The University of Deusto, an institution which belongs to the European Network of Higher Education Institutions, Kircher Network, officially opened its 140th anniversary celebrations on 24 September, coinciding with the opening of the 2026–2027 academic year. From its beginnings on 25 September 1886, when it welcomed just 115 students, the university has grown into an international institution with more than 12,500 students. Nearly 10% of them are international students from 50 countries. This evolution reflects the consolidation of a university model centred on people, committed to social transformation and attentive to the challenges facing the world today.
How can a university celebrate 140 years of history while remaining firmly focused on the future? For the University of Deusto, the answer lies in renewing its commitment to knowledge, service and the formation of people capable of contributing to a changing world.
The anniversary celebration therefore looked both backwards and forwards: giving thanks for Deusto's history while asking how its Jesuit identity can continue to shape its contribution to society in the decades ahead.
The ceremony began with the presentation of the Academic Report for the 2025–2026 academic year by Secretary General Stella Solernou, who reviewed the institution's main achievements over the past year. Deusto recorded more than 16,000 enrolments during the academic year, including 3,549 new undergraduate, master's and doctoral students and more than 1,000 international students.
The year also marked a historic milestone with the graduation of the first cohorts of students from the Bachelor's degrees in Medicine and Nursing. The report highlighted the university's research activity, with 300 projects underway and almost 600 scientific articles published, as well as its commitment to inclusion through more than €2.6 million in university-funded scholarships benefiting 1,341 students. It also highlighted the launch of the global research alliance GRAJU.
During the In Memoriam section, the university community paid tribute to members who died during the academic year, including José María Guibert, former Rector of Deusto.
The central moment of the ceremony was the Inaugural Lecture, entitled “Knowledge that Serves, Wisdom that Opens the Future”, delivered by Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus and Chancellor of the University of Deusto. His address was followed by remarks from Rector Juan José Etxeberria.
Both interventions emphasised that celebrating 140 years should not become an exercise in satisfied contemplation of the past. Rather, the anniversary should provide an opportunity to renew the university's service to society through what Father Sosa described as “creative fidelity”.
For Father General, the distinctive contribution of a Jesuit university today is to offer “knowledge that seeks truth amid the noise, wisdom that directs power towards the common good.” A university, he argued, may be technically outstanding and yet spiritually impoverished if it fails to ask whom its knowledge serves — and whom it leaves out.
In his lecture, Father Sosa reflected on what he described as the current crisis of knowledge, which is threatened by two forms of pathology. On the one hand, there is a disregard for truth, fuelled by misinformation and superficial thinking. On the other, knowledge itself is increasingly captured and concentrated in the hands of a few, particularly through the control of data and algorithms.
Against this backdrop, he argued that a Jesuit university should become a “school of depth”, promoting an intellectual apostolate that does not seek to dominate but rather to understand with ethical rigour. The university's task goes beyond transmitting information: it must help students move towards wisdom and discernment.
This means learning to ask not only what technology can do, but when, how, why and for whom it should be used. This question becomes particularly important in the age of artificial intelligence, which, Father Sosa stressed, must remain at the service of human dignity, justice and the development of sound judgement.
Such an approach should shape both education and research. Academically, Deusto seeks to offer an integral formation that develops people who are competent, conscious, committed and compassionate. Accompaniment is therefore central: students are encouraged not only to ask what professional career they want to pursue, but also what kind of person they want to become and what kind of world they wish to help build.
The same perspective should guide research towards the common good, particularly in areas such as social justice, care for our Common Home and the ethical challenges of technological transformation.
“Truly transformative research does not look down upon the poor and excluded; it learns to look at reality from their perspective and, whenever possible, together with them.”
For Father General, this approach requires universities to remain open and connected, working in partnership with public institutions, businesses and civil society while combining strong local roots with a genuinely universal horizon.
He also highlighted Deusto's 140-year journey and the commitments set out in its new Strategic Plan as an opportunity to renew the Ignatian tradition: building a more inclusive community, promoting open science, developing an agile organisation and embracing a creative fidelity that forms professionals and citizens capable of transforming the world responsibly.
Addressing Deusto's students directly at the end of his speech, Father Sosa encouraged them:
“Do not settle for being users of an education; become protagonists of a meaningful life. Humanity needs the intelligence you possess, but also your compassion, your inner freedom and your ability to work with others.”
Building on this framework, Rector Juan José Etxeberria emphasised that the anniversary is a call to renew Deusto's commitment to service and to remember that excellence cannot simply be measured by accumulated achievements or institutional self-satisfaction.
In this context, Deusto's historic motto, Sapientia melior auro — “Wisdom is better than gold” — takes on renewed significance as the university discerns how it can help transform society.
The Rector noted that the transformations facing society today are different from those of 140 years ago, but are no less decisive. While it is impossible to predict every change that lies ahead, universities can decide how they respond to those changes, which principles should guide them and whose needs their institutional capacities should serve.
The new Strategic Plan for 2027–2032 will therefore carry the title “Deusto: Tradition that Builds the Future.” The title expresses the conviction that tradition can provide criteria for responding to new circumstances.
“The future is not written: we must discern it and build it. And the Plan will have meaning if it is translated into concrete commitments to people and society.”
Among the main commitments outlined by the Rector is a strong emphasis on lifelong learning. This seeks to provide demanding academic preparation and a university experience that helps people discover their vocation and build a meaningful life project, combining academic rigour, accompaniment and ethics at undergraduate level as well as through continuing and executive education.
The Plan will also promote research focused on major societal challenges, with particular attention to human development, social justice, the ecological transition, health, social cohesion and the responsible use of technology. Scientific impact, in this vision, should ultimately be measured by its capacity to improve people's lives.
Another priority will be the development of an open and inclusive university. Deusto plans to strengthen its international partnerships, including through the global network of Jesuit universities IAJU, the European University Alliance UNIC and UNIJES — the network of Jesuit universities in Spain. It will also expand scholarships and opportunities for access among vulnerable groups.
At the same time, Deusto will continue to strengthen its local collaboration and impact, aligning its work with the development strategies of the Basque Country and the Basque University System. This includes active collaboration around the new University Law, the Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2030 and the Basque University Plan 2027–2030.
The anniversary celebration therefore offered more than an opportunity to look back at Deusto's history. It provided a moment to reflect on what it means to be a Jesuit university today — and on how education, research and intellectual life can remain at the service of people and society.
As Rector Etxeberria concluded:
“When we reach 2032, it will not be enough to count projects. We will have to ask ourselves whether we have accompanied people better, whether our knowledge has helped address social challenges and whether Deusto has served with greater depth and generosity. That is the measure of a living institution: not the years it has accumulated, but the future it is capable of building.”
The ceremony concluded with remarks from the Lehendakari of the Basque Government, Imanol Pradales. This was followed by a Eucharistic celebration at Bilbao's Santiago Cathedral, presided over by Joseba Segura, Bishop of Bilbao.
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