At the service of the common good.
“At the University of Navarra, we want to contribute to solving the environmental, economic and social challenges of our time through research, education and innovation at the service of the common good.”
The BIOMA Center aspires to be a transformative space that allows the University to participate in the major social dialogue on scientific, environmental and sustainability issues and make its own contributions based on an interdisciplinary approach and the reliability of research.
María Iraburu / President of the University of Navarra
It will be a space where solutions are generated for some of the most pressing problems of society and where different generations of researchers, students, companies and the public with different needs can make contact through a shared passion for science and nature.
Bioma Center, a new space for transforma–tion and encounter
The BIOMA Center was created as a meeting place for the transformation of people and institutions that jointly seek answers and solutions to the most urgent problems, based on the love of science and nature. It promotes multidisciplinary and applied research through the Institute of Biodiversity and the Environment, the training of young people, entrepreneurship and admiration for science, through the Science Museum.
Bioma Center
The BIOMA Center, to be built on the Pamplona campus of the University of Navarra over the next few years, is a project that combines research, training and environmental and scientific dissemination in a single space. This new 13,000 m2 building will house the Institute of Biodiversity and the Environment and the Science Museum, the activities of the schools involved,
as well as the promotion of entrepreneurship thanks to the activities of the Innovation Factory. The Center will foster innovation through interdisciplinary and applied research, promote the education and training of young people in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas, and enhance scientific capital through scientific dissemination and communication.
Stakeholders
1. Academic community. Students, professors, researchers and professionals on all campuses of the University of Navarra.
2. Companies. Public and private corporations that want to participate in achieving the social impact envisioned by this project and that entrust the University of Navarra with applied research, continuous training of their professionals and finding young talent.
3. Educational community. Children and school teachers.
4.
General public. — Families— Young people— The elderly— People with special needs.
Social impact
The BIOMA Center aims to have a positive impact on its external target audiences (companies, schools, citizens) and its internal targets (students, professors, researchers and University professionals).
Social needs Impact goals
1.
Environmental research. Climate change is a global problem that depends on public, business and individual decisions. Research facilitates the truthful, independent and thorough analysis required in the search for shared and lasting solutions.
1.
Research work as a source of data and scientific evidence to help companies and institutions make appropriate and lasting decisions
2.
Innovation. Offering proposals based on research carried out in collaboration with rigor and quality to provide innovative solutions to the most urgent challenges of society and business.
2.
Trained professionals. The job market requires professionals with new skills. The University of Navarra promotes an adapted program for continuous education of working professionals. It also provides training for university students from the perspective of sustainability and the skills and competencies necessary to respond to the most urgent challenges of the present and the future.
3.
Social value of science. Promoting the growing interest in science and the people who work in the field by highlighting its applications and social value. Promoting STEM vocations among young people.
3.
Talent. To supply the job market with young people with comprehensive training in terms of sustainability, and who boast entrepreneurial capacity and the skills and competencies required to respond to the challenges facing society
4.
Being informed. In terms of the need of different audiences to receive reliable information on the environmental challenges facing society, as well as possible solutions.
4.
A passion for science. Using knowledge to generate admiration and love of science.
5.
Raising awareness. Responsible citizens involved in care of the environment.
6.
Reliable source. Making the University of Navarra a reliable point of reference on the most urgent global challenges.
Research / Teaching / Scientific Culture / Entrepre— neurship / Location
Research — 12
Focusing on biodiversity and the environment from a multidisciplinary approach to provide innovative global solutions to the major challenges of society.
Teaching — 16
Environmental education of new generations so that, as people who are familiar with and value the natural heritage, they will be able to preserve this legacy and provide lasting solutions.
INSTITUTE OF BIODIVERSITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Research to find solutions
Focused and impactful research. Seeking lasting solutions to environmental challenges by focusing on people as the caretakers of the environment, the common good and the transcendental facets of environmental issues.
Multidisciplinary teams. Excellent research requires interdisciplinary teams that include experts in biology, chemistry, physical geology, law, sociology, agriculture, technology, philosophy, geography, architecture and economics. Their vision and knowledge are necessary to apply a holistic approach to problems and find consensual, comprehensive solutions.
Bridging the gap between the University and society. Ensuring that the knowledge generated by the University is more accessible to society involves citizen participation in scientific procedures and environmental education, as well as clear, truthful and ethical dissemination of research results, including findings and limitations.
A comprehensive response to environmental challenges
Institute of Biodiversity and the Environment
The Institute of Biodiversity and the Environment does research on key issues about nature and the future of the planet based on a multidisciplinary approach. It is a meeting point between university research and the public administration, business and society. With the vision of promoting environmental education and citizen participation, all of this involves transmitting positive messages based on scientific and technological knowledge that help people understand the need to invest in research and to implement environmental policies that guarantee the sustainability of the planet.
