Bachelor’s Degree students in their 4th year and Master’s Degree students in Chemical Engineering attended the seminar “Leading the new Industry: a competitive future for Europe,” hosted by BASF through the IQS Business Foundation and organized by the German multinational in Tarragona.
Bachelor's Degree students in their 4th year and Master's Degree students in Chemical Engineering attended the seminar "Leading the new Industry: a competitive future for Europe," hosted by BASF through the IQS Business Foundation and organized by the German multinational in Tarragona.
Within the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) promoted by the European Union, the aim of the event was to discuss the future of the green and digitized chemical industry that the European continent has set its sights on. In fact, BASF is organizing discussion and reflection forums in the Member States where European citizens, businesses, and NGOs contribute ideas on the institutional future of the European Union. The initiative is jointly promoted by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission, which are committed to following up on the recommendations made during the process.
The roundtable event was attended by Saori Dubourg, member of BASF's Global Board of Directors; Jordi Oliva, co-founder of the NGO Good Karma Projects; Mercedes Teruel, professor of Industrial Economics, Innovation Economics, and Industrial Dynamics at the URV; and Javier García, president of the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry). The four speakers discussed the future of European industry and the role that the European Union will play in the global transition towards green and digital industry. With this in mind, Saori Dubourg explained that Europe's challenge is substantial because it means leading a transition that will only make sense if it is global: "The European Green Deal is, in fact, a good starting point and illustrates the path in the right direction. It is a social project to support a fair transition, an economic project that seeks to rejuvenate European investment and competitiveness, and a European project that provides purpose and unity to the European Union above all," claimed Dubourg.
The event ended with a public participation session in which a student in the Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering asked about the role of young people in the transformation that is taking place. The answer came from Saori Dubourg and Javier García: “The future belongs to young people. It's important to study widely, to do things with passion, and to ensure that the results of the work carried out constitute a solid return to society to the greatest extent possible."