It has 30 places available and will be managed jointly by the university and the Municipality of Cañada de Gómez.

La Universidad Nacional de Rosario and the Municipality of Cañada de Gómez opened a new residence for university students, an unprecedented experience that unites for the first time the efforts of a municipality with the Public University to guarantee a place to live in Rosario for those who come to study.

The rector Franco Bartolacci and the Mayor of Cañada de Gomez, Matias Chale, were present during the event. The new residence is located at Tucumán 2257, has 30 places available and will be managed jointly by the university and the municipality. In addition, the Mayor of El Trébol, Natalia Sánchez, participated, since this town will also have students who will live in this space.

“We are in a complicated year in budgetary terms, a really critical situation, receiving operating expenses at January 2023 values, which creates a huge amount of difficulties for us. In between, we continue doing things like this and generating new projects. We have a firm conviction of the strategic role that the Public University plays, and that is why we are going to continue cooperating and seeking strategic alliances to be able to meet that objective,” explained Rector Bartolacci. 

In turn, he announced that other municipalities and communes have already contacted the UNR to be able to replicate this model. “We are working with the Government of the Province of Santa Fe to see if we can add a common residence for students from across our province,” he stated and added: “This is the first time that there has been such a sharp increase in the number of students entering from year to year, and this is largely due to the incorporation of new careers and training paths that the University has been adding in recent times. The challenge is to sustain that, and continue making all UNR resources available so that no one has to leave their studies.”

This new space represents the second residence of the UNR and has 12 rooms each with its private bathroom on two floors, it has a kitchen and dining room for shared use plus a service bathroom, living/study room, laundry area, and in Upstairs two exclusive terraces. The selection for student admission will be made jointly between the Municipality of Cañada de Gómez and the UNR student residence program.

“We held a meeting with the University and we quickly came to an agreement. I knew the pension that Cañada had previously and it was not a decent place to live, that's why we decided that it was necessary to do something together with the UNR. I want to highlight the efforts of the University to get this residency up and running in such a short time,” said Matias Chale.  

Furthermore, the Mayor of Cañada de Gómez highlighted that this is only one of the first projects that are being planned together with the University, and that the idea is to deepen this relationship. “I want to tell the new students to take advantage of the opportunity, to know that it is a very important experience for life, that it is not only being able to study but also entering what university life is like. That is why, for us, it is so important to generate community, form citizenship and values, in short, form people. "We are going to do many more projects together because we believe that education is the way out."

This second property is added to the University Residences program, which began the experience in 2022 with the residence located at Santa Fe 1470, which has a common study space on the ground floor and another common study space on the mezzanine for residents, with 36 rooms for shared use.

On this occasion, students from the town of El Trébol will also join this residence, based on an agreement that was signed with the University and Cañada de Gómez. “When I had to be at this moment, it was very difficult for me, it was all uphill. Today there is a much greater commitment from the university and local governments. Young people have a lot to do and we want to help them on this path. That's why, when I found out about this residency, I quickly called Franco and Matías to tell them that we were very interested in participating and being able to add from our side," said the Mayor of El Trébol, Natalia Sánchez.

For her part, the President of the Rosario University Federation, Flor del Alba Cruz, thanked the authorities for managing this new space and working for access to decent housing that allows each of the students to study and develop their academic project. the students. “University life is a transformation that we make as people, with a value as important as education. "We are going to support the existence of more policies of this type in order to guarantee the entry and permanence of students at the University."

Gustavo Simonetta, Secretary of University Welfare of the UNR, welcomed the new students who will live in the Residence and explained that the idea is to be able to multiply opportunities so that more people can access to study a university degree. “The only way to do it is together and we will continue working so that these initiatives continue to occur. The Universidad Nacional de Rosario "continues to work to be able to add new spaces during 2024, with the aim of being able to promote access and permanence of those who carry out their studies at the institution, and to continue working on expanding rights for students."

Journalist: Gonzalo J. García/ Photographer: Camila Casero