The agreement, which calls for Santander to maintain its financial contribution, promotes education, employability and entrepreneurship, as well as services to the university community through the University of Oviedo's mobile app.

Madrid, 9 June 2020.
The rector of the University of Oviedo, Santiago García Granda, and the chairman of Santander Universities, Matías Rodríguez Iciarte, chaired a telematic meeting at which the most current issues affecting the Spanish university system and the prospects for the immediate future, in addition to aspects related to the new agreement between the two institutions, were reviewed. 

The meeting was attended by University of Oviedo administrator Ana Caro; its coordination and strategy officer, Xabiel García; the vice-rector of research, José Ramón Obeso; the head of Santander Universities and Universia Spain, Susana García Espinel; and the regional head of Banco Santander for Asturias and Cantabria, Manuel Iturbe Robles. The attendees examined the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic along with its social, health and educational impact and the plan for phasing out the lockdown restrictions as well as the university's position on research, internationalisation, digital transformation and teleworking, among other issues. 

The new agreement broadens the collaboration framework that the institutions have had in place since 2005, which was strengthened in 2010 as part of the Campus of International Excellence, Ad Futurum Project, of the University of Oviedo. 

This collaboration between the university and Santander, with €600,000 in annual funding, is underpinned by three elements – education, employability and entrepreneurship – and it will promote initiatives including projects relating to the quality of teaching, excellence in research, the transfer of research findings, and access to ongoing training programmes, as well as the development of the university's mobile app with various useful services for the university community.

Banco Santander and its support for higher education
Banco Santander is firmly committed to progress and to inclusive and sustainable growth through its unstinting efforts in favour of higher education, which set it apart from other financial institutions around the world. With more than €1.8 billion earmarked for academic initiatives since 2002 through Santander Universities and more than 430,000 university scholarships and grants awarded since 2005, it has been recognised as the company that invests the most in education worldwide (Varkey Report / UNESCO / Fortune 500). In addition, Santander has agreements with 1,000 universities and institutions in 22 countries.