Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, granted an honorary doctorate by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir has been granted an honorary doctorate by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) on 28 January.

As part of the formal academic ceremony, presided over by the Dean of the UPCT, José Antonio Franco, and which took place in the University main hall as part of the Saint Thomas festivities, the President of the Grupo Villar Mir gave a keynote speech entitled Innovation and internationalization as drivers of progress.

Juan-Miguel Villar Mir stressed that the Spanish university system “generates important economic and social contributions”. Referring to a report entitled The socioeconomic contribution of the Spanish University System, from the Secretariat General of Universities of the Spanish Ministry for Education, Culture and Sports, he highlighted that as a whole, “the economic activity generated by the existence of Spanish state universities represents, for a year such as 2011, 2.3% of income and 2.9% of employment in Spain”

With regards to the interrelation between universities and companies, he declared that “strengthening the links between universities and business is an imperative in our world today. This requires student training and improvements in innovation resulting in improved productivity and competitiveness of our businesses.”

Conscious of the need for entrepreneurs to tackle the current economic crisis, the President of the Grupo Villar Mir insisted that “through the promotion of scientific excellence and entrepreneurial spirit, universities support the existence of a strong and solid business sector which will expand beyond our borders”.

During his keynote speech, Juan-Miguel Villar Mir also praised the Polytechnic University of Cartagena for being “one of the most effective Spanish state universities in obtaining resources for research, technological development and innovation”.