The UIB will begin the 2026-2027 academic year with more than 11,000 students and a 7.5 MW energy self-consumption project

PalmaThe University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) will begin the 2026-2027 academic year this Monday, during which it will have about 11,000 undergraduate students and the launch of its energy self-consumption project with a maximum installed power peak of 7.5 MW.

The rector of the UIB, Jaume Carot, held a press conference this Friday on the occasion of the start of the academic year, in which he welcomed the 3,500 new students. This year, he explained, it opens with two new degrees, which are the double degree in Mathematics and Physics and the degree in Marine Sciences.

On the other hand, the degree in Agri-food Science Engineering will replace the degree in Agri-food and Rural Environment Engineering. Likewise, the offer includes the master's degrees in Studies and Management of Terrestrial Ecosystems facing Global Change and the Erasmus Mundus in Health Promotion and Well-being throughout Life, in collaboration with a Portuguese and a Serbian university.

In total, for this academic year, the UIB offers 60 degrees –nine of which are double degrees–, 40 official master's degrees, 26 doctoral programs, and 39 proprietary titles. Even so, the UIB and the Ministry of Education and Universities have assured that they have their "commitment" to expand the training offer with a view to future courses. In this sense, for the next academic year, the implementation of the degrees in Architecture and Mechanical Engineering is planned.

In parallel, progress is being made in the launch of the degree in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), aimed at training future teachers in these areas, and the double degree in Catalan Language and English Language.

At the inaugural act of the academic year, the inaugural lecture will be given by the Doctor of History Miquel Deyà, who will speak about the limits of State power in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the Gold Medal will be awarded to the president of the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB), Carlos Gómez.

Self-consumption project

Regarding the self-consumption project, the 7.5 MW will allow for the generation of more than 100% of the energy consumed on campus, which is expected to achieve an annual saving of almost 1.2 million euros on the electricity bill and avoid the emission of 3,213 tons of CO₂ each year, an amount equivalent to the CO₂ captured by 16,000 trees.

The rehabilitation works of the Ramon Llull and Mateu Orfila i Rotger buildings have also been completed, and the renovation of the exterior and interior lighting of the campus has been finished.

During this academic year, it is expected that other actions will be completed that will make the energy transformation of the campus possible, including a fifth-generation high-efficiency thermal plant, which will provide climate control to the campus buildings.

To this must be added the deployment of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), which will act as the brain of the new campus energy infrastructure and will allow for the intelligent control and management of all energy generation and storage facilities, in addition to ensuring that all resources (photovoltaic generation, batteries, and thermal network) work in a coordinated manner.

This project, designed entirely at the UIB, turns the campus into an intelligent model of energy management that is scalable and exportable for environments such as technology parks, industrial estates, hotel complexes, and small urban centers.

On the other hand, this academic year it is expected that construction work will begin on the new Science building on campus. Once completed, the new building will allow for the evacuation of the oldest part of the Mateu Orfila i Rotger building to renovate it comprehensively.

The UIB also begins the academic year with the Balearic Islands Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence Center (BSAI) and its supercomputer, Talaia, in full operation.