PartnersGRIAL Research Group, University of Salamanca
The Universidad de Salamanca, founded in 1218 and one of the oldest Universities in Europe, is today a modern European University, open to the culture of practically every branch of teaching. Currently, the University of Salamanca teaches first and second cycle undergraduate degrees to almost 28.000 students, in addition to nearly 3.000 students of Doctorate and Master degrees. With more than 3.000 researchers, who make up 70 Departments, 26 Faculties and Schools, 18 Institutes and other research units belonging to the social, biomedical, human, experimental and formal sciences, it stands out as one of the main public research organizations in Spain. The quality of its human resources, the size of its facilities and the range of up-to-date instruments and equipment help to guarantee the quality of a vast scientific and technological organisation at the service of society.
The University of Salamanca supports the Research and Development activities of its scientific community, public institutions and industry, by means of a set of scientific and technological consulting resources: a network of research institutes, an International Projects Office (OPI), a Technology Transfer Office (OTRI) and several Central Management Services.
Its large experience in international collaborations is documented both in the cooperation agreements in force with over 300 institutions around the world and in the participation of its researchers in several international projects, in particular under the European Programmes, where the university has acted in a wide range of profiles (coordinator, contractor, associated contractor, member, host institution, etc.).
Since 2009, the University of Salamanca has been recognised as Campus of International Excellence by the Spanish Government considering its high quality and excellence in teaching, training, researching activities and academic life. USAL is involved in this project proposal by the Research GRoup on InterAction and eLearning (GRIAL), an official and stable research group of the USAL. Directed by Francisco José García Peñalvo, Computer Science Department Professor, the group carries out researching, training and dissemination activities with a multidisciplinary profile, covering from technical to pedagogical and institutional issues applied to education in different contexts. GRIAL is also part of the University Institute of Educational Sciences (IUCE).
GRIAL research trajectory in recent years ranges from areas of purely technical study of Information Technology to the development of teaching methods and models in the field of online learning internationally recognized and rewarded. In addition to other academical tasks, GRIAL activities cover the development of a large number of research projects, both national and international.