11 September 2024
Bilbao Campus
The University of Deusto, with the support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, within its strategy ‘Bizkaia with the talent’, and in cooperation with the universities of the AUSJAL Network -Association of Universities Entrusted to the Society of Jesus in Latin America-, has launched the Deusto-Bizkaia Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Network -RIEG-. This initiative is part of the strategic project Deusto Social Lab, under the direction of the Vice-Rectorate for Entrepreneurship and Business Relations, and involves the units of Innovation and Entrepreneurship -Deusto Emprende-, Dual Training -Deusto Dual- and Relations with Economic and Social Agents -URAES-.
The main objective of the RIEG Deusto-Bizkaia is to identify and attract Latin American people with STEM profiles to the territory of Bizkaia, in order to collaborate in the activation and acceleration of innovation areas in leading companies in the territory. In this sense, the network seeks to establish a connection between Bizkaia and Latin America through Jesuit universities, promoting academic and business collaboration in innovation projects.
For this purpose, the University of Deusto offers the network the Master in Lifelong Learning in Innovation and Technology, dual mode, a unique programme based on a 100% experiential methodology, focused on learning by doing and the resolution of real challenges posed by collaborating companies. The programme stands out as an example of cooperation in duality, with the active participation of more than 100 professionals from leading technology companies in innovation.
This past Wednesday, 11 September, the welcoming session of the 2024 edition of the RIEG took place at the University of Deusto, a first meeting that aimed to generate a close space where both participants from Latin America, as well as companies and other agents that make up the network, had the opportunity to introduce themselves and get to know each other. The session began with a speech by Víctor Urcelay, vice-rector of Entrepreneurship and Business Relations at Deusto.
Izaskun Artetxe, technical economic secretary of the Department of Economic Promotion, represented the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, followed by Garbiñe Henry, director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University, who led the speeches of this year's participants and collaborating companies. In total, around 50 people were present at this first meeting, while a dozen more were connected remotely to follow the event closely.
This 2024 edition has 21 participants with STEM profiles or with experience in technology companies, of which 7 are women and 14 men, from 9 of the 14 Jesuit university nodes that currently make up the RIEG: Universidad Católica de Córdoba (Argentina); Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Chile); Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá y Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali (Colombia); Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (Ecuador); Universidad Rafael Landívar (Guatemala); Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla. IDIT, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara. ITESO y Tecnológico Universitario del Valle de Chalco (México); Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya y Universidad del Pacífico (Perú); Universidad Católica del Uruguay y Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela).
During the first phase of the Master, from September to January, participants will have the opportunity to get to know the innovative ecosystem of the Basque Country, through a learning methodology based on challenges. Each of these challenges will be framed within a specific theme and will be developed by the following companies: Laboral Kutxa, Iberdrola, PharmaBioServ, Petronor and Deloitte. They will be facilitated by people who were also present at this first meeting.
From February, in the dual phase of the programme, they will work on real projects in different leading companies in Bizkaia, including: Alba Energy, BBVA, CAF Signalling, Gestamp, Haizea Bilbao, IDOM, Laboral Kutxa, N World, NTT Data, Saitec, Sener, Sidenor, Tecnalia, Teknei y Vicomtech.
In total, in this first edition, the network has the collaboration of 19 companies from Bizkaia, whose representatives were also present at the event: Txetxu Arzuaga from Alba Energy; Sonia Sanz from BBVA Technology; Noelia Álvarez from Gestamp; Ainara Mellado and Vanessa Magui de Castro from Haizea Bilbao; Unai Alaña from Iberdrola; Ana Zudaire and Ana Beneitez from IDOM; Borja Garate from Laboral Kutxa; Zuriñe Lezaun from NTT Data; Berta Serrano from NWorld; Mercedes Moreno de Ubieta from Saitec; Alfonso Acuñas and Begoña Grijalvo from Sener; Iñigo Murillo and Verónica Pérez from Sidenor; Susana López de la Calle and Leire García from Tecnalia and Jorge García from Vicomtech.
Also present were people from Deusto, who in one way or another participate in the network, such as: José Luis Larrea, Jorge Fernández, Begoña García-Zapirain, José Luis Izkara, María Lambarri, Irene Cuesta, Janire Gordon, Iraide Aramberria, Amaya Oviedo, Andoni Liquete, Elene Susperregi, Monika Tubia, Paula Ruiz-Bravo, Uxue Gutierrez, among others.
At the end of the meeting, Xabier Agirre, a lawyer specialising in foreigners, who is accompanying RIEG participants in the legal procedures necessary to move to Bizkaia from their respective countries, was introduced. ...
For further information, please contact: RIEG Coordination: Deusto Innovación y Emprendimiento, University of Deusto. emprendimiento@deusto.es
