The University of Navarra Recognizes Its Students' Entrepreneurial Talent on the 10th Anniversary of Innovation Factory

The University of Navarra held a special edition of Innovation Day yesterday , during which it recognized the best entrepreneurial projects developed by its students. The event coincided with the tenth anniversary of Innovation Factory, the University’s innovation and entrepreneurship center, and with Global Entrepreneurship Day. The event highlighted the students’ talent and the strength of the projects that emerged from the classrooms, reflecting their ability to transform academic knowledge into initiatives with real market potential.

The awards were presented to the best projects from Fast Track, the University of Navarra’s business plan competition—open to students from all degree programs and known for its multidisciplinary approach—as well as to the winning projects from The Investinn Hour, a program in which participants present the projects they wish to launch to a multidisciplinary jury composed of students from the university’s own degree program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GPIE), which evaluates the proposals and decides which initiatives receive financial support to help launch them.

At the Madrid campus, the Fast Track Awards for master’s students were presented earlier this year. The winning project was Venture Mining, led by Marta Valor, a student in the Dual Master’s Program in Technological and Industrial Innovation, and Diana Paucar, a student in the Master’s Program in Technological Innovation. The project focuses on harnessing surplus solar energy for data mining.

In Pamplona, the first prize in the Fast Track category went to Nomaddesk, developed by Victoria Apesteguía Oficialdegui, Pablo Losantos Parra, and Alba López-Dóriga Zubeldía, students in the Leadership and Governance program. Nomaddesk is a marketplace that connects companies with flexible workspaces to facilitate new hybrid work models. The second prize went to Nexia Trials, led by Sara de la Calle, Tessa Forns, Nuria Fuentes, Verónica Landa, Bartomeu Riera, and Ignacio Vaquero, students in the Master’s in Innovation and Drug Development (MIDI) program—an AI-based solution that optimizes the selection of hospitals and the prediction of patient recruitment for clinical trials. The third prize went to Asclepio, developed by Federico Capriles Juaristi and Amelia Franchin, students in the Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine, which proposes digital tools based on clinical simulation to improve diagnostic reasoning among health sciences students. The winners from Pamplona will enjoy an international trip to visit Amsterdam’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At The Investinn Hour, the first prize, worth €4,000, went to Scinergics, developed by Paula Domínguez, Carlos Luri, and Julen Torrens, alumni of the Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, an initiative focused on communicating scientific and technological solutions applied to the field of biotechnology. The second prize went to MTRYX, led by Jordi Borrut Burgal, a student of Business Administration and Management, and Jorge Martínez-Iñiguez García, a student of Architecture—a technological solution that enables pharmacies to create and manage their online sales channel by integrating their management and inventory systems. The third prize went to Oratorium, led by Javier Etayo, a student of Law and Business Administration and Management, and Diego Salazar, a student of Philosophy, along with Cristian Veizaga, a student of Industrial Engineering at the Public University of Navarra. This initiative uses virtual reality and artificial intelligence to train communication skills in immersive environments through automated feedback. The second- and third-place winners will also receive financial support of €4,000 and €2,000, respectively.

Connection to the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Innovation Day brought together students, alumni, investors, and professionals from the innovation ecosystem for an event that combined inspiration, recognition of entrepreneurial talent, and networking with the business world.

The program featured Andrés Saborido, CEO of Wayra, Telefónica’s corporate venture capital arm and open innovation platform that drives the growth of tech startups through investment and collaboration with large companies; Mariano Oto, CEO of Nucaps Nanotechnology, a biotechnology company specializing in molecular encapsulation technologies with applications in nutrition and health; as well as University of Navarra alumni Mario Fernández, CEO of Camby, a platform that automates the process of switching energy providers and optimizes electricity consumption to help reduce electricity bills; and Julia Franch, CEO of Destino Dubai, a company that supports professionals and companies in their process of establishing a presence in the United Arab Emirates.

“Fast Track was the first environment where we were able to test our idea with mentors, investors, and other entrepreneurs. Innovation Factory helped us structure the project and understand how to turn an idea into a viable business plan. Beyond the knowledge it provided, it gave us the confidence we needed to take the plunge and launch our own project,” Julia added.

Innovation with a social impact

This edition also had a strong charitable focus, as 100% of the ticket proceeds went to the project led by Pablo Sánchez Bergasa, founder of Medical Open World and recipient of the Princess of Girona Social Award, whose goal is to manufacture low-cost incubators for premature babies in Africa. During the event, attendees were also able to contribute directly to this initiative.
The day concluded with a musical bingo game and, finally, with refreshments and a DJ on the esplanade of the University of Navarra Museum, fostering connections among students, entrepreneurs, alumni, and professionals in the innovation ecosystem.

Ten years driving innovation and entrepreneurship

The tenth anniversary also served to highlight the achievements of Innovation Factory, a cross-disciplinary university initiative aimed at connecting education, research, and business, with the goal of transforming academic knowledge into solutions that have a real impact on society.
Innovation Factory works with students through educational activities ranging from multi-year training programs to one-day intensive workshops. It also offers guidance aimed at developing ideas, acquiring entrepreneurial skills, and transforming projects into viable business plans. 

Since 2019, Innovation Factory has registered 16 portfolio companies and reviewed 101 projects through its Startup Incubator; it has worked with 744 student projects, supported 76 alumni projects, and mentored 5,482 students in training sessions or activities, delivering a total of 2,859 hours of training. In the 2025-26 academic year, the center has 20 projects underway in the incubator, has worked with 145 student-led projects, and has supported 1,119 students through training and mentoring. As Belén Goñi, director of Innovation Factory, points out, “our goal is not for students to start a company immediately, but rather for them to acquire the necessary experience and knowledge so that, when the time comes, they can do so with confidence and understand everything that it entails.”

She also emphasizes that one of the center’s major challenges is to ensure that a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship is naturally integrated into all faculties, supporting students in developing projects that can generate a real impact on society. Among the new initiatives, the center will soon launch a bootcamp designed to support those students who, after validating their business plan with investors, wish to take the step toward starting their own company.

With this special edition of Innovation Day, the University of Navarra reaffirms its commitment to fostering its students’ entrepreneurial talent and to developing initiatives capable of generating economic and social impact.