The Ministry of Universities grants an FPU scholarship to Laura Villa

The doctoral student Laura Villa for the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), belonging to the research group MAmI (Modelling Ambient Intelligence) from the Higher School of Informatics, has obtained one of the 24 national scholarships for University Teacher Training (FPU), awarded by the Ministry of Universities, in the area of ​​Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), standing out in fourth place.

FPU scholarships

The University Teacher Training scholarships (FPU) are initiatives of the Spanish Ministry of Universities, intended to finance the doctoral training of researchers, promoting the quality of scientific and technical research. These scholarships are highly competitive and are aimed at promoting the careers of promising young people in different academic fields, allowing them to concentrate on their research projects and doctoral studies. This year, 900 grants have been awarded nationwide, of which only 24 are allocated to the area of ​​Information and Communications Technologies.

Line of research by Laura Villa

Laura specializes in assistive and proactive technologies, including areas such as SmartHealth, Ambient assisted living, Assistive Technologies, Human-Robot Interaction, Conversational Agents y Affective Computing. His work focuses on improving quality of life through technology, especially for vulnerable populations such as older adults.

His thesis project, “Proactivity and Adaptivity of Socially Assistive Robots“, focuses on the development of proactive and emotionally intelligent Socially Assistive Robots (SARs). It is exploring how these robots can incorporate proactive aspects, initiate communications, express and perceive emotions, and provide assistance, thus creating a more natural, humanized and enriching experience for users. He also actively collaborates with the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Baja California, in Mexico, on projects related to the development of SARs.

Biography of Laura Villa Fernández-Arroyo

Laura, born in Manzanares, graduated in Computer Engineering from the Higher School of Informatics (UCLM) of Ciudad Real in specific Computing technology, obtaining the Extraordinary End of Degree Award. She also obtained the Award for Best TFG in the subject of Software Development and the Award for Best TFE awarded in the II Turing Machine Awards call for the preparation of her Final Degree Project, with which she began her research career. She completed the Master's Degree in Teaching Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching, also at UCLM. She is currently a researcher in the MAmI group, belonging to the Higher School of Informatics. In addition to her academic work, Laura has actively participated in organizing conferences and reviewing articles, reaffirming her commitment to the scientific community.

Interact in networks

More about Laura – Graduation Speech