The University of Granada was founded in 1531 under the initiative of the Emperor Carlos V, by means of a Papal Bull from Pope Clemente VII. With 472 years of tradition, the university has been an exceptional witness to history, as its influence in the city's social and cultural environment grew until it was to become, over a period of almost five centuries, an intellectual and cultural nucleus in Southern Spain in its own right.

The university centres and buildings (right, Hospital Real) are located in various places in the urban area of Granada giving the city its particular university style, since of the 270,000 inhabitants of the capital, 60,000 are university students.

The Department of English Philology was founded nearly 40 years ago, and has since become the biggest department in the university with around 2,000 students and 70 lecturers. The research group ADELEX -Assessing and Developing Lexis through the Internet, established in 1999 and made up of lecturers and research fellows from the department, is responsible for the organisation of the conference.