Pharmacy and Nutrition Students Explore Amsterdam's Innovation Ecosystem Through the award Track award

After winning second award the University of Navarra’s Fast Track business plan competition, students in the Master's Degree in Drug research, development Innovation (MIDI) enjoyed an international trip to Amsterdam. This experience, designed by Innovation Factory, the University’s entrepreneurship center, had as goal to give students an inside look at a reference letter innovation ecosystem, one that typically ranks just behind London and Paris in Issue activity.

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During their stay, the students—Sara de la Calle, Tessa Forns, Nuria Fuentes, Verónica Landa, Bartomeu Riera, and Ignacio Vaquero—explored the city not only as a tourist destination but also as a strategic environment for experimentation. core topic visited core topic the Science Park, Startup Village, NDSM Wharf, and Impact Hub—places where universities, incubators, and companies collaborate closely.

For Ignacio Vaquero, one of the most revealing aspects was realizing that innovation requires a well-thought-out structure: “The trip shows that, behind it all, there is a plan in which each part plays a role: the university, institutions, and companies.” The group observe how these centers act as hubs connecting people with very diverse backgrounds, helping academic ideas become real projects.

Strategic Learning: From Logistics to Healthcare
One of the highlights of the trip was the Inditex facility in Lelystad, where the students analyzed the importance of strategic location and automation. This visit helped visit understand that innovation isn’t just about creating new products, but also about improving complex processes and making them more efficient—a lesson directly applicable to the pharmaceutical sector. Although the trip didn’t take a approach biomedical approach , the students from the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition linked what they learned to the core principles of their Master's Degree. “In the field of medicines, innovation means ensuring that knowledge and reaches patients safely and effectively,” noted Vaquero, emphasizing that to achieve this, it is essential to have an ecosystem that supports the transition from the academic stage to real-world application.

Strengthening the
Team Beyond technical learning, the experience in the Netherlands helped solidify the dynamics of the Nexia Trials team, whose project artificial intelligence to optimize clinical trials. Spending these days together in an international setting allowed them to strengthen their mutual trust and return with a shared vision to continue driving their proposal forward.

This initiative is part of the activities marking the 10th anniversary of Innovation Factory, which aims to naturally integrate a culture of innovation across all Schools . The success of these students underscores the Faculty’s students’ potential to transform research solutions that have a real impact on society.

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