A total of 92 high school students and students from intermediate and higher-level vocational training programs took part this Thursday in El Ejido (Almería) in a hackathon organized by Andalucía Emprende, in which 12 initiatives were designed aimed at attracting young talent for the province’s agri-food industry.
The meeting took place at the Instituto de Educación Secundaria (IES) Fuente Nueva and brought together students from educational centers in Aguadulce, Almería and El Ejido, as the Junta de Andalucía explained in an information note.
In this edition, the agri-food company Berdea, S.A.T. acted as a collaborating firm, posing the challenge to the participants. The winning team consisted of eight students from the Portocarrero and Compañía de María schools, as well as from the IES Alhamilla, Los Ángeles, Fuente Nueva and Santo Domingo.
The winning proposal, named '180º Agrop', is structured as a web platform for guidance and professional connection that links companies in the agri-food and agribusiness sector with young people interested in directing their career path toward this field.
The territorial delegate for Economy, Finance, European Funds and Industry, Energy and Mines in Almería, Guillermo Casquet, participated in the awarding of prizes together with the Education councillor of El Ejido, Javier Rodríguez, and was in charge of closing the event.
"The future of Almería’s agroindustry depends on us being able to awaken vocations, attract talent and offer real opportunities for professional development to our young people", the delegate said, who stressed that this type of proposal makes it easier to understand the business challenges and career opportunities in the sector.
"When education and business work in a coordinated way, young people win, businesses win and the whole province wins", Casquet added.
For his part, the Education councillor of El Ejido congratulated the Junta and the institute for "putting into motion this type of initiatives that seek to enhance young people’s talent" and sent his congratulations to the students "for putting your skills to the test when it comes to contributing solutions to such an important issue as climate change and high temperatures".
Development of the projects
To face the business challenge, students have taken part in idea generation and filtering activities, defining value propositions, analyzing the target customer, and preparing an “elevator pitch”, that is, a brief presentation of their entrepreneurial project.
Afterwards, the groups defended their work before a panel made up of representatives of the Board, of the company that launched the challenge, and by teachers from the participating centers, which has evaluated the initiatives and chosen the winning proposal.
The collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, together with guidance from professionals, has helped students strengthen skills such as creativity, innovation, teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving.
Likewise, direct contact with real challenges from the business fabric and support from experts has enabled young people to explore their capabilities, identify opportunities, and understand the different stages needed to drive an entrepreneurial project forward.
The activity also aims to show students how their ideas can contribute to the economic and social development of their area, to the creation of quality jobs, and to the creation of new opportunities.
A tour of the eight provinces
The session held in El Ejido forms part of the hackathon cycle of Andalucía Emprende, which is visiting all eight Andalusian provinces with the aim of promoting an entrepreneurial spirit among secondary school, sixth-form, and vocational training students.
In this call, participation of around 800 students from all over Andalusia is expected. After the stop in El Ejido, the cycle will conclude next November 12 in La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), the final stage of this Andalusian itinerary.