Social Impact

What does CSR mean to us?

At Universidad Europea, we firmly believe in the importance of education to individuals and society. That’s why we maintain a strong commitment to the communities where we are present in order to ensure our University continues to have a positive impact. What’s more, we are united in our mission of helping our entire university community—from students and alumni to professors and professionals—to develop skills that will empower them to become generators of social change.

Our mission: “To provide our students with a holistic education and shape leaders and professionals who are prepared to respond to the demands of a global world. In addition, we aim to empower our students to add value to their professional fields and contribute to social progress with their entrepreneurial spirit and ethical values.”

Curricular sustainability

Curricular sustainability represents Universidad Europea’s commitment to our students’ holistic education. Its aim is to build a more equitable society for the benefit of the common good.  For this reason, our institution integrates values and sustainability education into each degree. These elements are not represented as independent subjects, but are incorporated into each programme through a multi-disciplinary approach.

Values such as entrepreneurship, leadership and teamwork are promoted in the classroom via the sustainability curriculum and cross-disciplinary subjects, which align with our commitment to shaping professionals capable of responding to social and environmental needs. The objective is to train global professionals who are aware of and able to understand how their actions interact with society. We aim to encourage our students to apply their knowledge in accordance with ethical and deontological principles, in order to redirect society towards more sustainable development.

Volunteering

In line with our mission, we maintain a firm commitment to social progress through education using our community’s talent and the positive impact it generates in society.

Without a doubt, volunteering is a transformative experience. It molds us to become more complete professionals and strengthens our ethical conscience and individual social responsibility, as well as boosting our capacity to generate a positive impact.

Discover volunteer initiatives

National volunteering

Universidad Europea offers students, employees, professors and alumni volunteer opportunities with a range of NGOs that meet our quality and commitment requirements. We work with a variety of organisations in the different areas where our University is present, namely Valencia, the Canary Islands and Madrid.

We have volunteered with a variety of organisations including: Manos de Ayuda Social, the Ronald McDonald House, the Food Bank, and the Spanish Association Against Cancer.

International Volunteering

Every year, the Universidad Europea Foundation launches international cooperation micro-projects.  Alongside NGOs and associations from developing countries, teachers and students collaborate on specific projects related to their area of study or knowledge.

The objectives of the initiative are to improve and promote intercultural exchange, communication and coexistence, as well as to develop cross-functional competencies such as teamwork, responsibility, critical thinking, initiative and awareness of ethical values.

Since 2013, almost 200 people have participated in these projects in countries such as Tanzania, Ethiopia, Senegal, Guatemala, Morocco, India, Nicaragua, Madagascar and Nepal.

Social Entrepreneurship

Since 2008, the Universidad Europea Foundation has organized the Young Social Entrepreneurs Awards (the JES Awards), aimed at young people between the ages of 18 and 29. Besides the €3,000 prize awarded to each of the ceremony’s 10 winners, the JES Awards offer a combination of three key factors that are fundamental in ensuring social entrepreneurship is sustainable and achieves long-term benefits: training, a support network, and visibility.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Young Social Entrepreneurs Awards, the Universidad Europea Foundation produced the documentary, Inspired. Small stories that change everything, which focuses on the daily life of three projects born out of the JES Programme. This is the first documentary film on social entrepreneurship created by a university in Spain.

Find out more about social entrepreneurship.

Social awareness campaigns

Throughout the year, Universidad Europea carries out a range of campaigns to collect clothes, food, hygiene products and other essential items for at risk groups. In addition, the University raises awareness of diseases and underprivileged groups, and carries out a variety of other activities to raise funds for specific social projects.

Healthy campus

Universidad was the first Spanish university to certify its entire campus in accordance with the ISO 14001 environmental management requirements. Following that, in 2010, Universidad Europea reinforced its Healthy Campus policy with a series of measures that promote healthy living and respect for the environment. With this project, the University strives to promote—through training and awareness-raising—an educational environment that helps reinforce positive behaviour and attitudes among the university community. In this way, the University aims to make our institution a benchmark for commitment to improving health and quality of life.

Healthy Campus incorporates a series of measures including educational activities on nutrition, food, drug and alcohol consumption, menus based on organic salads and fruit, and smoke-free spaces throughout campus. The University also promotes sports at three levels: Leisure Sports, Interfaculty Internal Competitions and University Competition Sports.

In this line, Universidad Europea has been recognised with the Gold Level Campus certification from Exercise is Medicine On Campus, a global health initiative by the American College of Sports Medicine that aims to encourage national health systems to prescribe exercise. Gold Level Campus is the highest recognition granted by this institution, demonstrating that Universidad Europea is committed to encouraging a healthy and active society through research, encouraging medical bodies to prescribe physical exercise, and the involvement of its university community in encouraging healthy habits.

The SIGMA Project

The SIGMA (the Integrated Environmental Management System) initiative was launched in 2002 and is aimed at instilling the University community with a work philosophy that is based on environmental awareness and commitment.

SIGMA is a structured system that is fully integrated into our University’s general management. It aims to ensure the University has as positive an impact on the environment as possible, and includes: measures to prevent pollution and reduce environmental impact, waste reduction and efficient use of resources, and the periodic review of established objectives.

This Environmental Management System made Universidad Europea the first Spanish higher education institution certified according to the UNE-EN-ISO 14001:2004 standard.

For more information, contact rsc@universidadeuropea.com