The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and Global Omnium celebrated today the tenth anniversary of the Global Omnium–Aguas de Valencia Chair, created in 2015 and attached to the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Environment. At the event, UPV Rector José Capilla stressed that the Chair “fulfills an essential function: training students, updating academic content, and projecting university research into society.”
Capilla expressed his gratitude to all the directors who have led the Chair over the past decade and congratulated its current director, Javier Paredes Arquiola, for keeping this forum for exchange and transfer alive. He also praised the trajectory of Global Omnium, “exemplary in its commitment to society, as demonstrated during the DANA storm”, and its ability to successfully integrate new technologies into the water sector.
The Rector recalled that the UPV is one of the Spanish universities with the highest number of active Chairs — currently more than 110 — alliances that consolidate its ties with the business and social fabric. “Everyone benefits, but especially our students, who gain access to internships, scholarships, and highly valuable complementary training. In fact, we are among the Spanish universities with the most university-business Chairs,” he affirmed.
Over the past ten years, the Chair has promoted activities with a major impact, including ten editions of its annual conference, innovation projects on smart cities and sanitation, support for research through the IIAMA Awards, and the granting of scholarships and cooperation agreements that have brought students closer to the professional world. Global Omnium, in turn, has strengthened its collaboration with the UPV through more than 100 educational cooperation agreements since 1995 and its participation in three consecutive editions of the university’s Job Fair.
Finally, José Capilla expressly thanked Vicente Fajardo Montañana, CEO of Global Omnium, for his commitment to the university and to the promotion of the Chair. “I hope that in ten years’ time we will be celebrating another decade of success in innovation, sustainability, and water management together,” concluded the Rector.
The event also featured the presence of the Aball UPV – Fundación Aguas de Valencia adapted football team, an inspiring example of integration, effort, and resilience that reflects the shared values of UPV and Global Omnium.
