The ETSII Museum opens its doors after six years of work

Ramon Machuca

The event began at 9:30 and after a few words of welcome from the rector of the University, Javier Ramos, the curator of the museum, Ángel Serrano, took the floor.

In his speech, Serrano highlighted the long journey of the project, from the informal collection of computers by the professor and vice-rector for Transformation, Digital Education and Artificial Intelligence, César Cáceres, in 2013, to the consolidation of the museum in 2022. The museum curator took advantage of his speech to also recall the difficulties during the pandemic: "I spent a year and a half without setting foot in the office and, when I returned, I found a bag full of anonymous games, which turned out to be from a professor of the Video Games degree."

For his part, the director of the ETSII, Abraham Duarte, has expressed his hope that this inauguration marks the beginning of a closer collaboration with museum experts, recognizing the collective effort that has made it possible to bring this exhibition space to life. "We hope that this is only the beginning of a fantastic museum."

Finally, the rector of the Rey Juan Carlos University has underlined the social and cultural impact of computing and video games: "The history of the human revolution is the history of technology. This collection not only pays tribute to computing, but also helps us understand how our society has evolved." Ramos has also highlighted the commitment of the URJC to digital transformation and the importance of inspiring new generations through initiatives such as the Project 'PowerU'.

Following the speeches, the attendees took part in a guided tour of the museum's eight thematic display cases. Due to the large number of visitors, two groups were organised, one led by the curator Ángel Serrano and the other by the museum's intern, Alejandro Vargas.