27 June 2023
Eduardo Jimenez, Estibaliz Hernáez, Xabier Riezu, Jose María Guibert, Cristina Zumeta, James Wilson, Bingen Zupiria, Iván Martén, Mari Jose Aranguren, Jose Ignacio Hormaeche, Jose Luis Larrea, Ainara Basurko, Jon Azua, Mikel Navarro and Idoia Uriarte at the MOC celebration event.
The MOC course, promoted by Harvard Business School, is taught in more than 120 universities around the world and aims to explore the determining factors of competitiveness.
Since 2003, more than 450 people from the business world, public administration and academia have taken the MOC at the University of Deusto and Orkestra.
The anniversary event was an opportunity to share experiences and reflect on how to continue renewing the language of competitiveness in the Basque Country in the future.
Orkestra brought together in Donostia-San Sebastian the people who have taken the Microeconomics of Competitiveness course in the Basque Country to celebrate its 20th anniversary. This programme, promoted by Harvard Business School in 2003, is taught in more than 120 universities around the world and aims to explore the determining factors of competitiveness.
The event was opened by Mari Jose Aranguren, General Director of Orkestra, who highlighted the importance of the MOC programme in the Basque Country: "More than 450 people from 234 different organisations have taken the MOC course, with a diversity of profiles - from business, academia and public administration - which has been one of the most valued aspects of the programme".
To go deeper into the impact of the MOC and Orkestra, Aranguren gave the floor to José Mari Guibert, vice-rector of the University of Deusto when Orkestra was created, and Estibaliz Hernáez, vice-counsellor of Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Basque Government. Both highlighted the academic contribution of the institute, as well as its capacity to work with the agents of the territory and provide a common framework for the analysis of competitiveness.
Two round tables took place in the event in which the value of the MOC was debated from the point of view of companies and organisations. The first was moderated by Jose Luis Larrea, honorary president of Orkestra. Jon Azua, one of the promoters of the MOC course at the University of Deusto; Idoia Uriarte from Euskaltel and Eduardo Jimenez from the Habic Cluster joined him to share their experiences in the course.
The second round table looked to the future. Ainara Basurko from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Jose Ignacio Hormaeche from the Basque Energy Cluster and Cristina Zumeta from DEBEGESA discussed the benefits of having a common framework of competitiveness and how it has to evolve to adapt to challenges such as digitalisation or climate change, in a session moderated by Mikel Navarro, associated researcher at Orkestra and Professor at the University of Deusto.
James Wilson spoke about the evolution of Orkestra's competitiveness framework. Our research director explained that the new framework for the analysis of territorial competitiveness is the result of a process of reflection, contrast and experimentation at local and international level and that it places well-being at the centre of the analysis.
Iván Martén, President of Orkestra, closed the event by reaffirming the Institute's commitment to renewing the language of competitiveness in the future and asking for a moment of recognition for Jon Azua, Jose María Guibert, Jose Luis Larrea, Mikel Navarro, Olga Rivera and Victor Urcelay, "who planted the seed of what the MOC is today in the Basque Country".
International seminar with members of the MOC network
As part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the MOC network in the Basque Country, Orkestra has organised an international seminar in which some members of the MOC network and research staff from all over the world are taking part to reflect on how to build sustainable competitive futures through transformative research.
The Basque Councillor for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantxa Tapia, took part in the opening session, where she presented the industrial policy promoted by the Basque Government in recent decades. "The Basque Country is highly competitive thanks to our industrial DNA, our pro-industry commitment over time, our self-government and public-private collaboration. On the road towards this competitiveness, Orkestra has been an essential partner", she stressed.
