13 March 2025
Bilbao Campus
The University of Deusto celebrated on March 13th the III Deusto-Santander Entrepreneurship Gala, an event that recognized the participation of more than 2100 people in various initiatives and learning processes of innovation and entrepreneurship promoted by Deusto Emprende, with the support of Banco Santander through Santander Universities. The event brought together nearly 200 attendees, including students from the Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastian campuses, facilitators, speakers and faculty.
After the words of Garbiñe Henry, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Deusto, in which she highlighted the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in university education, Gisela Baños, theoretical physicist, writer and science, technology and science fiction popularizer, gave a talk entitled “From the birth of an idea to the transformation of the world”.
In her speech, the scientist stressed that an idea should not be discarded just because it does not fit in with what others expect, highlighting that sometimes the vision is more important than the idea itself. She also reflected on how the concept of failure depends in turn on each person's concept of success and recalled that there are multiple ways to transform the world.
The gala continued with the presentation of the Deusto-Santander Entrepreneurship Awards to the best projects of the 2023-24 academic year, which on this occasion went to:
- Creaction! award to the Unigara project, developed by Aner Zilbeti, Unai Ramos, Iñigo Solano and Oier Iza. The award was presented by Juan José Etxeberria, rector of the University of Deusto.
- DeustoSTART I Award to the MoveTogether Community project, by Jon Zabala, Izaro Unzaga and Sergio Alonso. Matías Rodríguez Inciarte, president of Santander Universities Spain, presented the award.
- DeustoSTART II Award to the Beyond U project, led by Alonso Meana. Susana García Espinel, director of Santander Universities and Universia Spain, presented the award.
This was followed by a colloquium moderated by Garbiñe Henry, with participants from different learning processes mentioned above. In this space, Aner Zilbeti, Izaro Unzaga and Alonso Meana, as well as Isabel Abascal, founder and CEO of Compostree, a startup that collaborates in the Practicum Emprende, shared their experiences and reflected on how the Deusto Emprende programs have influenced their personal and professional development.
After the colloquium, Matías Rodríguez Inciarte, president of Santander Universities Spain, highlighted Banco Santander's commitment to education and entrepreneurship, and the importance of supporting initiatives that foster innovation and talent development.
Rector Juan José Etxeberria closed the event by emphasizing that the University of Deusto is committed to entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity as fundamental pillars in the training of students. According to him, the objective of the institution is that each student, regardless of their area of study, develops an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to successfully face the challenges of the future. Remarks by the rector.
The gala concluded with a live musical performance by the Arriaga Duo, formed by Ander Marzana and Unai Sánchez, who played the fourth movement of the Sonata for piano and cello by Sergei Rachmaninov.
