Monthly Archives: December 2025

Ilona Maier has become the first student to complete the Joint Degree in Tourism offered by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and the Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM). Her Final Degree Project, awarded the top mark of 10 by both institutions, stood out for its academic excellence and was accepted for presentation at the 17th Tourism: Economics & Management Workshop, held at the University of Siena (Italy).

The Joint Degree ULPGC–HM was initially developed by the former Vice Dean for International and Institutional Relations of the FEET, Lidia Hernández, together with Ralph Berchtenbreiter, Head of International Relations at HM’s Faculty of Tourism. Its final operational deployment at ULPGC has been driven by the current Vice Dean for Mobility, Academic Exchanges, and International Relations of the FEET, Sergio Ramos, and the administrative team of the School of Economics and Business Studies, Juan Carlos Santana and Alicia Mateo.

This joint degree, completed in four years, requires ULPGC students to spend one academic year in Munich, with the option to apply for Erasmus+ mobility grants. For the upcoming academic year, two ULPGC students have already confirmed their participation in the mobility programme at HM, further strengthening the initiative’s international reach and growth.

On Friday, 28 November, the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism (FEET) hosted the conference “Promoting the Social Economy Ecosystem in the Canary Islands”, an event designed to foster knowledge exchange and strengthen connections among initiatives working toward a fairer, more participatory and sustainable economy in the archipelago.

The session was delivered by Inmaculada Galván Sánchez, Co-Director of the ULPGC–Cabildo de Gran Canaria University Chair of Social Economy, in collaboration with the Cajasiete Chair of Social Economy and Cooperatives at the University of La Laguna (ULL). Under the title “What is the Social Economy? Putting People First”, she outlined the key principles of this economic model focused on collective well-being and social impact.

The event also featured the participation of three Social Economy organisations from Gran Canaria, which shared their successful experiences in social entrepreneurship:

Nieves Ramos, sole administrator of the work integration enterprise Bioincanarias.

Altahay Santana, representative of the worker cooperative PulsArt.

Laura García, from the economic activity association SIC4Change.

FEET extends its sincere appreciation to all participants for their valuable contributions to this event, which highlights and strengthens the Social Economy ecosystem in the Canary Islands.

You can access the event programme at the link.