"The Bioma Center is a place of encounter and transformation to find scientific answers to the most urgent challenges."

The contribution of universities to companies in the field of sustainability was the key to the session given by María Iraburu, rector of the University of Navarra in Tudela, at a conference organized by the Asociación Empresa Ribera (AER). Under the title "Business, University and Sustainability", the meeting was attended by Rafael Loscos, president of the association, and Gonzalo Oliver, general manager of Enhol. The event analyzed sustainability, the challenges it poses for companies and how academia can contribute to its implementation. During the event, the rector explained that the Bioma Center being promoted by the University of Navarra "was born as a meeting and transformation place where society and institutions together seek answers and solutions to the most urgent challenges from Science, putting it at the service of people and nature itself".

In his presentation of the event, the president of the Asociación Empresa Ribera, Rafael Loscos, emphasized: "Centro Bioma is a revolution that combines worlds that are not very connected in a courageous and innovative way, in what will undoubtedly be a pole of progress for our community and therefore for our Ribera".

The progressive incorporation of the term "sustainability" into the social debate has been translated into standards, which also affect companies. For Gonzalo Oliver, CEO of Grupo Enhol, "one of the best examples of sustainability is the family business that works in the present to preserve the future".

In this context, the rector analyzed the way in which the European Union is approaching innovation as Deep innovation. "The university can contribute to business sustainability from its own teaching activity: training professional profiles oriented towards sustainability, whatever their university degree, as well as with specific programs designed to train professionals in these new roles," said María Iraburu.

Applied research as an added value to the company

The other dimension in which the university can contribute to business sustainability is research, according to the rector. "This area is a challenge and an opportunity that requires proximity to know what the real needs of companies are and the possibilities of collaboration of research groups so that they can work on research projects with a dual objective of academic and practical nature. For this, mutual knowledge is necessary, in which the company has to understand the times and demands of research. There are companies that, for example, contract a study and others that make a long-term commitment with more impact, for example, by financing company chairs or doctorates", explained María Iraburu. Ultimately, she pointed out, it is also necessary to adapt the methodology so that progress can be made towards applied research that provides added value for the company.

To explain these ways of collaboration between business and university, Iraburu presented the Bioma Center, one of the central projects of the 2025 Strategy of the University of Navarra, which is fully committed to a sustainable future. The BIOMA Center, which will be built on the Pamplona Campus over the next few years, is a project that combines research, teaching, outreach and environmental and scientific education in nature in a single space. The new 13,000 m2 Patxi Mangado building will house the Institute of Biodiversity and Environment, the Science Museum, the teaching activities of the Faculties of Science and Pharmacy and Nutrition, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives through the Innovation Factory. "It is a place where researchers, students, companies and the public of different generations can come into contact through a shared passion for science and nature", concluded María Iraburu.