The President during his speech
PHOTO: Manuel Castells

"Today we celebrate the contribution of your research to this progress. And we do so with the hope that the training received during these years will be an incentive to always maintain the ambition to know more in order to serve better. In this new stage of your lives, I encourage you to assume the doctorate not as an honor, but as a responsibility, which should be exercised with the high standards of a good university professor," saidAlfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, President , at the ceremony of investiture of the 200 new doctors of the University of Navarra.                                                                          

During his speech at classroom Magna, Professor Sánchez-Tabernero reflected on the figure of the masters of this university institution, encouraging those present to follow their conduct model and work: "That magnanimity must be cultivated daily, with the habits that we have seen so many of our University's masters practice: the reading of the great books; the attentive monitoring of the main issues of interest to public opinion; the eagerness to learn about the intellectual trends that shape the culture of our time; and the open dialogue with colleagues from other disciplines, to broaden one's own intellectual horizon".

He also referred to the current context of crisis: "In these times, perhaps we should recover that simple ethic of work, where the task well done, finished down to the last detail, is more important than short-term success. When we work in this way, it is easier to put the service rendered to others at the forefront of our work.

He also remembered the founder of the university when he spoke of the importance of the daily work : "As you well know, work was a fundamental reality in his understanding of man and the world for the founder of this university, St. Josemaría Escrivá. He thought that it is sample of the dignity of man; an occasion for development of one's own personality; a bond of union with others; source of resources to support one's own family; and a means of contributing to the improvement of society and to the progress of all humanity.

Gratitude and responsibility after the doctorate

The godfather of the promotion, Professor José Ángel García Cuadrado, Dean of the EcclesiasticalSchool Philosophy , indicated that "the culmination of the doctorate is the crowning of a prolonged effort, not Exempt of difficulties from which one has finally emerged victorious. The doctorate supposes a certain triumph, a victory: this is the meaning of the "Victor" with the name of the new doctor, which was formerly painted on the walls of the Universities, for the emulation and example of the coming generations".

Professor García Cuadrado also reminded the new graduating class that their "triumph" is also the result of the support and work of other people. In the first place, he mentioned the University's auxiliary staff and the association de Amigos, which provides scholarships for the training of new researchers. He also recalled the teachers, "who always teach: in the master class and in the interview in which they correct with rigor, care and patience the chapters of the thesis that are taking shape as a well-done work ".

On the other hand, Inés Sánchez Ventura, from the School of Law, pronounced the speech of gratitude on behalf of the new promotion of doctors: "Dear colleagues, I understand that the best way to be grateful for all that we have received is to make it come alive, to reflect it in our daily work wherever each one of us is after completing the thesis , to be for others a university reference and of good work as we have had the opportunity to see it in those who have surrounded us during these years. Thank you for making this University of Navarra atmosphere possible.                                                                    

In total, from June 2012 to June 2013, 200 researchers have defended their thesis , belonging to 14 Schools, schools and institutes: 40 belong to the School of Sciences; 36 to Engineering; 26 to Philosophy and Letters; 25 to Medicine; 19 to Pharmacy; 9 to Theology; 9 to Communication; 9 to business and Humanism; 8 to Law; 6 to Architecture; 5 to Ecclesiastics of Philosophy; 3 to Economics; 3 to IESE; and 2 to Canon Law. The new doctors come from 22 countries.