Bishopric Provides Temporary Housing for ULL Amid Crisis

The local Bishopric will temporarily provide some spaces to help house students and staff from the University of La Laguna (ULL). The university is facing a tough academic year, as the demand for student accommodation is three times higher than what's available. This shortage is forcing the ULL to find alternative solutions to properly serve its students and various members of the university community, including its teaching and research staff. University officials have met with the Bishopric several times to arrange this temporary partnership. ULL manager Lidia Pereira confirmed that these spaces are only a temporary solution, emphasizing that the university ultimately needs stable, long-term housing options.

The spaces provided by the Bishopric will mainly be for short-term stays, such as for visiting professors or students participating in exchange programs. These rooms will have different prices. The university wants to offer more of these short-term options because it aims to increase the number of exchange programs and visiting academics across all parts of its community.

Lidia Pereira states that improving housing options is a long-term effort and admits that the issue can't be fixed quickly in La Laguna, a city that has struggled with a major housing crisis for a long time. To tackle this, Pereira stresses the importance of working with various organizations. Beyond the Bishopric, the university is also making agreements with the La Laguna City Council and the Canary Islands Government to support building new student residences or housing complexes.

The University of La Laguna highlights Tenerife's "unique circumstances," explaining that a one-time financial boost won't be enough to solve the problem. The manager explains that many of the people needing these services have low incomes. Pereira said, "We want our university to keep acting as a social ladder, helping people move up. To do that, we need to subsidize the cost of accommodation, which means we'll have to cover a significant part of the difference." She is therefore calling for ongoing financial support to ensure "a wide range of housing options that can support the diverse group of students coming to ULL."

Beyond the local Canary Islands authorities, the Spanish Government also knows about the housing challenges public universities face. To address this, a meeting was held on September 24 with universities and the Ministers of Housing and Universities. Another meeting followed on October 10 with the Secretary of State for Housing. The ULL manager explained that government officials "recognize this situation is happening in all regions of Spain." They are proposing "affordable, quickly built, and quality accommodations." The Ministry of Housing suggests that new buildings and renovations of existing ones could be funded through the national Housing Plan, using loans from the Official Credit Institute (ICO). For public projects like these, these loans could cover up to 85% of the total cost. While she appreciates the Ministry's interest, the ULL manager believes the Housing Plan "should include a specific section for university housing projects to avoid potential administrative issues." However, the Ministry of Housing has asked public universities to work out these details with their regional governments, so no concrete steps have been taken yet.

Quick action is essential to tackle the housing crisis affecting public universities. Lidia Pereira stated, "We need practical solutions, and we've told the Ministry of Housing this." She added that the university, working with the La Laguna City Council, has already found land to start building a new student residence. Meanwhile, the Canary Islands Government is interested in a modular housing campus made from recycled shipping containers. This idea was recently suggested in a final year project by two Accounting and Finance students.