UCAM hosted the constituent act of the Scientific Committee of the International Thermalism Conference, to be held in Archena on 21 and 22 November, this morning. According to Patricia Fernández, Mayoress of Archena, during the presentation, the UCAM will chair the Scientific Committee, providing ‘academic precision and will ensure that the contents of the Conference are supported by cutting-edge research and good scientific practices’.

Titled Archena, 2500 years of health and wellness, this conference aims to encourage academic and professional exchange in the field of thermalism, promoting research and highlighting its importance as an essential resource for tourism, health and wellness. UCAM will therefore scientifically support this event in a interdisciplinary approach through areas such as medicine, physiotherapy, and nutrition, as well as tourism and business management. María Dolores García, UCAM President, highlighted the benefits of thermalism, ‘which requires research’ as a reference to acknowledge its properties; emphasising the importance of university-business relations in order to directly transfer scientific advances to society.

Archena and Thermalism

Archena is closely related to thermalism, as ‘not only it is everything for Archena, our economic and touristic flagship, but also for the Region of Murcia and for Spain. This is the third consecutive year that the Archena Spa has been awarded as the best in Spain’, said Patricia Fernández, who also had a few words of remembrance for the founder of the University, José Luis Mendoza, during her speech.

The conference will be attended by experts in the field, including the medical director of the Balneario de Archena, María del Carmen Valenzuela, and researchers from the Universidad Católica de Murcia. ‘It is very appropriate to lend a scientific dimension to this conference. At UCAM we have the disciplines that are linked to the use of these thermal waters, such as health, tourism and economics’, said Estrella Núñez, UCAM Vice-Rector of Research, who was also present at the event along with the heads of the faculties of Medicine; Economics and Business; Pharmacy and Nutrition; Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Occupational Therapy; Nursing; Sport, and the International Chair of Medical Hydrology and Hydrotherapy. Students from the last years of related degrees will also participate in this event, ‘for them to realise that thermalism can be an important professional opportunity’, added Estrella Núñez.