Construction begins on the Museo Universidad de Navarra
Promoting the study of social sciences and humanities together with the generous donation of María Josefa Huarte's collection led to the creation of the Museum.
PHOTO: Courtesy
The Museo Universidad de Navarra construction begins this December and will last for 22-24 months, with its inauguration scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year. It is estimated that the construction phase will create more than 150 new direct jobs. The figure will increase to 180 workers in the higher volume phases. The company in charge of executing the project will be the Navarre-based construction company"VDR Mutilva S.L."
An investment that will contribute to the progress of Navarra
The University has recently obtained the accreditation of"Campus of International Excellence" (CEI) granted by the Ministry of Education. The new Sustainable Economy Law contemplates, in its article 62, this CEI Program as a tool for economic reactivation, by promoting the competitiveness and internationalization of the university system. The aim is to strengthen the university as a promoter of a new sustainable economic model based on knowledge.
To this end, specialization, internationalization, strategic aggregation and the creation of critical masses are encouraged, as well as bringing higher education closer to the challenges of the productive sectors. The existing collaboration within the framework of aggregations between universities and R&D&I institutions must make it possible to achieve these objectives through changes that improve their efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness, avoiding duplication and promoting flexibility.
In the case of Museo Universidad de Navarra, different entities have joined forces to ensure the smooth running of the project:
1. University of Navarra. It will develop all the museum, research, educational and cultural activities of the project, making available the knowledge of its teaching and research staff. It will have at its disposal the facilities to be built and will seek new resources to support the regular activity budget.
2. Founding Partners and the University Foundation of Navarra (FUNA).
2.a. The founding partners are the private financiers of the project. This figure represents the means of social participation in the project, since individuals, corporations and institutions interested in collaborating with this initiative may do so. Their economic collaboration is not only a contribution to the construction of the Museum, but also their possible and voluntary participation in the design of the artistic strategy or in any of the aspects of the Museum that may be of interest to them. This phase of incorporating founding members has already begun. It is estimated that many of them will come from other countries, thanks to the graduates and other international contacts of the University, so that the Museum will have an international projection from its foundation.
2.b. FUNA is a foundation in Navarra that receives and administers donations destined to finance University projects, such as those related to research or scholarships. FUNA will channel the contributions of the Founding Members and will also contribute some of its ordinary resources for the construction of the Museum. FUNA also makes available to the Museum the collection of Photography and Contemporary Art, of which it is the owner, since it comes from a donation. In order to be able to make the necessary disbursement, it is estimated that FUNA will have to request a long-term loan of around €15M.
3. Association of Friends of the University of Navarra. It is the association that owns the land where the Museum will be located and makes it available for the project.
|
ORIGIN OF CAPITAL |
|
CAPITAL DESTINATION |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Credit |
15 M€ |
Construction |
15M€ |
|
Private Equity |
10 M€ |
General Expenses |
1,5M€ |
|
Loan amortization |
New donations |
Licenses and fees |
1,1M€ |
|
|
|
Equipment |
7,4M€ |
|
TOTAL |
25 M€ |
|
25 M€ |
The construction of the Museum will require an investment of approximately 25 million euros. The financing plan has allowed that before starting the works, more than 20% of the total investment of private contributions has been reached. To date, several businessmen and art experts from Spain, Europe, Latin America and the United States have joined the project, while work is underway to increase the number of partners and find new ones in Asia and Africa.
A boost to art, culture and the humanities
The initiative to create a museum on campus responds to the University of Navarra's interest in promoting the study of the social sciences and humanities, so that they can develop as research in experimental and health sciences has done.
This fact, together with the generous donation of the collection of María Josefa Huarte, led to the creation of the Museum. A relevant factor has been the collection of historical photography (Fondo Fotográfico), of great artistic value, already in existence, on which interesting research work is being carried out.
The international projection of the Museum and the interaction of disciplines offered by the campus would allow relevant advances in teaching and social research, more specifically in the field of culture and contemporary art. The Museum is part of the Culture and Society Institute (ICS), which has been created with the aim of promoting research in the humanities at the University.