> The new Special Mention, created this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the SME of the Year Award, recognizes ADEMA’s contribution to the economic and social development of the Balearic Islands.
Palma, September 17, 2026
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, and Banco Santander have honored ADEMA with the new “Business Legacy” Special Mention. This distinction was introduced this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the SME of the Year Award and aims to recognize companies that have distinguished themselves over the years through their track record, perseverance, capacity for innovation, and contribution to the economic and social development of the Balearic Islands.
> ADEMA President Diego González accepted the award on behalf of the institution during the gala held in Mallorca.
The award was accepted by ADEMA President Diego González during the 2026 Balearic Islands SME of the Year Awards gala, organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, and Banco Santander, with the collaboration of *Última Hora*.
The awarding of this new distinction highlights ADEMA’s track record and the evolution of a project that originated in Mallorca and has been closely linked for nearly 34 years to education, training, and the creation of new opportunities. Over the years, the institution has progressively expanded its activities, educational offerings, and facilities, while maintaining an unwavering commitment to innovation, educational quality, and strong ties to the Islands’ professional, business, and institutional sectors.
Most recently, it has spearheaded the new Universitat de Mallorca (UMAC-ADEMA), which envisions a university model combining cutting-edge technology, accessibility, practical training, service-learning projects, applied research, knowledge transfer, corporate collaboration, and internationalization across its four campuses in Palma and Inca.
Its academic offering is structured around new degree programs and strategic areas—including Health, Science and Technology, Engineering, Architecture, Design, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences—complemented by a growing range of postgraduate and doctoral programs. This follows the identification of new educational needs and their transformation into opportunities for the Balearic Islands, the generation and retention of talent, and the opening of Mallorca to the world.
To mark the tenth anniversary of the SME of the Year Award, the organizers have introduced the “Business Legacy” Special Mention for the first time in this edition, designed to recognize a sustained business track record and its impact on the surrounding community. This accolade places particular value on perseverance, the capacity for adaptation and innovation, and contributions to the economic and social development of the Balearic Islands.
The award holds special significance for ADEMA, which was previously recognized as the SME of the Year for the Balearic Islands in 2020. Six years later, this new distinction acknowledges the continuity and evolution of that trajectory, as well as the institution’s growth.
ADEMA President Diego González expressed his gratitude to the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce, and Banco Santander for the “Business Legacy” Special Mention, and congratulated the other award-winning companies and participants in this tenth edition of the Balearic Islands SME of the Year Awards.
“Receiving the ‘Business Legacy’ Special Mention is particularly moving and significant because it recognizes not only what ADEMA represents today, but also the journey undertaken over more than thirty years. It is an acknowledgment that belongs, above all, to everyone who has been and remains part of this project—to those whose hard work, commitment, and adaptability have enabled ADEMA to grow and evolve without losing its essence,” noted Diego González.
The president of ADEMA highlighted that “since our inception, we have sought to anticipate society’s needs and create new educational opportunities in the Balearic Islands. We were founded with the aim of offering programs that did not previously exist in the Islands, and over the years, we have expanded that commitment to include university education, research, innovation, internationalization, and knowledge transfer. We have always viewed education as a tool for creating opportunities, fostering talent, and contributing to the economic and social progress of our community.”
In this regard, González also addressed the new phase the institution is entering with the creation of the Universitat de Mallorca (UMAC). “The Universitat de Mallorca represents the natural evolution of this entire journey. We aim to expand study opportunities in the Balearic Islands—particularly in strategic fields—help train the professionals our society needs, and create an environment capable of generating, attracting, and retaining talent. All of this while strengthening research, innovation, internationalization, and collaboration with businesses, institutions, and society.”
“This recognition also invites us to look toward the future with a sense of responsibility. Our legacy lies in the people who have trained with us, in the professionals who today contribute to the development of our society, in the research projects, in the partnerships we have built, and in the opportunities we have helped create over the years. But a legacy is not merely what has been built; it is also the responsibility to continue creating new opportunities for the generations to come,” González concluded.
> A track record spanning more than three decades
ADEMA began its journey in 1993 as a business initiative in the healthcare sector, with the aim of bringing official qualifications to Mallorca—programs not previously offered in the islands—and training qualified professionals for sectors with growing demand.
Its beginnings were rooted in vocational training for advanced degrees in dental prosthetics and oral hygiene; over the years, the institution progressively expanded its offerings into new areas, consolidating an educational model based on practical training, student support, and a close connection to the needs of the Balearic Islands’ productive and healthcare sectors.
After more than two decades of growth, ADEMA made the leap into university-level education. In 2015, it formalized its affiliation with the University of the Balearic Islands and subsequently launched degree programs in Dentistry, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and Fine Arts, while also expanding into postgraduate training and applied research and incorporating new teaching, clinical, and technological facilities.
Nearly 34 years after its inception, this journey is now entering a new phase with the Universitat de Mallorca (UMAC-ADEMA), conceived as the continuation of a project aimed at expanding higher education opportunities, fostering research, and contributing to the social, cultural, and economic development of the Balearic Islands.
The Universitat de Mallorca will diversify the range of university offerings in the Balearic Islands, particularly in strategic fields such as Health, Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture, Design, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences. The new institution, which comprises four campuses distributed across Palma and Inca, aims to address two major challenges facing the autonomous community: the need to train qualified professionals in high-demand sectors and the desirability of reducing the number of young people who must study outside the islands due to the lack of specific degree programs.
The SME of the Year Awards aim to recognize the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises and highlight their fundamental role in creating jobs, wealth, and economic development. In the Balearic Islands, the 2026 edition saw the participation of 87 companies—a figure surpassed only by Madrid.
The call for entries establishes a main category—SME of the Year 2026 for the Balearic Islands—alongside four runner-up awards: Internationalization, Digitalization and Innovation, Training and Employment, and Sustainable SME. Marking the awards’ tenth anniversary, a new “Business Legacy” Special Mention has been added this year, awarded to ADEMA in recognition of its track record.
Attendees at the event included—among other officials and representatives from institutions and the business community—Alejandro Sáenz de San Pedro, Regional Minister for Business, the Self-Employed, and Energy; Eduardo Soriano, President of the Mallorca Chamber of Commerce; Celia Torrebadella, Territorial Director of Banco Santander in the Balearic Islands; and Carme Serra, President of Grup Serra.