Two new buildings for faculty of health sciences coming to Ronda

The future faculty of health sciences in Ronda is beginning to take shape. On Wednesday, Ronda town council presented the preliminary design for this facility, whose primary objective will be to increase the range of higher education study options within the town without the need for students to move to Malaga or further afield. Mayor of this Malaga town, Mari Paz Fernández, explained some details of this new university-level resource, which will be located in part of the town's former hospital complex after receiving approval from the Junta de Andalucía (the entity that ceded the land). The investment for the makeover will exceed three million euros and the complex will consist of two buildings covering more than 4,000 square metres.

It is worth noting that this preliminary design is the result of a collaboration between the municipal planning technicians, the University of Malaga (UMA) and the company contracted to draft it. All of these efforts have been coordinated by Ronda's municipal department for higher education, whose main mission is that the complex meets all necessary requirements in various areas: the actual architecture, the services provided, the spaces designed for teaching and learning and other legally mandated aspects.

The document also details the exact location of the project. In this case, the outpatient clinics of the former hospital will be the chosen site for the new faculty building, located next to the laundry area and landscaped gardens. According to the town hall, a total of 4,200 square metres will be refurbished, with the intention of creating the main faculty building (from the former outpatient clinics) and also an annexe (from the laundry facility).

The main building will be organised around a large courtyard enclosed in glass, which will serve as a rest area, featuring pergolas on the outside. It will have three floors, with the third floor housing seven classrooms (four for large groups and three for seminars), as well as laboratories, a cafeteria, restrooms, storerooms and offices. The annexe building will have two floors and will house complementary services such as faculty administration and a library.

The complex will also include spaces for meetings and tech support, such as a boardroom, a computer lab and a lecture hall. In total, adding the main building (3,467.73 m²) and the administrative building (743.48 m²), Ronda's new faculty of health sciences will exceed 4,000 square metres of floor space. Also, Ronda council intends to create a university campus around these two buildings. The renovated outdoor area will add another 912 square metres, including a large entry porch to the admin building.

The total investment will be 3.2 million euros and the aim is for other organisations to participate in this initiative by contributing to the project's financing. One of these will be Malaga's provincial authority (the Diputación), with which Ronda's mayor has confirmed an agreement has been reached to part-finance the project. The idea is that this infrastructure will expand study opportunities, not only for young people in the Serranía de Ronda area, but also for the entire province of Malaga, especially for degrees in physiotherapy and nursing.

Hence the Diputación's interest in participating in this project with its "firm and unequivocal" support. The renovation work will require clearing out the existing furnishings, fixtures and fittings from these spaces, which include medical equipment, demolishing partition walls and carrying out load tests and more on the existing structures. In short, stated the mayor, it is a question of adapting the facilities to the needs of a modern-day faculty of health sciences, a space that is in good condition, despite dating back to 1976.

Another important aspect highlighted by Fernández is that this new faculty will be open to offering new degree programmes in the future, with the aim of continuing to increase training and educational opportunities for young people from Ronda, the surrounding area and from beyond. The project aims to encourage more students to choose to study in the town, with all the academic, economic and social development positives that this could bring to the area.

The mayor concluded by announcing that this new educational space could be operational by 2027. With this initiative, Ronda will consolidate its position as an educational leader in the fields of healthcare and higher education, offering its young people more educational opportunities without having to travel beyond the local area.