The meeting was held in Valencia, Spain, from May 8th to 10th, 2023. Nearly 700 higher education leaders from 14 countries attended, representing more than 14 million students.

The summit’s conclusions are contained in the Valencia Declaration, which also establishes seven commitments that UABC assumed along with the other participating institutions: to develop further the university mission to take social, environmental, and economic challenges into consideration; to extend learning opportunities throughout life; to provide comprehensive education; and to bestow students with skills that enable entrepreneurship, among others. The full Valencia Declaration is available at bit.ly/3XYVNPE

The Declaration highlights the determinant role universities have played in societal advancement throughout history. Higher education institutions answer social and environmental challenges that urgently demand solutions through teaching, research, and knowledge transfer. In their classrooms, they form citizens capable of developing proposals contributing to social and economic progress.

On behalf of UABC, the rector Dr. Luis Enrique Palafox-Maestre attended the summit. Fabiel Ramírez García, a fifth-semester Software Engineering and Emerging Technologies student, also participated. Along with 60 other students from various countries, he received the Santander Young Leaders for Education scholarship in collaboration with the University of Valencia. The scholarship aided students in attending the event after having online and face-to-face training in the different thematic axes of the summit.