Fundación CyD has just published the report "Las Universidades Españolas. An Autonomic Perspective. 2017", which places Navarra's university system in second position out of the 17 autonomous systems, preceded by Catalonia, and followed by Madrid and the Basque Country. Identical position was given to it by the U-Ranking (BBVA-IVIE) in 2015, although it dropped two places in 2016, although with a score very close to the top three in the ranking. With all the cautions with which any ranking must be assessed, it is no exaggeration to state that Navarra has an excellent university system, or what amounts to the same thing, it has a powerful tool of development regional .

These rankings analyze all dimensions of university activity and not only the best known, which is training higher education. Specifically, they evaluate five aspects: teaching and Learning, research, International Orientation, Transfer of knowledge and Contribution to development Regional. The indicators for the first four show "high performance". The success of our system would not be possible if the two universities individually did not achieve good results in all these aspects.

The media highlighted at the time what was most relevant for society: the universities in our community have an excellent level of teaching, a quality research and a high issue of international students. In addition, Navarra has the highest figures of employment of university graduates. 

These classifications do not discriminate in specific disciplines and areas but rather make a global analysis of university institutions and group them into regional systems. The Public University of Navarra and the University of Navarra, although they share some degrees and broad areas of research, exhibit a strong complementarity. For example, the important relative weight professor and researcher of area Biomedicine at the University of Navarra is combined with that of Engineering at the Public University of Navarra, although both are present in both disciplines. This complementarity logically adds an additional value that provides great solidity to the foral university system, which is further enriched by the relevant activity of the UNED associated centers in Pamplona and Tudela.

Complementary strengths in some cases, common interests in others, which always add up to provide our community with a high quality offer professor and an excellent system of research and innovation, as these analyses attest. Far from a competitive and exclusionary approach, in which we sometimes want to be placed, both institutions are aware of the implications and the role of our different character, public in one case, and private and non-profit in the other.

Universities, and ours are no exception, have internalized the inter-university partnership as a value and a necessity, and when we compete (usually for funds for the research) we do so with clear rules of the game, with criteria accepted and accepted by all, which are rarely a reason for confrontation. We also know that, where we can go together, we are stronger and win more than if we go it alone. In many cases, joining forces is no longer an option, but a necessity.

The high school de research Sanitaria de Navarra, IDISNA, is a recent example of partnership between both universities, also with other partners, with which we will have to compete not among ourselves, but against others, from a very powerful structure. University alliances are neither exclusive nor limited to the region itself, such as sample the Campus Iberus to which the UPNA belongs.

When universities are imbricated in the regional economic system partner, they contribute decisively to the development of their geographical environment. This is recognized in the work published last July by the Joint Research Centre of the EU, graduate "Higher Education for Smart Specialisation: The Case of Navarre". This report highlights the relevant role played by Navarra's university system in its Smart specialization Strategy (S3), not only in its design, but above all in its execution. The study considers that Navarra is an example of good practice, where two models of universities coexist, complementing each other and forming an innovative regional ecosystem.

In short, Navarre can be satisfied with its university system for the quality and variety of its offerings professor, for the strength of its teams research and especially for its contribution to development and to the improvement in the standard of living of the community. These good results are largely due to the support received by the universities and the efficiency with which the available resources are used.

We now face a double challenge challenge: on the one hand, we must obtain more funds for the research, in order to maintain our leading position; and secondly, we have to show the quality of our university system outside the region, so that Navarra is perceived as a leading region in knowledge and innovation; thus we will be able to attract more students, researchers and entrepreneurs from all over the world.