• 1
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 09:49

Students, the focus of sustainability challenges

On April 22 and 23, the Sustainable Innovation Ideathon took place, a business ideas competition aimed at finding solutions to the different sustainable development issues. 

Editorial/Daria Efimova

The Rey Juan Carlos University, in collaboration with the student association UNION Campus, have launched a new initiative: Ideathon of Sustainable Innovation. It consists of a competition in which students can present their business ideas, focused on solving different sustainable development challenges. Being a completely practical activity, the participants have had the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills developed during their university career. 

Ideathon took place on April 22 and 23 at the Fuenlabrada campus. In addition, the six teams with the most innovative ideas have obtained a reward of 3000 euros. 

An initiative of the entire university community

Several URJC entities have participated in the creation of Ideathon. Among them are the Vice Presidents for Innovation, Transfer and Relations with Companies and Planning and Strategy, as well as the Green Office and the Social Council. Its objective is to promote the new business ideas proposed by the students, as well as to teach the participants the different innovation and communication methodologies.

In its entirety, Ideathon has proposed five possible challenges to solve: promoting the circular economy and reducing waste; improve the use of water resources; achieve zero food waste; promote the use of clean energy in public spaces; and improve the well-being of the university community. The teams, made up of a maximum of five people, aimed to offer a solution to one of these issues. "We have chosen these challenges because they are key modules of sustainability," explains Jorge García Castanedo, one of the organizers of Ideathon and president of UNION Campus. "We are aiming to provide feasible solutions that can be implemented as soon as possible within the university." 

The competition consists of two days. On the first day, the participants had to create a business idea using the various exponential methodologies that they were taught during the event, such as design thinking lean startup Then, during the second day, they presented their projects before a specialized jury. 

Ideathon obtained an impressive reception in the student body, with a participation of 120 people, distributed in 25 teams. It was aimed at all students regardless of their branch of knowledge, something that has contributed to the success of this challenge. “Being a dynamic of innovation, any idea is worthwhile. Many times we do not dare to give ideas because we think we do not know anything about the subject; but, on occasions, precisely because we are away from the subject, we are capable of launching new and original ideas, and that is what we would like to promote”, concludes Jorge García.