Category Archives: News

On Tuesday, June 17, the recognition ceremony for the finalist students and the professor whose group obtained the highest average score in the 17th Economics Olympiad was held in the 26 de Abril Room of the Rector’s Office of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The competitions were held on March 28 at the Faculty of Economics, Business, and Tourism, as well as at the Fuerteventura (Congress Palace) and Lanzarote (Tahíche University School of Tourism) campuses.

The event was chaired by the Student’s Vice-Rector, David Sánchez Rodríguez, joined at the table by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Business, and Tourism, Mª Victoria Ruíz Mallorquí; the Dean of the Official Association of Economists of Las Palmas, Alcibiades Trancho Lemes; the Director of Operations of the Las Palmas University Foundation; and Miguel Ángel Acosta Rodríguez, Secretary of the ULPGC Social Council.

During the ceremony, both the Vice-Rector and other representatives highlighted the students’ efforts in preparing for the exams while in their second year of high school and preparing for the University Entrance Exams. They also underscored the commitment to the secondary school teachers and the essential support of their families. They also wished them good luck in the national phase of the Olympiad, which will be held at the University of Alicante on June 30 and July 1st and 2nd.

The finalist students were Irene Lorenzo García, from IES Teror, accompanied by the school’s principal, Deidy Falcón, representing Professor Antonio Fermín Quintana Suárez; José Carlos Marrero Castillo, from IES Támara (San Bartolomé de Tirajana), with his teacher Esteban Sánchez Martínez; and Adrián Martínez Castro, from IES La Minilla, accompanied by his teacher Javier Galván Guerra. Family and friends of the award winners also attended the ceremony.

The recognized teacher was Mª Isabel Ortega Suárez, from IES Guanarteme, whose students achieved the highest average grade among the participants. After successfully passing the university entrance exams, the students expressed their intention to continue their education at the ULPGC, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Double Degree in Business Administration and Management and Tourism. All finalists, students, and teachers received diplomas and gifts, and, at the beginning of the next academic year, will also receive a tablet.

On Monday, June 16th, the ULPGC Auditorium hosted the recognition ceremony for the students who participated in the mentor program for the 2024/2025 academic year.
The ceremony was attended by the Rector, the Vice-Rector for Students, the Director of Alumni and Mentoring, and Francisco Ortiz Rivas (Paquito), a former UD Las Palmas soccer player and physical trainer who graduated from the ULPGC Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences and currently serves as the Innovation Manager for the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas Foundation. More information about the event can be found in the news section of the ULPGC website.

At the ceremony, our Faculty was represented by students from different degrees.

On the image, from left to right: Aitor Romano Hernández, Bentchey Cabrera León, Sara Marrero Martínez, and Natalia Umpiérrez Padilla.

The Faculty thanks Aitor, Bentchey, Sara y, Natalia, and the others who participated in the mentor program last year.

Again, the Faculty encourages all students to participate for the next year.

Registration is open through the online portal until July 10th.

On Monday, June 16th, Hiperdino executives attended FEET to present the “talent recruitment” program again, which aims to train the company’s future middle managers.
This program allows incoming students to access an employment contract, combining learning and real-world experience from day one. Pricing Director José Manuel Acosta, IT and Systems Director Eduardo Prieto, and Logistics Director José Manuel Poblador attended the FEET.

They were also accompanied by Ayoze Álvarez, the current Purchasing Manager for the Drugstore and Cleaning Department, who began his career at the company a few years ago through this training program. Human Resources technicians Estefanía Falcón, Claudia Delgado, Mónica Pineda, and Diana Jiménez also attended the interviews with the students.
Again, we are grateful for the trust this great Canarian company has placed in our future graduates to join its organization and its commitment to enabling Canarian talent trained at the ULPGC to develop their careers in the Canary Islands.

On June 10th, the doctoral thesis, “Economic Analysis of the Maritime-Port Sector in an International Context “, was defended at the Faculty of Economics, Business, and Tourism of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC). The thesis was written by Andrea Rodríguez Ramos and supervised by Dr. Lourdes Trujillo Castellano within the Doctoral Program in Tourism, Economics, and Management framework within the research line in Economics and Quantitative Methods.

The thesis was awarded Cum Laude with international distinction. PhD candidate Andrea Rodríguez Ramos holds a degree in Economics, with an extraordinary graduation award, and a Master’s degree in Marketing and International Trade, both awarded by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Dr. Lourdes Trujillo Castellano is a professor of Applied Economics, the director of the Maritime-Port Chair (PORMAR), and a renowned international expert in maritime transport and port economics.

The evaluation panel was chaired by Dr. Fernando Ignacio González Laxe, professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the University of A Coruña and former President of Puertos del Estado. Dr. Javier Campos Menéndez (ULPGC) acted as secretary, and Dr. Marta González-Aregall (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) completed the panel.

The thesis comprises three interrelated research papers, two of which have been published in high-impact scientific journals indexed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), demonstrating their academic quality and international reach.

• The first chapter analyzes how CO₂ emissions, considered a polluting input, affect the technical efficiency of Spanish ports.
• The second study examines the strategic position of the Port of Las Palmas vis-à-vis West African ports, paying particular attention to the effects of regulatory asymmetries.
• The third chapter compares the efficiency of the Canary Islands and African ports, incorporating institutional factors, such as perceived levels of corruption, using bootstrapping DEA techniques.

The overall objective of the research is to evaluate the impact of new European environmental regulations—notably the FuelEU Maritime initiative—on port efficiency and competitiveness in a global context characterized by increasing ecological demands.
This issue represents a significant strategic challenge for European ports, particularly those in outermost regions like the Canary Islands, which must maintain competitiveness compared to enclaves not subject to the same regulations. Academic and professional representatives, including port system representatives, attended the event. Among them was the Port Authority of Las Palmas President, Ms. Beatriz Calzada Ojeda, whose presence underscores the institutional interest in research focused on the sector’s current challenges.

The Faculty congratulates the new PhD candidate.