José Manuel Colmenar, new director of the ETSII

Raul Garcia Hemonnet

Following Abraham Duarte's victory in the rector elections held a couple of months ago, he had to resign from his position as director of the ETSII.

Since the position became vacant, an election was held with a single candidate, who was elected unanimously (with no blank or spoiled votes). This was José Manuel Colmenar, University Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.

According to Eduardo García Pardo, the School's academic secretary, the new director "presents a project of continuity with the same management team, unlike one person." Professor García Pardo is sadly referring to Professor María Eugenia Castellanos, former Deputy Director of Research and International Relations at the ETSII, who recently passed away after a serious illness. Professor Castellanos, who remains in the memory of all her colleagues, will be replaced on the management team by Professor Jesús Sánchez Oro.

The new director focuses his mandate on several key objectives, such as adapting the degrees to the new Royal Decree 822/2021, improving the ETSII's graduation rates by encouraging students to start working in companies once they complete their degree (companies often take students earlier and have to finish later), and continuing collaborations with other schools and faculties at the university.

On the other hand, the school is growing, and the new director intends, thanks to the new infrastructure, to centralize the presence of ETSII teachers in a single building, on the Móstoles campus.