President Chivite presents the IRIS Hub as a public-private lever for industrial transformation and a turning point for the innovative ecosystem
The President of Navarra, María Chivite Navascués, took part in the launch of the IRIS Centre, the one-stop shop for digital transformation in Navarra, located in the El Sario building of the Public University of Navarra. During her visit, the President stressed that it is "a unique infrastructure in Spain for digital development, as well as synthetic biology".
With an investment of nearly 10 million euros financed by both the Government of Navarra and the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Administration, it is a centre for experimentation and testing that brings together the 40 major public-private entities of the innovation ecosystem in Navarra. "The IRIS Hub is the cornerstone on which we want to build the new industrial sectors that will be fundamental for the economy of Navarra in the second half of the 21st century," said the President.
After the welcome offered by a robot, President Chivite remarked that the opening of the IRIS Hub represents "a turning point in the innovation ecosystem of Navarra". The facilities will be accessible to small start-ups and companies in Navarra, as well as universities and technology centres to make progress, in the different equipped laboratories, in areas such as synthetic and molecular biology with genomic sequencing, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and supercomputing, "they will thus be able to become benchmark players in the digital and synthetic biology sector", added María Chivite. A useful resource," said the President, "because it reduces the risk of innovation, which is the brake that prevents companies from making the great qualitative leap that Europe is asking them to make in order to face up to their major American and Asian competitors.
The President of Navarra was accompanied by the Regional Minister of Industry, Ecological Transition and Digital Business, Mikel Irujo, and the Regional Minister of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Juan Luis García; the principal of the UPNA, Ramón Gonzalo, and the coordinator of the IRIS Hub, Ion Arrizabalaga. The event was also attended by the President of the Parliament of Navarra, Unai Hualde, and the Second Vice-President and Regional Minister for Memory and Coexistence, External Action and the Basque Language, Ana Ollo;
During the visit, the President stressed, with the virtual Irati Forest created by artificial intelligence as a backdrop, that "the IRIS Hub represents a leap forward in the innovation ecosystem in Navarra, offering spaces with cutting-edge equipment available to all companies in the region". She also wanted to point out that, "the technological revolution is not a question of equipment. The real driving force behind this change is human talent. Universities and vocational training centres are key to training digital specialists who stand out not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to adapt to the challenges of the future".
Innovation benchmark
The IRIS Navarra Digital Innovation Hub, which is recognised by the Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), is the reference point that helps accelerate innovation and digital transformation in the region. This space concentrates local knowledge and offers support to companies in their digitalisation processes, with a special focus on SMEs, micro-SMEs, self-employed workers, technology centres, universities and public entities.
The IRIS Navarra Hub, managed by the public company NASERTIC, also reinforces the collaboration with the public administrations, fostering the generation of value and promoting both social and economic synergies between the Hub and the Navarrese institutions.
Transformation towards Industry 4.0
In order to offer companies services and equipment to move towards Industry 4.0, the IRIS Hub offers up to 200 services to all types of companies through the different spaces available in its facilities. It is worth noting that in 2024 more than 1,000 companies made use of these services and nearly 6,000 people participated in the training activities offered.
The President and ministers of the Government of Navarra have visited the coworking area, the multi-purpose rooms, as well as the digital laboratory and the synthetic biology, molecular biology and mass sequencing laboratories.
The IRIS LAB laboratories include the synthetic biology, molecular biology and mass sequencing area which, with a surface area of 215m2, will contribute to making the region an international benchmark in synthetic biology, molecular biology, mass sequencing, bioinformatics, Artificial Intelligence and supercomputing. In these laboratories, among other things, it will be possible to carry out tests to obtain all kinds of information contained in cells, genomic analysis and read and write DNA information, together with the cultivation of new proteins and genes.
Within the multi-purpose rooms, with a surface area of 200m2 and a capacity for a hundred people, you can make use of the training room for training sessions; the multi-purpose room for group dynamics and events with a capacity for 30 people; and the virtual production room equipped with a screen measuring 6 metres long by 2.5 metres high, which is designed to generate 360º virtual worlds and provide training related to the creation of two and three-dimensional content.
The coworking area, or collaborative work, located in the Nair Centre space has 225m2 and 54 workstations for use by entities and professionals who need to develop their projects or who are seeking flexibility in a space to develop their ideas in contact with other professionals. This area also has four meeting rooms and common areas to facilitate the exchange of knowledge.