It has four main areas of study:
1. Ecosystem monitoring. Research includes data collection based on samples and areas. The aim is to study the ways ecosystems work with a view to guaranteeing the sustainability of managed systems.
2. Anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Causes and effects, such as pollution, agricultural raw materials and activity, changes in land use and water quality, are addressed through basic and applied sciences. The aim is to do research on how human activity affects different types of ecosystems.
DETAILS
3. Global change and biodiversity. Although this line of research can be included in the previous one, it is considered independently because of its importance. Global change and the loss of biodiversity are, together with alteration of the nitrogen cycle, the main causes of the earth’s environmental crisis.
All these problems can be framed within the Anthropocene, the current geological era in which the human species is determining the fundamental processes of the biosphere, leading to global environmental change. The challenge is to study and understand these processes in order to reduce their effects and promote ecosystem conservation.
4. Scientific communication. This line of research focuses on studying the narrative forms used to address environmental issues by using the quality products developed by producers in Spain and other countries as a reference.
The Institute also offers environmental consulting and technology transfer services to companies.
We do research in response to major environmental challenges. At the University of Navarra, the culture of dialogue and collaboration makes it possible to carry out multidisciplinary research at the service of the common good.
Inmaculada Pascual Elizalde
Associate Dean the School of Sciences at the University of Navarra
70+ researchers with expertise in biodiversity and the environment.
140+ active national and international research projects.
550+ scientific publications with social impact.
BUILDING SPACE
2,800 m2 / 18 laboratories / 20 rooms for equipment and technology / 4 workshops / 2 greenhouses
SCHOOLS OF SCIENCES
Teaching for comprehensive student development
Young scientists. The approach to scientific procedures and the growing social value of science will also lead to an increase in academic and research vocations among university students.
Preparing future professionals. Training plan with a focus on sustainability for all students on campus. More academic programs in the areas of biodiversity, the environment and sustainability. Always up to date. Working professionals need to update their knowledge and skills. Companies will be able to entrust their continuous training plan to the University and also welcome young talent as employees.
Professionals whose work will transform the world
A place for providing education on solidarity in close relationship with environmental problems
School of Sciences and other areas of knowledge
Our greatest impact is training students, the future professionals whose work will transform the world. The BIOMA Center aims to provide them with the necessary tools for comprehensive training, new spaces that facilitate innovation in their learning methods, contact with professors and students in different areas of knowledge, and access to research processes, their practical applications and new ways of transmitting their results to society.
It is key for the teaching method itself to also contribute to this sustainable approach. For this reason, the servicelearning method will be promoted: the idea is to apply the concept of a sustainability curriculum to caring for the environment. It involves providing content so that students can be active agents and generate changes starting in their time at the university.
The place for teaching at the BIOMA Center will be an intergenerational and interdisciplinary meeting point for faculty and students from all majors on campus. A place for providing education on solidarity in close relationship with society’s environmental problems, where the growth and personal transformation of young university students takes place.
Training in the Schools of Sciences and Pharmacy and Nutrition, in particular, will take place in the new space, which will be open to the participation of other areas of knowledge with the aim of achieving comprehensive, multidisciplinary learning
Comprehensive training of our students is our greatest contribution to sustainable social development: we want to produce professionals with an excellent preparation who display solidarity, are enterprising, open to other disciplines and convinced that it is possible to build a better world.
Luis Montuenga Dean of the School of Sciences at the University of Navarra
DETAILS
6 Degrees / 3 Double degrees / 3 University-accredited qualifications / 5 Master’s degrees / 4 PhD programs / 1,490 undergraduate students / 120 master’s degree students / 404 PhD students / 108 ProfessorsResearchers / 20 Researchers / 3 Research centers/institutes / 3 Chairs
ESPACIO EDIFICIO
3,600 m2 / 20 classrooms and seminar rooms / 6 laboratories for teaching / 3 aquariums and greenhouses
SCIENCE MUSEUM
Scientific culture to promote passion for science
Land. Beauty. Commitment. Contemplating nature and its beauty as a gift. Reflecting on the connection between humans and nature to generate wonder and commitment to caring for our common home. A positive, optimistic vision of science and technology that is at the service of nature and humans.
Scientific culture. Science communication and dissemination that empowers people. Through information so they can use their own criteria based on data, thus avoiding misinformation and making better use of their freedom.
Transformative change. The museum’s educational and exhibition programs aim to promote an active, personal experience with the major challenges of science today, especially among young people.
A university museum that does research, educates and provides information on science
The Science Museum collections are the result of decades of scientific research in biodiversity, ecosystem management and the environment. Also thanks to the generosity of a number of donors, it holds nearly one million museum records of animals (invertebrates, arthropods, mollusks, fish, birds, reptiles and mammals), plants, fossils and minerals from more than ten thousand different species.
