The taking into effect at the beginning of the current
year of the Organic Law of Universities (LOU) has caused in depth changes
in the field of scientific and technical university research. The new
legal text defines as university’s core objectives the development of
scientific and artistic research, the formation of researchers and the
focus on basic and applied research (Art. 39.3). In this way, the research is conceived as a core function of the university institution that should satisfy three priorities: to provide the foundations for teaching, to allow the progress of society, and to secure the transfer of knowledge.