The University of Granada includes three positions for people with mental illness in its teaching job offer.

The University of Granada has released a resolution under which it publishes a State Employment Proposal (OEP) for teaching staff for 2023. These are 203 positions of university professors in various educational institutions, which were approved by agreement of the governing board in May last year.

Of the total number of seats, 10% are reserved for people with disabilities (21 seats). Of this total number of vacancies for professors at the University of Granada, three meet the quota for people with mental illness. In this way, the goal set by former UGR rector Pilar Aranda in her last term regarding the policy of integration and equality is achieved. Aranda expressed his intention to find places for people with “mental disorders” at his last monastery last March. Finally he was able to fulfill his intention, and the government council in May gave the green light to the call, which is now published in August in the Official Gazette of the Junta of Andalusia (BOJA).

Mental health was present during the last year of Aranda’s tenure as head of the UGR rector’s office. In fact, the master plan of the institution includes conducting research on this issue among members of the university community, in particular, among the student body. The Ministry of Universities and the Ministry of Health recently released the results of the first report on the mental health of university students, stating that only a “minority” of students seek professional help.

UGR is now taking another step towards inclusiveness by including in its public offer of teaching staff three places for persons with mental health conditions in the OEP. Other universities such as the University of Córdoba (UCO) have recently included this type of special quota.

As part of the UGR call, the application has established a total of fifteen places for professors, another five for professors reserved for people with intellectual disabilities, and three more places also for professors under the quota for people with mental illness, which will make up the total number of positions, reserved for teachers with these disorders. These places are intended to “allow the promotion of teaching and research personnel” of the UGR who already have the necessary accreditation to be a professor.

In addition to these 23 professorial positions, 58 full-time positions have been appointed, five more for people who have completed the Ramón y Cajal program and have an I3 certificate, and two more for those associated with the Andalusian public health system. These positions, along with those of professors, are reserved for civil servants.

On the other hand, the document supplements the proposal with places for permanently hired staff. There are 84 full-time professor positions, nine more full-time positions for those who have completed the Ramón y Cajal program and hold an I3 certificate, thirteen positions for people with disabilities, and nine for teachers associated with the health system.

Goal, rejuvenate the squad

One of the goals of the University of Granada in the short and medium term is to promote generational renewal among the teaching staff, which numbers about 3500 people. The median age is expected to be reduced to 51.2 years from around 54 years after the worst years due to cuts from the 2012 crisis. In this generational betting line, UGR has set this parameter as one of its “priorities” in setting guidelines for the preparation of its next university budgets for fiscal year 2024.

Market Commitment to Mental Health

Pedro Mercado, rector of UGR, presented various mental health-related measures as campaign commitments. As such, his program announced the creation of “an observatory of mental and emotional health with a special focus on student body.” In addition, he pledged to strengthen already existing medical and psycho-educational services “to offer help, attention and guidance in person, by phone or virtually, coordinating all initiatives related to mental, sexual and affective-sexual health, drug use or addiction. gambling or social networks.

In addition to these measures, the Professor of Philosophy of Law, and now Rector, envisioned a campaign to “increase and improve mental health outreach activities”, that is, talks, seminars, programs, events, online resources, etc., “aimed at improve well-being and reduce stress. In addition, he announces that he will create spaces for “active listening”. He included in his program the launch of a phone for “psychological emergency with a special focus on suicide prevention.”

Regarding the mental health clinic, Mercado promised that it would have “its own scholarships for students who can solve a mental health problem” and that it will include the identification and monitoring of “mental illnesses in work examinations to provide, care for and prevent conditions caused by the results of the work,” is an appeal addressed to the staff of the university.

Student Mental Health

A survey of the mental health of university students by the Ministry of Health and Universities found that one in two respondents reported anxiety and one in five suffered from insomnia. In addition, one in two had depressive symptoms, and one in five had suicidal thoughts.