategic sectors such as technological and scientific innovation, territorial planning and urban quality, eductaion, languages and social cohesion, as well as blue economy and marine sustainability.

The roadmap, coordinated and agreed upon by the regional government and the UIB, provides for the gradual introduction of six new degree programmes that respond to the need to diversify the academic offering and adapt it to the needs of the region. This way, there's iinvestment in knowledge as the development engine and equality of opportunities is guaranteed for studentes of the Balearic Islands.

The degree in Marine Sciences, scheduled for the 2026–2027 academic year, will train professionals in oceanography, marine environmental management, and scientific research, with two specialised tracks that will strengthen links with key sectors such as tourism and the nautical industry. In the same course the double degree in Maths and Physicis, which adds a solid scientific base and high-value competences for reasearch and for productive sector that require profiles with analysis capacity and complex problems resolutions, will be added.

In a posterior phase, and not before 2027-2028, the Mechanic Engineering degree, with Nautical Engineering mention, to boost industrial innovation and economic diversification and the degree in Architecture, that answers to patrimony urbanisitic and environmental challenges of the territory. The STEM degree will also be added, oriented to teachers' training in sciencies, technology and maths, to cover an urgent need of the educational system and guarantee a quality scientific education. Finally, the double degree in Catalan Language and English Language will train professionals with an advanced command of both languages and strong skills in the production, analysis, and management of linguistic content. The programme is tailored to the specific needs of the Balearic Islands and to the growing demand for versatile profiles in the educational, cultural, and socioeconomic sectors.

The addition of these new degrees will improve the position of the UIB in the Spanish college system and will boost research and internationalization. The univeristy answers to the current educational needs with the training of high qualified profiles connected with productive and innovating sectors.

These degree programmes strengthen the commitment to talent retention, the creation of opportunities, and the consolidation of an academic ecosystem adapted to the region’s current and future challenges, with a clear vocation for public service and for contributing to the social and economic development of the Balearic Islands.