The University of Huelva declares eight Assistant Professor positions vacant

The University of Huelva has declared eight Assistant Professor (Doctor) positions vacant as no candidates applied for the public merit-based competition called to fill them. The decision is formalized in the Resolution of October 22, 2026, from the Huelva Rectorate, published in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía number 209, dated October 28, 2026, under section 2.1 Appointments, situations, and incidents (reference 00345336, page 14106). Seven of the eight vacancies belong to the Department of Information Technologies.

The procedure began with the Resolution of June 18, 2025, from the University of Huelva, which called for a public merit-based competition for the awarding of Assistant Professor (Doctor) positions, published in the BOJA of June 24, 2025. The Rectorate now resolves to declare the positions vacant “due to the absence of applicants,” as they could not be filled, in accordance with the provisions of section 13.4 of the aforementioned call.

The resolution bears the signature of the Rector, José Rodríguez Quintero, dated in Huelva on October 22, 2026, and is made public “for general knowledge.” The text does not provide for a new call for these same positions nor does it designate substitutes.

Eight positions without candidates

The official list of vacancies, with their staff codes, is as follows:

• Position no. 7, RPT code DL003240, Department of Information Technologies, area of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.
• Position no. 8, RPT code DL003305, same department and area.
• Position no. 9, RPT code DL003623, same department and area.
• Position no. 10, RPT code DL003866, same department and area.
• Position no. 11, RPT code DL003306, area of Computer Languages and Systems.
• Position no. 13, RPT code DL003308, area of Computer Languages and Systems.
• Position no. 15, RPT code DL003625, area of Computer Languages and Systems.
• Position no. 23, RPT code DL002812, Department of Integrated Didactics, area of Mathematics Didactics.

Computer science left without relief

The distribution of vacancies reveals a highly concentrated problem. Four of the eight positions correspond to the area of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10) and another three to Computer Languages and Systems (numbers 11, 13, and 15). In other words, seven out of eight remain in the Department of Information Technologies.

The only position outside that department is number 23, assigned to Integrated Didactics in the area of Mathematics Didactics, which also had no applicants.

The result leaves an entire block of the template uncovered in the technological field, which concentrates the highest demand for faculty in the university system and the most intense competition from the private sector for doctoral profiles.

A closed competition without a successful bidder

The declaration of vacancy is supported by section 13.4 of the June 2025 call, a provision that allows the Rectorate to close the procedure when no candidates exist. The published text does not detail the number of applications received nor the reason for the withdrawal of potential applicants.

The announcement is inserted in section 2 of the BOJA, dedicated to authorities and personnel, and affects positions for an entry-level teaching figure, that of Assistant Professor (Doctor), usually the access route to the academic career for new doctors.

The relevance of the case is twofold. For students of computer science undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Huelva, eight fewer positions mean less teaching capacity and more crowded groups in an area with growing demand. For the Andalusian university system as a whole, the episode is an indicator of the difficulty of attracting teaching and research talent in technological disciplines, where the university competes at a salary disadvantage against private companies. The official publication records the fact and opens the door for the positions to be announced again so as not to remain vacant indefinitely.

Source: Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía, no. 209, October 28, 2026, section 2.1 (Appointments, situations, and incidents), p. 14106 (official reference: 00345336).