The University has no age: 19 years of dating knowledge and friendship

This curriculum has been offered by the Senior Program since 2003, in exchange for only two requirements: to be over 50 and to have the desire to continue training. It was in that first edition that Elisa decided to apply. After studying law and journalism at the University many years earlier, she returned to the classroom with the same enthusiasm as then. "I don't remember how I heard about it, but the sessions they offered seemed interesting. I was going to retire as a lawyer and could finally have some free time, so I didn't hesitate."

Like her, a total of 1558 people have enrolled in the Program since that year, in its 23 editions. Elisa Viscarret has participated in 18 of them; 19 if we count the current one, which has just opened. And she affirms that, as long as God gives her health, her intention is to continue attending, because " knowledge , or rather lack of knowledge, is infinite, and the more you know about something, the more you are interested in delving into it". For this reason, he emphasizes that the Senior program opens new doors to knowledge: "There is always something to learn, and in my case, it provides me with knowledge in subjects I had not been able to delve into before," because when you study a degree program, even two in his case, "you specialize in something very specific. 

His favorite classes are those related to geopolitics, music, literature, history, cinema, painting and medical advances... although he finds almost all of them interesting: "It's a real joy to have someone who knows much more than you do about a topic explain it to you," he stresses.

The Senior teachers are university professors or professionals specialized in each subject and the classes, explains Elisa, are "similar to those usually taught at the university, with questions in some cases and in others with contributions from the students that demonstrate their previous knowledge on the topic in question". With another positive point: it is not necessary to take notes! "Some people do, but I am not very fond of it, because the sessions can also be followed by zoom and are recorded so that they can be viewed at any time".

Friendship, a subject that takes place outside the classroom

The Senior Program also offers students extracurricular activities, such as cultural visits and excursions. And the end-of-course trips, which Elisa says are "a real plus". "I am especially remembering the ones we did to the Holy Land and Jordan, as well as the one to Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were very enriching, especially at this time of year, when it was so difficult to visit them".

However, if she had to keep one thing from all she has experienced during these years, she is clear about it: her classmates. "Coming back to the University has allowed me to meet new people and make very good friends". A subject, friendship, which is not only enjoyed on Tuesdays and Thursdays in classroom 35, but also outside it: "There is a great atmosphere among students, and after class, various plans arise: snacks, birthdays, juevintxos ...".

In the final, Elisa encourages anyone with free time to enroll and give it a try. "Most of us are retirees from our respective professions, with interests in fields other than those in which we have worked, but there is no need for specific training ," she stresses. Even so, the rate of "repeaters" is very high because every year the program is different and the teachers and subjects change. Also because in the Senior program there are no exams or grades, no passing or failing grades. Only interest is a grade. And if there were, what grade would Elisa get, "She's making good progress, as they say now," she says with a smile.