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26-09-22-tecnun_apertura

María Iraburu, president: “The ethical vision—which is a commitment to the common good—must be present from the very beginning.”

Tecnun held its opening ceremony with 350 students from Master's Degree and 140 from doctorate

22 | 09 | 2026

Tecnun, the School of Engineering at the University of Navarraheld its academic “ official opening of the academic year ” yesterday, on the 26th and 27th. In the presence of academic, institutional, and business leaders, it welcomed the 350 students from Master's Degree and 140 from doctorate, enrolled at the San Sebastián and Madrid campuses.

María Iraburu, the “ president ” of the University of Navarra, presided over the event alongside Francis Planes, the “ director ” of Tecnun; Tomás Gómez-Acebo, the “ Deputy Director ” of Estudiantes; Nere Gil-Negrete, the deputy director of “ teaching ” ; and Bakartxo Tejería, the president of the Basque Parliament. Nagore Gil, the director of the Communications Office, hosted the event.

president, María Iraburu, encouraged college students to broaden their horizons beyond their own interests, since a true college mindset allows for a balance between " specialization " and a broad perspective on life.

María Iraburu, Director of the “ president ” at the University of Navarra

“We must all be particularly sensitive to the ethical dimension and the new dilemmas that technology raises. An ethical perspective—which is a commitment to the common good—must be present from the very beginning, so that we may approach these matters with the proper focus.”

Francis Planes, the “ director ” of Tecnun, highlighted the academic institution’s 65-year history, noting that more than 11,000 alumni have passed through its classrooms—7,000 of whom are from Gipuzkoa—which reflects its “strong roots in Gipuzkoa” and its “clear commitment to serving the region.” In light of advances in Artificial Intelligence, the director reiterated the need to train engineers with a solid technical foundation who are capable of preserving the human dimension of technology. He also noted that Tecnun “is working on new degree programs tailored to the needs of the Basque Country and the region’s demand for talent” and highlighted the renovation of the campus in San Sebastián as a cornerstone of the University of Navarra’s 25-30 Strategy.

Tecnun's " director ," by Francis Planes

“The renovation of the San Sebastián “ campus ” is an ambitious “ project ” initiative that aims to create the spaces needed to make us a technological leader in artificial intelligence applied to engineering.”

The inaugural lecture, titled“Javier García de Jalón and the ‘ partnership ’ University— business,” was delivered by Germán Giménez, position , former director of research and development at CAF and Full Professor of the University.

Germán Giménez, Full Professor , University of Navarra

“Javier was one of those professors and researchers who leave an indelible mark, not only on his students, but also on those of us who were fortunate enough to meet him, work with him, and learn from his approach to teaching and research”

submission the “Javier García de Jalón” and “project Sostenible” awards

The “Javier García de Jalón” awards from research were h submission d to Drs . Jesús de la source and Álvaro Urain. These awards pay tribute to Professor Javier García de Jalón, who passed away in 2025, and recognize talent, excellence, and commitment to research, as stated by the event’s master of ceremonies and Tecnun’s Director of Communications, Nagore Gil.

Alvaro Urain alongside Roc Berenger, the " director " of thesis .

Jesús de la source alongside the directors of thesis , Mikel Hernáez and Idoia Ochoa.

The award-winning projects were supervised—in the case of Álvaro Urain—by professors Roc Berenguer and David del Río, and in the case of Jesús de la source, by Idoia Ochoa and Mikel Hernáez. In addition, the work , a final-year project Degree , and Master's Degree by alumni María Peña and Lucía Albisua in subject on sustainability were recognized.