Néstor Echedey Bosch Guerra, member of the BIOCON group, and Arturo Montesdeoca Suárez, of the TOTMA group, are two of the five winners in the category of ‘young researchers’, obtaining the highest accumulated score in the branches of Sciences and Social and Legal Sciences, respectively.
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) has recognised the research talent of two young researchers from the ECOAQUA University Institute directed by Ricardo Haroun. They are Néstor Echedey Bosch Guerra, in the branch of Sciences, and Arturo Montesdeoca Suárez, in the branch of Social and Legal Sciences.
Bosch Guerra, a member of ECOAQUA's Biodiversity and Conservation group (BIOCON), directed by Fernando Tuya, and Montesdeoca Suárez, a member of the Tourism, Territorial Planning and Environment (TOTMA) research group, directed by Inmaculada González Cabrera, received these awards in a ceremony held in the auditorium of the academic institution, chaired by the rector of the ULPGC, Lluís Serra Majem, in which these awards were presented in the category of ‘young researchers’, as well as in two other categories: ‘research career’ and ‘recognised research groups’, which are awarded by the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Transfer and Entrepreneurship.
ECOAQUA researchers Néstor Echedey Bosch Guerra and Arturo Montesdeoca Suárez, on the left of the image, together with the Vice-Rector for Research, Transfer and Entrepreneurship of the ULPGC, Sebastián López Suárez, the Rector of the ULPGC, Lluís Serra, and the rest of the award winners.
As every year, the young researcher awards are given to five researchers, one for each branch of knowledge, non-civil servants, with a full-time contractual relationship with the ULPGC, under 35 years of age and with the highest accumulated score in each of the branches of knowledge in terms of research productivity.
In his closing speech, Rector Lluís Serra stressed the importance of combining teaching and research as the essence of university excellence. In this sense, he said that ‘university excellence today requires this convergence. It requires thinking as a network, in ecosystems where the chair is not far from the laboratory, nor the classroom from society’.
In this respect, Serra indicated that the ULPGC ‘wants to decisively reinforce a strategic vision: to reward excellence that unites, not that which divides. To stimulate collaboration between research groups and teaching departments. To give visibility to those who research with a pedagogical vocation and teach with scientific curiosity. That it serves the community as a whole’.
Lines of research
Néstor Echedey Bosch Guerra holds a PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of Western Australia. His research focuses on understanding the role of fish in the functioning of marine ecosystems, from local to global scales. Part of his research is conducted in the context of global change, to understand how anthropogenic impacts such as climate change and fisheries alter processes that underpin the functioning of marine ecosystems and the generation of associated ecosystem services. His current academic position is that of postdoctoral researcher in the framework of the Juan de La Cierva competitive programme.
Researcher Néstor Echedey Bosch Guerra.
Arturo Montesdeoca Suárez, who, at the event, spoke on behalf of the award winners in the category of ‘young researchers’, teaches in the area of Labour and Social Security Law. His line of research focuses on topics such as the adaptation of data protection regulations in the field of employment in relation to the introduction of new technologies in labour relations; the impact of technology on health and safety in teleworking; as well as the digital gender gap in terms of the labour market insertion of women in the STEM sector.
The researcher Arturo Montesdeoca Suárez.
At the same event, the ULPGC Vice-Rector's Office for Degrees and Academic Quality also awarded the new prize to the lecturers who have received the highest marks in the satisfaction surveys carried out by their students. Currently, the ULPGC, in its aim to ensure the quality of its teaching, evaluates the teaching work of some 1,800 professors each year, through more than 50,000 surveys among its students.
More information:
https://www.ulpgc.es/noticia/2025/05/08/ulpgc-reconoce-talento-su-personal-investigador-y-excelencia-docente-sus