About 300 students have benefited from the Connecta UB program so far
So far, about 300 students have benefited from the Connecta UB aid program, aimed at students with economic difficulties who do not have the necessary technological tools to continue with the online academic activities. The aim is to mitigate the digital gap and guarantee equal opportunities during this semester, given the suspension of face-to-face activities due to COVID-19.
So far, about 300 students have benefited from the Connecta UB aid program, aimed at students with economic difficulties who do not have the necessary technological tools to continue with the online academic activities. The aim is to mitigate the digital gap and guarantee equal opportunities during this semester, given the suspension of face-to-face activities due to COVID-19.
There are three categories in the program: the temporary loan of a laptop, basic Internet access, and both options together.
Open call
The call for these aids will be open until being out of stock (laptops and connection). Applicants can be those students coursing official bachelor and master studies in a UB center and who provide the documentation to prove they are in a vulnerable situation as a consequence of COVID-19. Such economic vulnerability situation will be that of not exceeding the amount of family income stated in the call and be under situations like unemployed (applicant or member of the family who provided the income), ending of the main economic activity of the student or family, or illness or loss of a family member with economic effects for the applicant. Applications have to be submitted through the online form in the section of grants of the website of the University of Barcelona, which will publish the resolution once there is no more stock.
Connecta UB is open to the collaboration of companies, institutions and privates who wish to contribute, through sponsorship, to the extension of the grants (bank account: ES17 2100 3642 1722 0016 2234; subject: “Programa Connecta UB”). This program has been funded with the fund Supera COVID-19 launched by the Santander Bank in April together with CRUE Spanish Universities and CSIC. This fund allocated 8.5 million euros to fund projects and support measures in order to reduce the impact of the crisis caused by the pandemic. It is focused in three lines of action: research, social impact projects and reinforcement of technological capacities of Spanish universities.