Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards the Enpresa Sortuz 2023 grants to start up sustainable technology projects
Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards the Enpresa Sortuz 2023 grants to start up sustainable technology projects
Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards the Enpresa Sortuz 2023 grants to start up sustainable technology projects
The university still has more scholarships that have not yet been allocated, so a second call for applications will open in the fall. Entrepreneurs interested in integrating an engineering student into their business idea can apply when the deadline opens.
The Higher Polytechnic School of Mondragon Unibertsitatea has held the final of the Enpresa Sortuz 2023 competition, an entrepreneurship contest aimed at sustainable industry where all sustainable technology-based business ideas have a place. Three grants were awarded in mid-June but there are still vacancies, which will be reserved for the new call to be opened in autumn.
In total, 19 projects have been submitted to the spring call, ideas that have provided technological and sustainable solutions in areas such as automotive, health, industry or manufacturing, among others. The grants have been made possible thanks to the support of Fagor Group, Orbea, Stirling Center and Fagor Ederlan, companies involved in promoting technological talent, job creation and wealth in the territory.
ENGIPRENEURSHIP and TECHNOPRENEURSHIP Category Winners
In this first call for 2023, two awards have been given in the ENGIPRENEURSHIP category and one in the TECHNOPRENEURSHIP category. The former seeks innovative and sustainable technology-based business ideas to try to bring them to the market. However, in the second, only the idea is awarded, without the need to develop it.
Focusing on ENGIPRENEURSHIP, the INKLUSIVO Design and SATOP projects have been awarded. El first of them has been developed by Amaia Beitia and Arantxa González de Heredia, teacher-researchers at Mondragon Unibertsitatea. This project is based on inclusive design and aims to market a platform and advice on more inclusive products and services to help companies reach a greater number of potential customers or users in the market. For its part, SATOP is the brainchild of Aritz Esnaola, a teacher-researcher at Mondragon Unibertsitatea, who proposes a business model based on the production of sports shoe soles, taking advantage of the benefits of 3D printing. The award in this category involves a grant for an engineering student from Mondragon Unibertsitatea to join the project throughout the 23/24 academic year, in addition to a grant of €10,000 for expenses and investment in the project.
The SATOP project also won the award for best pitching/presentation. It was chosen by the public through a vote and in this case, the winner, Aritz Esnaola, also received a 500 euro prize.
Finally, in the second category, TECHNOPRENEURSHIP, the winner was the Allergenius initiative, a project developed by Ainhoa Artola, Malen Herruzo and Judith Zubia, students of the Master's Degree in Biomedical Technologies of Mondragon Unibertsitatea, with which they intend to develop non-invasive solutions for allergy control. It is a microfluidic chip based on the Basophil Activation Test to detect different types of allergies and AllerGenius App.
The second call for the Enpresa Sortuz 2023 grants will take place in autumn and the remaining grants and financial prizes will be awarded to complete the 100,000 euros planned to support innovative and sustainable technological ideas presented this year.
About Enpresa Sortuz
The Enpresa Sortuz initiative of the Higher Polytechnic School of Mondragon Unibertsitatea has been running for several years and in recent years the support received from companies and institutions has increased considerably, especially with the imminent opening of HIREKIN, the Center for Technological and Sustainable Entrepreneurship located in Mondragon and led by Mondragon Unibertsitatea. The Gizabidea Foundation, which belongs to the Fagor Group, is the main sponsor of Enpresa Sortuz together with Orbea S.Coop, Centro Stirling and Fagor Ederlan. Also supporting the competition are the MONDRAGON Corporation, Saiolan, Galbaian, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Basque Government, the Gazte Enpresa Foundation of Laboral Kutxa and the GARAIA Technology Park. Thanks to all these collaborating entities the Enpresa Sortuz contest will distribute over €100,000 in the form of scholarships and economic prizes throughout 2023.
For more information: ekintzailetza.mgep@mondragon.edu