The Faculty of Engineering of Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards scholarships of 100,000 euros to six people to promote industrial entrepreneurship initiatives
The Faculty of Engineering of Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards scholarships of 100,000 euros to six people to promote industrial entrepreneurship initiatives
The Faculty of Engineering of Mondragon Unibertsitatea awards scholarships of 100,000 euros to six people to promote industrial entrepreneurship initiatives
In the new edition of the Mondragon Unibertsitatea Industrial Sustainable Entrepreneurship Awards competition, a total of 29 nominations have been submitted. Among the winning projects are: the revaluation of waste for paper development, a design and programming of interactive avatars, a system for the development of sustainable materials for construction, and a rescue system with drones.
Today we held the final of the 'Mondragon Unibertsitatea Industrial Sustainable Entrepreneurship Awards 2026' competition, which aims to promote sustainable industrial entrepreneurship through collaboration between start-ups and engineering students. In total, 29 projects have been presented. Of these, 10 come from already established start-ups that aspire to incorporate an engineering student into their teams. Of the other 19 projects presented, 8 belong to students who have developed their entrepreneurial projects at the University's Faculty of Engineering, and 11 to young talents with entrepreneurial industrial ideas yet to be developed. The latter seek to take the first steps in their own entrepreneurship project thanks to these scholarships.
In total, scholarships have been awarded to six people: two students have received a 3-month grant to develop their business idea; Four projects or start-ups in the area will receive funding to hire an engineering person for 11 months. In addition, other prizes have also been distributed: the SOKALAGUN Award, which consists of accompaniment to help define an intellectual property (IP) strategy, valued at 900 euros; and the awards for Best Presentation and Audience Award.
The winning projects were:
Talent category
- BIZIWASTE, by Morgana Vía.
The Biziwaste project aims to develop paper, cardboard and other materials with similar characteristics from waste generated in the wine bottling process in La Rioja.
- INTERACTIVE AVATARS, by Ainhoa Alonso.
Her work focuses on the design and programming of interactive digital avatars, capable of offering innovative and personalized experiences in different environments and applications.
Startup Category
- NEST
It is a biotechnology startup applied to construction that develops sustainable materials inspired by nature to reduce the environmental impact of the sector. Its proposal is framed in the principles of the blue economy, as it takes advantage of renewable marine resources, such as algae derivatives, to create construction panels with a low carbon footprint and high energy efficiency.
- GURAITZ
Guraitz is a startup specializing in rescue and emergency solutions through the use of state-of-the-art drones. Its proposal focuses on improving the speed and safety of search and rescue operations in hard-to-reach environments, such as mountainous areas, forest areas or areas affected by disasters.
- OPPORTUNITY HEALTH
Opportunity Health is a Navarrese startup in the field of health technology that has developed Yarnasa, an innovative automatic and self-applying device to act in choking situations. The company seeks to offer a fast, simple and safe response to one of the main causes of accidental death, allowing anyone to use the device without the need for external help or prior knowledge of first aid.
- NEETY
Neety is a startup from Gipuzkoa that has developed an artificial intelligence platform aimed at B2B business development. Its technology helps sales teams identify opportunities, prioritize leads, and execute business actions at the most appropriate time, automating tasks that traditionally consume much of salespeople's time.
SOKALAGUN Award
- GURAITZ
Talent seeks project
- This award has been won by the student Lier Quesada.
Best presentation
- DAISER
Daiser Energía is a company specialising in energy consultancy and energy efficiency that helps companies and organisations to optimise their consumption and reduce their energy costs. Headquartered in Donostia-San Sebastián, the company offers services for the analysis and management of electricity and gas contracts, consumption monitoring, implementation of energy saving measures and development of solutions based on renewable energies.
Audience Award
- BIZIWASTE, by Morgana Vía
Three major categories
The contest is divided into three main categories: "Talent with a project", where entrepreneurial projects from the school's quarry are registered; "Talent seeks project", in which talent from the Faculty of Engineering of Mondragon Unibertsitatea without their own project is willing to participate in a start-up; and "Project seeks talent", in which start-ups and entrepreneurial projects in the area try to attract talent from the faculty.
Collaborating companies
We have been promoting this contest for several years and during all this time different companies have joined it. The 100,000 euros prize that the contest will award have been possible thanks to the support of FAGOR, Orbea, and Corporación MONDRAGON, the main promoters of the contest. Gaztenpresa de Laboral Kutxa, Saiolan, GARAIA and Galbaian also collaborate in the competition. All of them are involved in promoting technological talent, job creation and wealth in the territory.
Here are the photos of the final