A project that seeks to contribute to the sustainable development of the region in its triple dimension: social, environmental and economic, at partnership with the administration, various entities and the business fabric of Navarre. The University of Navarra has thus presented the new BIOMA Centre at the headquarters of the Navarra Business Confederation (CEN). The BIOMA Centre represents the University of Navarra's commitment to caring for people and the environment in solidarity. It also aims to be a point of meeting between professors, researchers, students and the rest of the public.

The president of CEN, Juan Miguel Sucunza, welcomed the attendees and stressed that "companies must lead the transformation in sustainability" from partnership and the commitment to seek joint solutions.

For her part, the Rector of the University of Navarra, María Iraburu, said: "Our goal is to make a constructive and innovative contribution, placing science at the service of nature and people. This is embodied in the BIOMA Centre, which we intend to build with all the social agents - companies, administration - and which we wanted to be located in Navarra, a land characterised by its biodiversity, social cohesion and good economic data . The BIOMA Centre reaffirms the University's commitment to Navarra".

The BIOMA Centre is presented with a triple goal: the interdisciplinaryresearch of biodiversity and the environment, to provide innovative solutions to the major challenges facing our society today, which is carried out from the high school of Biodiversity and Environment, which already has more than 50 researchers. Together with the research, the Science Museum will be a space for scientificknowledge dissemination and for the training of training of new generations, who can face the problems of our planet in a creative way manager .

The project

The BIOMA Centre will be erected at area of the Cimaagainst the Clinica Universidad de Navarraacting as a link between campus and the city of Pamplona. It will have 13,000 square metresThe building will be divided into two parts: 3,600 square metres for the teaching; 2,800 square metres for the research; and 4,400 square metres for the exhibition area. Access to the building will be via a new pedestrian place , leading directly to a service area: the reception, a shop, a restaurant area and versatile spaces for representation and meetings with companies, institutions and other external entities.

As explained by the architect Francisco Mangado, author of project, the Building will support the objectives of respect for the environment and sustainability. Energy saving measures and measures to promote the efficiency of the facilities will be incorporated.

budget With a budget of 30 million euros - 24 million euros for the building, 2 million euros for the equipment and another 4 million euros for urbanisation and car park- work on the building is expected to begin in 2023, provided that the necessary funds have been raised through the fundraising actions that the University has been carrying out for some time now. The opening of the centre is also planned for the academic year 2025/26.
 

Alliances and partnership with companies

Javier Ortega, director of development of the BIOMA Centre, stressed the need to establish solid partnerships between the public and private spheres, civil society, university, business and administration. "The partnership with the BIOMA Centre can be materialised in three directions: working on shared projects that integrate the University's research into the value chain of business; aligning CSR with the strategy of business and BIOMA's research or dissemination activity; or associating its brand with that of the University in the activities of knowledge dissemination or financing spaces", he emphasised.

José Ignacio Pérez de Albéniz, tax lawyer, partner-director general of Arpa Abogados, explained that "the law offers very attractive tax incentives for companies that collaborate with project".

The Regional Minister for University, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Government of Navarra, Juan Cruz Cigudosa, was in charge of closing the event. The Minister said that this new project of the University of Navarra is great news, as "it will allow the training of students, promote the research multidisciplinary and applied, as well as fostering scientific knowledge dissemination ". 

During his speech, Cigudosa also referred to the importance of the partnership between the Administration, universities, companies and knowledge centres in this transition towards a more sustainable energy model , which is an important economic and social driving force for Navarre.

Finally, he valued the impulse that this new centre will have for the scientific knowledge and the research work from sustainability, strategic axes that it shares with the department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation and that is made clear through programmes such as the doctorate International WIT or the call for ANDIA grants, both focused on attracting, generating and disseminating the knowledge.