The IV Alumni Gala of the UA honours 14 graduates for their international projection

The University of Alicante held the IV Alumni UA Gala this Thursday, an event where 14 graduates were honoured for their international projection. One of the most emotional moments of the gala was the presentation of the Alumni Honor 2025 recognition to Doctor of Philosophy and Letters and classical guitarist Ignacio Rodes Biosca.

The event was presided over by the rector of the University of Alicante, Amparo Navarro, and organised by the rector's delegate for Relations with Society, Ana Laguna, promoter of the Alumni UA programme and architect of an initiative that, in the words of the rector herself, "represents the accountability of these 46 years of history with the society that created it and with the generations that have made it grow."

The gala commenced with a musical performance by Duo La Sonámbula, featuring soprano Marina Román Munuera and guitarist Manuel Martínez Ariza, students from the Alicante Conservatory of Music.

In the closing, the guitar duo formed by Hayoung Lee and Sohta Nakabayashi, from the UA Guitar Master's programme, provided the artistic finale to a ceremony that combined solemnity, emotion, and institutional pride.

In this edition, the Alumni UA programme distinguished seven Illustrious Alumni for their impact in research, business, and public service: Adela Brotons García, Javier Carrión Llorens, Ignacio Gally Muñoz, María Teresa Martínez García, Vicente Pérez García, Carolina Pina García, and Diego Torrús Tendero. Each of them spoke briefly after receiving recognition from the deans of their respective faculties.

Additionally, the international dimension of the alumni community was highlighted with the presentation of the Illustrious Alumni UA Ambassadors recognitions to six graduates who are currently pursuing their professional careers outside Spain: Patricia Cubí Molla, Margarita Martínez Coves, Javier Pérez Ramírez, Víctor Rico Reche, Andrés Climent Rubio, and Aitana Sogorb Esteve, the latter connected live from London.

During her speech, Ana Laguna recalled that the Alumni UA programme is inspired by established models from universities such as Harvard, Oxford, or MIT. "We have managed to organise excellence seminars, co-supervise doctoral theses with top-level universities, promote scholarships for vulnerable students, collaborate with projects like Ángel Fitor's marine cemeteries, or host foreign universities interested in replicating our model, such as the University of Salento (Italy), which visited us this week," she explained.

Meanwhile, Rector Amparo Navarro emphasised that "the greatest contribution of the University of Alicante was, in its early years, to democratise access to higher education in the province; today, it is also a driver of excellence and prestige recognised nationally and internationally, as demonstrated by the quality of the alumni we have honoured today."