In 2022 Elena Cortés earned a PhD in Business, Economics and Society from
the University of Alicante, where she has taught on the Undergraduate Degree
in Social Work since 2019 and, since 2021, on the UA Master’s Degree in
Development Cooperation. In addition to her teaching activity, she is a member
of the Research Group in Social Work and Social Services (GITSS) and is
involved in the Tutorial Action Programme (PAT) of the UA Undergraduate
Degree in Social Work.
With one 5-year and two 3-year activity periods recognised, she has received
several awards in her academic career: María Asunción Martínez Román
Award for Doctoral Theses on Social Services (First Prize) and two awards for
academic excellence on the Undergraduate Degree in Social Work.
She completed an Expert Course in Systemic Interventions at the Santa Pau
Hospital’s Family Therapy School in Barcelona. This course, accredited by the
Spanish Federation of Family Therapy Associations (FEATF), reinforces the
ecological-systemic approach as a core element of her teaching and research
activity.
Her primary interests focus on the participation of citizens and professionals in
intervention processes in social services, eco-social work, the ecological-
systemic approach, the systemic model, social intervention models and
methods, participatory methodologies and teaching innovation.