IEISA Foundation renews Matching Funds agreement with the University and celebrates its 40th anniversary

The IESA Foundation has renewed for the third consecutive year the emulation agreement or Matching Funds for the Alumni Scholarship program of the University of Navarra. This agreement aims to encourage new donations by matching the amount received from new benefactors, i.e., for each euro received, the foundation will contribute another, up to a maximum of 300,000 euros.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the IEISA Foundation brought together more than a hundred friends at the University of Navarra's Alumni building on the Madrid campus. The event was attended by the last three rectors of the University of Navarra: José María Bastero, Ángel J. Gómez Montoro and Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero.

The three talked about the university institution, its mission in society and where it is headed. Professor Bastero recalled that the University must never forget "its mission of searching for the truth between professors and students in a peaceful coexistence". For his part, Professor Gómez Montoro emphasized that the University of Navarra is not only a place where students receive technical training, but that "a comprehensive education is provided through volunteering, cultural and sports activities and, above all, through the relationship with international students from very diverse backgrounds". 

Inoculating the entrepreneurship virus

The current rector, Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero, shared his enthusiasm for "inoculating the entrepreneurial virus among students for two reasons: first, because it is fun, and second, because of its impact, because entrepreneurs create companies and generate employment". Before concluding the colloquium, the rector wanted to highlight the two reasons that differentiate the University: "The nature of the project, which is based on the Christian message; and the friends we have, we are here because of them. What has happened at the University of Navarra has only been possible because of our friends. 

Alberto Horcajo, President of the Foundation, took stock of the four decades of collaboration between the Foundation and the University of Navarra. During this time, the Foundation has promoted the implementation of the CIMA University of Navarra and has allocated more than 26 million euros to undergraduate and graduate scholarships, thus facilitating the possibility for brilliant students, but with limited resources, to study at the University of Navarra. For this reason, before the end of the event, four former scholarship recipients shared their testimony and thanked the generosity of the donors, many of whom were present.