This morning was held the Welcomeworkshop of the School of Sciences which was attended by students who are beginning their first year of Degree. The Dean of the School, Luis Montuenga, welcomed all the attendees and stressed the importance of this university stage for the integral maturity of the students. "Our goal is that you mature and become first class professionals and very good people".

The Dean insisted that students have to be the protagonists of their own training and stressed the importance of learning in the process of university life. "You are at home, School is not a place where you come to study. We want there to be a very good study environment, work, and that you are very comfortable."

Academic-professional counseling , establishing good habits, perseverance, mutual coexistence , personalizedtraining and the teacher-student relationship are other topics highlighted by Dean. "Don't have any problem to go to the professors, ask for financial aid and establish contacts with them. The teacher-student relationship is not hierarchical, not distant, but very close."

On the other hand, Ana Rouzaut, Vice-Dean of Students, appealed for determination and effort during the Degree and drew on the success stories of alumni from School. Rouzaut also gave practical advice, recommendations and good habits to students for a good start to the course, and stressed the academic aspects, adaptation to the study method and integration both at class and at the University.

Also participating in the workshop were José Ramón Isasi and Arantzxa Zornoza, Cristina Martínez Ohárriz, course coordinators, and Cristina Martínez Cabañas, manager of Career Services. During the workshop the students were introduced to Core Curriculum and Library Services.

Diverse national and international backgrounds

Of the 229 new students, 165 come from Spain and 63 from other countries. In Spain, the origins are varied: Navarra, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid, Asturias, Guipuzcoa, Girona, Alava, Seville, Cantabria, Balearic Islands, Vizcaya, Tarragona, Almeria, Ourense, A Coruña, La Rioja, Huelva, Salamanca, Huesca, Valencia, Burgos, Jaen, Pontevedra and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The origin of international students is as follows: Hungary, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ireland, France, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Luxembourg, Venezuela, Honduras, Philippines, Chile, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Russia, Panama, Mauritania, Bolivia, Kenya, Uruguay, Dominican Republic.

Degrees SchoolThe students of this graduating class are distributed as follows: Biochemistry (108), Biology (57), Chemistry (16), Environmental Sciences (12), Biology + Environmental Sciences (18), and Chemistry + Biochemistry (18). Of the total number of students, 56 are in the International Science Program and 34 in the Science and Business Program.