It’s back to school season, and, like every year, Queen Letizia kickstarted the new academic year by visiting the Doctor José Zapatero Domínguez Institute. 

Her Majesty arrived in the small Cantabria town on 18th September. There, she was welcomed by a delegation of authorities, including the President of the Autonomic Community of Cantabria, and the Mayor of Castro Urdiales.

After she unveiled a plaque commemorating her visit, Queen Letizia began her tour of the building from Room 508, where robotics are taught. Here, she maintained an “agreeable” conversation with Deva, the only female student present in the class. 

Afterwards, she stopped by the Electrics class, before ending her tour in Room 505, also known as ATECA, where Electrical, Pneumatics and Hydric Systems are taught. Here, she inadvertently scared one of the students, Diego, who was using virtual reality goggles to simulate high risk situation during certain jobs; when he removed the visor, he was startled to realise that the Queen of Spain herself was standing next to him, observing his movements and the simulation on a screen. 

Students interviewed afterwards by the press officials covering the visit said that there was a lot of excitement for Queen Letizia’s visit, and some of them expressed surprise at the fact that she shook their hand and took an interest in understanding what they were learning, and how it was going. 

It was then time for a couple of meetings: first on the agenda, a roundtable discussion on the potential for future employment for the students of the professional institute. At the table were representatives of staff members, students and teachers, but also members of the business community. 

Her second meeting was with students taking part in Business Simulation: Queen Letizia sat in for a training session, observing not only the contents, but also the teaching methods. 

After posing for a group photograph, it was time for Queen Letizia to head back to Madrid, where she was expected the next day to hand out the Retina Eco Awards at the Reina Sofía Museum. 

The Doctor José Zapatero Domínguez Institute is implementing a new teaching formula, inserting hours of practice in real businesses starting in 1st year already, rather than, as it was until last year, gradually incorporate practice hours only in later years. 

Furthermore, the costs of paying them during their training will not fall on businesses, but are rather covered by Seguridad Social, or Social Security, managed by the State.