- The president enumerates in the national forum Wake Up Spain the cutting-edge technologies that the Junta is already implementing in the fields of healthcare, education, social services, and transportation to improve the quality of life for people
- In contrast to the intention to tighten regulations for private universities, he praises the academic system and highlights that public universities have gained a 7% increase in students in this legislature with the support of regional policies
- To support the productive sectors of Castilla y León in the face of international commercial situations, the regional government has today approved a plan with different lines of aid to promote the internationalization of businesses
April 3, 2025
Castilla y León | President of the Junta de Castilla y León
The President of the Junta de Castilla y León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, has participated today in Madrid at the Wake Up Spain Forum, organized by ‘El Español’, where he highlighted the leadership of the Community in quality public services, modern and supported by the most advanced technologies.
During his speech, Fernández Mañueco pointed out that the public services of Castilla y León are a reference in Spain. In fact, he highlighted the quality and good functioning of the educational system of the Community which, in turn, has the best education in the national context and one of the best in the world.
He also expressed his support for university autonomy and the essential role that these academic institutions play in the progress of society. In this context, he recalled that the number of students in public universities has increased by 7% in Castilla y León in this legislature, largely thanks to the policies of the Junta, which advocates for a reduction in fees and an increase in scholarships.
Similarly, Castilla y León is the second community with the most capacity to attract undergraduate students and the third in master’s students; and public universities have increased their staff by nearly 600 professionals, with a 12% increase in regional funding.
In this context, Fernández Mañueco has demanded that the government of Spain allocate the necessary funds for the correct implementation of the new Organic Law of the University System (LOSU). Also in the educational field, the President of the Junta pointed out that all centers in Castilla y León are connected, and the process of digitizing classrooms will be completed by 2026.
On the other hand, the regional government has opted for an intelligent public transportation system, with technological improvements in booking and payment, real-time information on routes and services, as well as digital equipment in stations, buses, marquees, and stops.
In healthcare, the Community has more than twice the number of high-tech equipment per inhabitant compared to the national average, and has implemented robotic surgery in the eleven health areas of the nine provinces, as well as advancing in the incorporation of specific robots for traumatology. Artificial intelligence and Big Data are already being used in processes such as imaging diagnostics, pathological anatomy, or pharmacological prescribing.
On the other hand, technologies such as HIFU, applied to essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, are already allowing the elimination of disabling symptoms without surgery. Likewise, the use of pediatric exoskeletons is improving the rehabilitation of children with neuromotor pathologies.
Within this field, Castilla y León also hosts the second most powerful supercomputer in Spain, Caléndula, which allows for faster research, improving early disease detection, and increasing the effectiveness of treatments. Fernández Mañueco pointed out that the use of these technologies allows for the development of a more precise and humane healthcare system, capable of transforming the lives of people with chronic or complex diseases.
Additionally, the regional government is promoting Precision Personalized Medicine, with the first massive full genome sequencer for healthcare use in Spain, located at the Hospital de Salamanca, and others installed in Burgos, Valladolid, and León. Castilla y León is also advancing in the early diagnosis of rare diseases, CAR-T therapies, and has one of the main Cellular Therapy Units in the country. All of this is complemented by the renewal of the fleet of emergency services to exceed 200 ambulances and six new medicalized helicopters, reaching ten, one per province and one more in El Bierzo. In this way, Castilla y León will have the most extensive emergency vehicle fleet in Spain.
In Social Services, the Junta is implementing social robots in residential centers, all of which are also equipped with Advanced Teleassistance stations. Similarly, innovative solutions such as intelligent walkers to prevent falls and a model of free advanced teleassistance, which includes personalized emergency care, medication monitoring, and geolocation for disorientation, among other services, are being developed.
Support for productive sectors in foreign sales
Fernández Mañueco has taken advantage of this forum to reaffirm his support for the economic and productive sectors of the Community in the face of the international situation and in response to the tariff measures announced by the United States.
In this sense, he recalled that Castilla y León is the community that has grown the most in foreign sales and reaffirmed the Junta’s commitment to businesses and workers. As proof of this, the Government Council approved this morning a comprehensive strategy, which includes different lines of export financing; support for companies to open up to new markets, energy efficiency aids; reinforcement of the external network; streamlining of procedures; and promotional measures, especially for the agri-food and automotive sectors, among other issues.