It was a Monday, 2 January 1989. The Aula Magna of the La Nau building of the Universitat de València hosted the first edition of the University-Society Awards, with Antonio Rico as president of the Social Council, and Ramón Lapiedra as Principal of the Universitat. Among the companies awarded in recognition of best practices in university-company collaboration were ETRA, IBM, GH Industrial and Hidroeléctica Española.
Twenty-five editions have passed. Many personalities, leading companies, prestigious entities, university projects and leading research centres make up the list of winners in these 25 editions of the University-Society Awards of the Social Council of the Universitat de València.
Its rules, with various categories that have changed, have evolved in step with society, but maintain the essence of that first edition: to publicise and recognise the ever-increasing collaboration between the Universitat de València and society. To distinguish, also, institutions, companies and members of the university community that make possible with their daily work and effort a better society.
The impulse, the drive and the courage to create awards that recognise the importance of these values came from the Social Council of the Universitat de València. A body that has been able to build the necessary bridges to move from mistrust to collaboration between two worlds -University and business environment- which, at least initially, did not have a fluid understanding.
“Years ago, it was not so obvious to speak of university-business cooperation, of its importance as a driving force and catalyst for initiatives such as those recognised by these awards. Perhaps since their creation, these awards were in themselves a driving force for the improvement of this binomial: university and business.”
"These 25 editions show the evolution of the relations between the Universitat de València and the society that sustains it. To take stock we need a broad vision with perspective, which allows us to remember the starting point and compare it with the current situation; without triumphalism, without conformism, without resigning ourselves to the challenges that the future poses, but with a sincere satisfaction for what has been achieved so far" said the president of the Social Council of the Universitat de València, María Emilia Adán, during the ceremony of the 25th edition of these awards.
The award winners in 2022
In this new year 2022, the company Dacsa, University-Business Collaboration Award; Damià Tormo, Alumni Plus 'Insigne UV' Award; the Cell Physiopathology Unit of the Universitat de València, Innovation Award; the XatUV project of the Web and Marketing Unit of the Universitat de València, Digital Humanism Award; and Alicia Armengot, professor of Procedural Law at the Universitat de València, Teaching Excellence Award.
Six Alumni Plus winners
Some of these categories have remained the same since the awards' inception. Others, such as the Alumni Plus 'Insigne UV' award, are more recent and have rewarded personalities such as Vicente Todolí, art expert; José Viñals, economist; Miguel Falomir, director of the Prado Museum; Pilar de la Oliva, president of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community; Santiago Posteguillo, writer; and Ángela Pérez, CEO of the multinational Imegen.
The professional careers of the award winners, whose higher education has been linked to the Universitat de València, are a testament to the scope of these awards and to the University's pool of talent.
In line with these distinctions, throughout the twenty-five editions, the commitment of the Administration has been firm. Each year, with each award ceremony, presidents of the Generalitat, ministers and high-ranking officials have confirmed their support for an initiative that has been consolidated edition after edition. Joan Lerma, Eduardo Zaplana, José Luis Olivas, Francisco Camps, Alberto Fabra and Ximo Puig, among other authorities, have supported the mission of these awards.
