Transfer knowledge to the country
The Academic Senate connects the institution with society and the productive fabric
The European University (eUniv), promoted by the Layret Foundation and established in Andorra in 2019, will hold the graduation ceremony of the first two promotions at the end of this year. A total of 220 students, including bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students, 30 of whom are Andorrans, study there with online training that is adapted to the students’ needs.
If technology is one of the legs of a unique teaching methodology, it also plays a fundamental role in the academic offer. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science, Data Science and Industrial Organization Engineering will be launched, as well as the master’s degree in Computer Engineering, courses that are in the approval phase. The bet goes beyond the university level, however. With the desire to connect studies and society, it has created the Academic Senate, the highest consultative body of the eUniv, made up of fifteen renowned professionals from various fields.
“It allows knowledge to be transferred from the academic world to society and business”, points out the entrepreneur Ferran Martínez, the senator specializing in innovation and new technologies. The flow also works in reverse. The director of the Institut Universitari de Tecnologia Aplicada (IUTA) Joaquim Vallès, emphasizes how the senators “bring us a lot of information about the concerns or needs of the social and productive fabric of the country”, to the point that some of their proposals “a bachelor has come out of it”.
Martínez is convinced that eUniv can play an important role in the economic diversification of the country. “It’s a model similar to the American one, in which the economic fabric, companies and the university go hand in hand”. To promote debate and reflection on scientific research and digital transformation, eUniv convenes and participates in conferences, conferences, debates, seminars and expert meetings.
A ‘TechLab’ for applied research in new technologies and innovation
eUniv is fully aware that universities cannot undertake research alone. With the aim of promoting research in various fields, it has set up four institutes: Alma Mater, NextG, Laurentia and IURNAT. The NextG university institute is a TechLab for applied research in the field of artificial intelligence, big data, algorithms, Machine Learning, Blockchain, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and biotechnology. The combination of all these elements makes it possible to create applications that were difficult to imagine a few years ago, but which are already present among us. The institute wants to become a Think Tank, generator of debate, reflection and dissemination on the challenges posed by scientific and technological research, as well as on the practical application of the results.
Projects in mobility, drones and ‘E-health’
The NextG Institute promotes its own research and technological innovation projects. There are currently specific drone, e-Health and mobility initiatives. It also participates – with agreements with entities and companies – in networks that allow it to connect directly with international experts.