Zurich Insurance Group and the University of Barcelona create UB-Zurich Chair in Insurance

The Chair, the first one in this subject area at the University of Barcelona, aims at promoting and fostering teaching and research in the field of actuarial science and finance, particularly in risk management, an ability which is more and more necessary in our context of constant global change. Mercedes Ayuso, professor of Econometrics, Statistics and Spanish Economy at the UB, takes the charge of the Chair. The agreement to create the Chair has been posible thanks to the collaboration rendered by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Culture of the UB.

Located at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the UB, the Chair will foster three main courses of action: education, research and dissemination. For this purpose, it will have international Zurich expert groups, grants, project-funding programmes, collaborations and reports, among other initiatives.

It is a four-year collaboration agreement between the University and the insurance company. The collaboration can be extended if both organizations agree. The signature sets the Chair up. It contributes to the progress of the management development programme of Zurich which aims at promoting high-quality insurance knowledge among its collaborators.

The rector of the University of Barcelona stressed the relevance of university-company agreements, as well as the importance of predicting society's needs and beging proactive; therefore, private agentsʼ confidence in universities will be streghtened to favour productive fabric growth and innovation.

Julián López Zaballos, CEO of Zurich in Spain, stated that “UB-Zurich Chair in Insurance means a commitment to foster knowledge, education, research and dissemination on a quite unknown field at university level”. Moreover, López Zaballos added that, “thanks to the collaboration with the UB, more professional experts will be trained and a contribution to the global progress of the sector will be made; again, it proves Zurichʼs commitment to society”.