Science Museum
An open, inclusive place to build new learning pathways for all audiences in a setting that reflects openness and diversity.
To serve society by encouraging the broadest active participation in STEM learning possible (observing, exploring, feeling, experimenting, reasoning, understanding, imagining, inventing, sharing, discovering).
To inform society by providing access to science in a close, open manner. To create a place to generate conversation on current scientific topics.
To inspire society through our collection and a museum design that invites reflection on the planet and awakens curiosity for science and a commitment to participate in actions that offer solutions for the future on a small, medium and large scale.
ITS GOALS INCLUDE:
- Promoting reflection on and commitment to science and nature.
- Showing how the scientific method works in research.
- Increasing the scientific capital of society by fostering STEM vocations among young people to connect science education with research.
- Collaborating with school teachers and businesses to promote science learning.
- Promoting inclusive and accessible science with a specific emphasis on groups with special needs.
The future Science Museum will be a place to experience science, a source of communication of scientific advances, a platform to meet with society to transmit the values of caring for the environment and the problems of our society.
Ignacio López-Goñi Director of
the Science Museum, University of Navarra
DETAILS
1 million+ museum records / 100,000+ herbarium sheets / 100,000+ animal and plant species / 3,000+ specimens of mineral rocks and fossils / 300+ species in type series (model specimens of a species described for the first time for science) / 50+ years of research, conservation and maintenance of the collection.
BUILDING SPACE
4,400 m2 / 4 exhibition spaces / 2 experience and research rooms / 2 workshops and laboratories / 1 natural classroom and pond / 1 conference room / Shop / Restaurant
INNOVATION FACTORY
Innovation for rethinking the future
Innovative talent. Development of University of Navarra students’ entrepreneurial skills. Training in innovative methods, business plan development, competitions and multidisciplinary dynamics to generate talent and transmit the entrepreneurial culture.
Entrepreneurial university. Involvement of the entire University ecosystem in monitoring projects likely to become startups based on knowledge generated internally. People committed to the transfer of knowledge to contribute to developing a more innovative and sustainable society.
Startups with impact. University of Navarra Incubator to apply the University’s scientific, clinical, technological and business development skills to the market by creating and participating in startups where it can add value. Professionals with experience in incubation, business development and access to financing.
The culture of entrepreneurship fosters a more innovative society
Consulting, training, incubation and acceleration for students, professors, researchers and the alumni community
Innovation Factory
The Innovation Factory is the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the University of Navarra. This is a crosscutting project for the entire university ecosystem whose goals are to improve the entrepreneurial skills of students, provide advice on any entrepreneurial project at the University and create companies based on this knowledge.
The Innovation Factory offers a global service to all students, professionals, researchers and alumni of the University of Navarra to transmit the culture of entrepreneurship and provide advice on projects regardless of their stage of development. Its mission is also to position the University as one of the best places for entrepreneurship.
GOALS
To develop the entrepreneurial skills of University of Navarra students and train them to solve complex problems so they can create new companies that improve their surroundings.
For this purpose, hackathons, addressing challenges, business plan
competitions, workshops, discussions and conferences are held using the main innovative methods and tools.
To transfer to society the scientific, technological, clinical and business knowledge generated at the University through the creation of companies that generate wealth and employment.
Incubation of internal University projects that may become startups or external health projects that require the R&D capabilities of the University and/or the Clínica Universidad de Navarra.
Virtuous circle: to generate an interconnected ecosystem between researchers, clinical specialists, startups and students.
To become a recognized player in the field of international entrepreneurship And, in general, the dissemination, awareness and promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation as drivers of change, development of new initiatives and inspiration for the development of new ideas and projects that improve the world.
DETAILS
Innovation is key to develop projects that improve people’s quality of life, to optimize processes and to find solutions in day-to-day life.
Belén Goñi Alegre Innovation Factory Director
€8+ million in financing obtained
300+ Crowdfunders and business angels
4+ Corporate venture projects worked on
11+ Startups incubated
1,000+ Students trained
300+ Projects worked on with students
New spaces to bring about change
Training, research, scientific culture, transfer and innovation have an undeniable spatial dimension. The infrastructure’s equipment, together with its state-of-the-art observation and measuring instruments, makes it possible to improve the accuracy and scope of observations.
The architectural environment provides for functions by facilitating movement and promoting effective performance of tasks, but it also transmits values, favors forms of relationship and coexistence, and provides meeting points between disciplines and generations.
A work of infrastructure for social impact
Producing science of excellence and with impact, training new generations and awakening scientific vocations require a physical space for generating dynamics of intersection, and synergies between researchers and students and between basic and applied science that favor company competitiveness.
