Chairs and University-Company lecture halls are instruments used to establish long term agreements between the university and one or various companies or public or private institutions in one or various fields of knowledge, for the carrying out of teaching, research, or cultural activities or any other activity of mutual interest to the parties, under the framework of the competences and objectives of the University of Castilla-La Mancha. These instruments are considered to be activities of patronage, regulated by Law 49/2002 of the 23rd of December on the tax system for non-profit organizations and tax incentives for patronage.
All the parties may benefit from such collaborations. The university benefits because it can make available to students experience which will enable them to have greater knowledge of the business world through training activities, participation in research and development projects, technical conferences, etc. Moreover, the university teaching and research staff may benefit from this collaboration, by mean of in-service training activities in company buildings on any specific issue, research work, training activities, etc.
An outstanding benefit for the company is its connection to the research and knowledge hub of the university, as well as the opportunity to undertake strategic projects, thereby improving the bond between knowledge and the social and economic environment.
Although they share the same objectives, there are some differences between chairs and University-Company lecture rooms, such as the minimum financial contribution needed to establish them, which amounts to 40,000 euros a year in the case of chairs and 10,000 euros for lecture rooms. The duration of each instrument also varies with a chair requiring at least three extendable years, while lecture halls require only one year.
How to establish a lecture room or a UCLM-Company chair?
- The creation of a chair or UCLM lecture room may be the initiative of any lecturer or university researcher or any of its governing institutions, as well as the external companies or institutions themselves that wish to collaborate in this way with the university.
- The proposal to create a chair or lecture room will be presented to the vice-chancellor, to whom authority in this matter is delegated. They will study the proposal and draw up a report for the chancellor who will, in turn, formalize the creation of a chair or lecture hall by signing the appropriate agreement. In this sense, you may wish to refer to Law 49/2002, of December 23, on the tax system for non-profit organizations and tax incentives for patronage.
- The vice-chancellor, who is entrusted with authority in these matters, will take on the duties of coordination and supervision to ensure the objectives of the chairs or lecture rooms are fulfilled.