Higher Education for S3 in Navarre

Navarre has two universities, one more research oriented with a strong focus on the attraction of international talent, while the other is more regionally rooted with close ties to local companies and stakeholders.

The Navarre S3 priority areas map fairly well onto the research and educational strengths of Navarre's two universities, although these strengths were not considered as key factors for the selection of the priorities. The regional S3 is always ‘on the table’ and ‘present in the discussions’ in the review of curricula at Navarre's public university, and its 2016-2019 Strategic Plan has considered the S3 priority areas and the Campus of Excellence dynamics in the re-definition of undergraduate degrees, masters and PhD programmes. 

Both regional governments and universities themselves have promoted different tools to integrate higher education into S3, and they have been very positively received by actors in the research and innovation system. The university research institutes and centres, thematic chairs, industrial PhDs and innovation ecosystems promoting cooperation in value chains among knowledge triangle actors are helping to boost the university's participation in S3.

Main conclusions and recommendations

  • The complementarity of both universities, UPNA and UNAV, is an important strength of Navarre. Both universities are contributing differently to regional development based on their strengths. 
  • The importance of sharing information on the economic evolution of the region, the skills and competences needed by companies, institutional and university strategies, mapping of research and innovation capacities, etc. to understand the regional context and plan the potential role, actions, programmes and initiatives by the different stakeholders. 
  • The need for stronger participation of the academic community in the different working groups and entrepreneurial discovery dynamic, particularly in the continuous processes of narrowing the current priorities into innovation projects.
  • As the Navarre S3 enters into its implementation phase, a stronger involvement of the academic community in the different working groups and entrepreneurial discovery dynamic should gain importance.

Related documents