The contribution of universities to companies in the field of sustainability was the core topic of the session given by María Iraburu, president of the University of Navarra in Tudela, at a workshop organized by association business Ribera (AER). Under the degree scroll "business,University and Sustainability", the meeting was attended by Rafael Loscos, president of the association, and Gonzalo Oliver, director general of Enhol. The event analyzed sustainability, the challenges it poses for companies and how academia can contribute to its implementation. During the event, the president explained that the BIOMA Center which is being promoted by the University of Navarra "is born as a place of meeting and transformation where society and institutions together seek answers and solutions to the most urgent challenges from Science, putting it at the service of people and nature itself".

In his presentation of the workshop, the president of the association business Ribera, Rafael Loscos, emphasized: "BIOMA Center is a revolution that combines worlds little connected in a courageous and innovative way, in what will undoubtedly be a pole of progress for our community and therefore for our Ribera".

The progressive incorporation of the term "sustainability" into the social discussion has been translated into standards, which also affect companies. For Gonzalo Oliver, director general manager of group Enhol, "one of the best examples of sustainability is the family-owned business , which works in the present to preserve the future".

In this context, the president analyzed the way in which the European Union is approaching innovation as Deep innovation. "The university can contribute to business sustainability from its own activity professor: training professional profiles oriented towards sustainability, whatever its university Degree , as well as with specific programs designed to train professionals in these new roles," said Maria Iraburu.

research applied as added value to the business

The other dimension in which the university can contribute to business sustainability is research, according to president. "This area is a challenge and an opportunity that requires proximity to know what are the real needs of companies and the possibilities of partnership of the groups of research so as to work on projects of research with a double goal of academic and practical character. For this, a mutual knowledge is necessary, in which the business has to understand the times and demands of the research. There are companies that, for example, contract a study and others that make a long-term bet deadline and with more impact, for example, financing Chairs or doctorates from business", explained María Iraburu. Ultimately written request, she pointed out, it is also necessary to adapt the methodology so that it can move towards an applied research that represents a added value for business.

To explain these ways of partnership between business and university, Iraburu presented BIOMA Center, one of the central projects of the 2025 Strategy of the University of Navarra, which is fully committed to a sustainable future. The BIOMA Center, which will be built at Campus in Pamplona over the next few years, is a project that combines research, teaching, knowledge dissemination and Education environmental and scientific in nature in a single space. Patxi Mangado's new 13,000 m2 building will house the Biodiversity and Environment InstituteScience Museum, the Science Museum, the professor activity of the Schools Science and Pharmacy and Nutrition departments, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives through the Innovation Factory. "It is a place where staff researcher , student body, companies and the public of different generations can enter contact through a shared passion for science and nature," concluded María Iraburu.