A space for future generations
The new building will be located in the heart of the University of Navarra’s Pamplona campus between the urban area of the city and the 113-hectare park.
The combination of visitors and students, professors and the general public will bring life to the new space and reflect the dynamic spirit of a university. Therefore, the building will transmit these same ideas of its exemplary nature, commitment and environmental sustainability from the time the building is constructed to the transmission of knowledge and become a benchmark for future generation.
MENDAUR HALL OF RESIDENCE
GENERAL SERVICES AND INNOVATION
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
TEACHING ACTIVITY
EXHIBITION ACTIVITY
INSTALLATIONS AND PARKING SERVICES
Some parts of this map may change in the final project.
Second floor Roof
Ground Floor
Basement -1
Basement -2
Distribution and Purpose
All 13,000 m2 of the building will be distributed coherently to promote the purposes of the center.
In general, one-third of the space will be used for innovative student learning, another third for environmental research tasks, and the final third, the largest of the three, will be set aside for viewing the natural sciences collection and working on academic publishing activities. Likewise, physical space in the general services area will be used for the activity of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.
Architect
The project is the work of the Navarre architect Francisco Mangado, who has designed a sustainable building in harmony with the environment where it will be built. The building will be the second designed by Mangado on the University of Navarra’s Pamplona campus.
A graduate of the University’s School of Architecture, where he has been a professor since 1982, Francisco Mangado has received the National Architecture Award on two occasions. In 2009, he won for Spain’s pavilion at the Zaragoza Expo, and, in 2017, for the Palma de Mallorca Convention Center. Mangado is an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.
His most recent recognition is the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts 2022, awarded by the Government of Spain.
Sustainability
The building will be a meeting place. From below, it will be seen as a lighthouse, a reference with symbolic overtones, whereas, from above, it will be the viewpoint that projects its magic toward the campus.
Francisco Mangado Architect
Construction of the building is based on the aims of respect for the environment, energy saving and sustainability, which have been present from the beginning of the project, thus ensuring it becomes a reference for future generations. Its design, construction method and sunlight control will largely avoid energy transfer to the exterior and will make it possible to comply with specifications. It will also contribute to urban improvement of the campus and the city of Pamplona by converting the current parking lot into a 7,000 m2 area for public use, a space that will promote coexistence and a meeting point with the city.
LEED certification
Construction of the building will be carried out in accordance with the principles suggested by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is an international rating system developed by the US Green Building Council to promote the development of sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. It provides confirmation from an independent body (Green Building Certification Institute) that a project has established sustainability strategies aimed at reducing the building’s overall environmental impact. This evaluation is based on a point system that is awarded to the building in the most significant categories with respect to its environmental impact.
University of Navarra
Key figures
Since 1952
non-profit research university
CAMPUSES
Universidad de Navarra Pamplona — Madrid — Donostia-San Sebastián. IESE Barcelona — Madrid — Munich — Sao Paulo — New York. Clínica Pamplona — Madrid.
StudentsAlumni
13k+
200k+
29% International 120 Countries
MUSEUMS COLLECTIONS
CONTEMPORARY ART — NATURAL SCIENCES
PROFESSIONALS
1,200+
Professors
7,000+
RESEARCH
1.000+
People work in research centers
Professionals on the 7 campuses
€ 147 M+ RESEARCH CENTERS
10
Transfer in Active projects
650+
CEJE / CIB / CEIT / CIMA / CIN / DATAI / ICS / BIOMA / CCUN
300+ R&D
Contracts for with companies
RANKINGS
#1 #1
In Spain, in international focus. CYD 2023 Ranking
#37 Emerging for Times Higher Education 2023
In the world, in employability.
In Spain, in reputation among employers. QS World University Rankings 2024
Promoted by pioneers and backed by patrons
Since its founding in
IESE. Barcelona
Clínica Universidad de Navarra
Ceit. Guipúzcoa
Estudio General de Navarra
Main Library
University of Navarra
Schools
Alumni Building Madrid Campus
Social Sciences Building
IESE. New YorkIESE. Madrid. New headquarters
Museo Universidad de Navarra
IESE. Madrid
Cima University of Navarra
Amigos Building
Clinica Universidad de Navarra. Madrid
Collaborating multiplies your impact
The University of Navarra finances its ordinary activities through enrollment fees paid by students each academic year. However, undergraduate and research scholarships and the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure are financed through donations from alumni, companies, philanthropic institutions and friends from all over the world.
For more than seventy years, the University of Navarra has contributed to social change by carefully managing the contributions of thousands of donors, who have made research, teaching and infrastructure possible.
By contributing resources to the Bioma Center project, individuals and institutions are confident that their contribution has an impact on the present and also projects into the future.
This brochure was printed on FSC-certified Arena Rough White paper
www.unav.edu/web/centro-bioma