The Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the El Vendrell City Council formalized a letter of intent this Monday for the construction of a new university headquarters at the Baix Penedès campus. This protocol marks the beginning of a project aimed at permanently housing the Nursing and Early Childhood Education programs, which currently have around 340 students.
Both institutions anticipate having the executive project completed within a year. This document will detail the specific needs of the new facility, which will not only consolidate the existing academic offerings but also be prepared to accommodate future new degrees. The goal is to replace prefabricated modules and address the structural defects of the old building.
The URV rector, Josep Pallarès, highlighted the project's strategic importance, calling it a "project for the country, territorial, for everyone." Pallarès is confident that the executive project will be ready within a year, after which costs, timelines, and funding methods among the involved administrations, such as the Generalitat and the Tarragona Provincial Council, will be defined.
The mayor of El Vendrell, Kenneth Martínez, emphasized that the new headquarters will be "strategic" for the municipality and the region. He expressed the desire to expand the academic offerings with degrees such as medicine, engineering, or automotive, showcasing the council's commitment to the healthcare sector and local industry.
Rector Pallarès noted that the expansion of degrees will depend on analyzing demand, needs, and available resources, although he cited the growth of the Terres de l'Ebre campus as an example. "The important thing is to define this future project we envision for the territorial area and identify which degrees best suit these needs," he concluded.
