"The mission statement of the University is to train people with a broad outlook, committed and competent, who know how to contribute to the common good from their profession".

The president of the University of Navarra María Iraburu inaugurated a new edition of the Alumni Meetings cycle in Bilbao and did so by talking about innovation and talent and the role of the university in the training of professionals required by companies. "The mission statement of the University is to train people with a broad outlook, committed and competent, who know how to contribute to the common good from their profession," she said. María Iraburu bet on training young people with the highest professional qualifications and at the same time with a deep sense of work. "That is, they should consider work as a way of being in the world, of relating to others and developing as a person," she explained.

He stressed the need to provide an integral and holistictraining and, lastly, the need to train committed and caring people. "We need people with a critical vision, capable of innovating. The desire to help can be a driving force of the university training . Let's think that our work can improve someone's life," he added. 

María Iraburu pointed out that when talking about talent, it is important not to lose sight of a fundamental issue: "The talent we want to train, retain, etc., is not an abstraction, they are specific people, women and men who have interests that go beyond their professional degree program , who want, for example, to have a home or start a family". And he also mentioned a fact that significantly conditions access to talent: the demographic winter we are approaching, which predicts a lack of professionals in the future. "Great projects need, above all, people," he added. 

María Iraburu encouraged in this regard to promote the internationalization. "We have to rely on talent from outside. Our young people, moreover, are global. The internationalization of our campus, with 30% of students from countries all over the world, is a richness that must be promoted". In addition to this international vision of talent, the president spoke of the importance of approaching the training of talent with a social mentality, in which we all feel involved. Specifically, she referred to programs such as the University of Navarra's Alumni Scholarships which are a mobilization of companies, alumni and friends committed to the transformative power of the Education to favor access to the Education of people with capacity. "That is changing society: giving the best Education to people who are going to be catalysts for change afterwards."

Alumni meetings: dialogues on contemporary challenges

At the meeting, the president was accompanied by Iñigo Gutiérrez, director of Alumni of the University of Navarra, and Fernando Echániz, engineer at Sener and former student, who opened a dialogue with the attendees on how leaders seek innovation to generate impact on companies and society.

The training of talent was the first of the topics to be addressed this year at the Alumni Meetings, the meeting forums organized by the University of Navarra with its alumni, to discuss and reflect on social transformation and contemporary challenges. This year they will also discuss global health and the research, the challenges of technology, and the future of gastronomy, in different meetings that will take the University to San Sebastian, Logroño, Coruña and Valencia.