Central Building from campus of the University of Navarra. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

The University of Navarra has obtained the grade of Campus of International Excellence (CEI), as reported today by the Ministry of Education. The academic center will obtain 4 million euros for its "project Horizon 2015. Where talent and progress come together", which will be granted to the Government of Navarra in the form of loan and the latter will convert it into aid to finance the implementation of the initiative.

The President, Ángel J. Gómez-Montoro, expressed his satisfaction for this recognition, "which promotes and endorses the project professor and researcher that the University wants to develop in the coming years, at the service of society, and first and foremost, Navarra. I would also like to congratulate the Universities that have obtained some recognition in this call, especially the UPNA, for the additional funding to Campus Iberus".

In this call, two other university aggregations have received the grade CEI: project Campus Habitat 5U, formed by five Valencian universities; and project Campus Vida, coordinated by the University of Santiago de Compostela. In addition, another six proposals have obtained the grade Campus of International Excellence of European regional scope (CEIR). Among all of them, and adding the projects that have applied for additional funding, the Ministry will distribute 75 million euros.

A total of 32 projects, 13 of them new, competed for this call, which were evaluated by an international technical commission made up of experts. goal According to the Ministry, this edition will practically complete the Spanish map of Campus of International Excellence which, from now on, will set its priority on improving the quality of each one of the projects with the aim of making them capable of competing internationally at each of their levels.

research in Nutrition, Bioengineering and Humanities and Social Sciences

The "project Horizon 2015. Where talent and progress come together" brings together a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening research, improving teaching and promoting social involvement. These include the creation of four research centers, which will generate around 400 jobs work, and the Museum designed by Rafael Moneo.

"The University of Navarra's project is committed to attracting talent researcher, with the launch of the new centers for research in Nutrition, Bioengineering, Humanities and Social Sciences and Tropical Diseases," explained Fernando de la Puente, director of research and development of the University and coordinator of project.

The four centers, which are already up and running with different Degree of development, respond to areas of knowledge that have been selected according to the capacity of research of the University and the economic and social needs. In this sense, special relevance will be given to the transfer of the results of research derived from these centers and their application to the industry related to each sector will be favored.

To this end, a business incubator will be set up, which will promote all the business initiatives that may arise from the research centers within the framework of Horizon 2015. In this way, it will contribute to generate more employment and economic dynamism, mainly in the region.

On the other hand, project highlights the creation of the Museum of the University of Navarra, which will begin construction in November and is expected to open in autumn 2013.

The quality of teaching is another of the objectives of project, together with the promotion of employment, which aims to ensure that 95% of graduates find work in their first year. It also aims to promote bilingual teaching , which it hopes to implement by 2015 in 21 of its 35 Degrees and 17 of its 33 master's degrees.

Finally, the University is also working on a sustainable model of Campus , with zero CO2 emissions and significant energy savings. It also includes the extension of the bicycle lane circuit, the increase of bicycle parking spaces at car park , the pedestrianization of some areas of campus and the creation of new areas at car park in the periphery, to reduce road traffic and noise.

The project Horizon 2015 was elaborated in 2009 when the institution applied for the first call of Campus of International Excellence. On that occasion the institution received a financial aid of 3 million euros through a agreement with the Autonomous Community of Navarra.

THE FOUR CENTERS OF RESEARCH:

Photo: Manuel Castells

The Bioengineering Center, where 240 researchers will work, has the mission statement to research to generate technological innovations applicable to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Specifically, it will focus on tissue engineering, biosensors, biorobotics, imaging and bioinformatics. The scientific organization chart was designed with the support and encouragement of a group of researchers and managers from department of Bioengineering at the University of California Berkeley (USA).

The research center in Nutrition, which will have 110 scientists, is supported by the relevant experience accumulated by the Institute of Food Sciences of the University of Navarra (ICAUN). Its goal is promote a quality research in four priority lines: molecular nutrition, metabolic therapeutics, human nutrition and applied nutrimics.

The Institute of Tropical Health promotes a scientificresearch to find solutions for prevention and control, diagnosis and treatment of diseases that are not yet curable. It focuses on bacterial pathologies such as Brucellosis or parasitic diseases such as Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis. The institute, which already has about thirty professionals, collaborates with research centers and universities around the world with the aim of goal transferring technological knowledge and training scientists from tropical regions.

For its part, the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) will be located in a large restored area of the Library Services at Humanities. The ICS, which is expected to hire 120 researchers, is already working in four major areas of research: Poverty and development; Family, Education and Society; Contemporary Art; and Globalization, Human Rights and Interculturality.