Un grupo de estudiantes trabajando por sus propósitos en el Challenge Universitario de Open Room

University Challenge Fundación Repsol

1st Edition of the Repsol Foundation University Challenge

The 1st Edition of the University Challenge on Energy Transition, promoted by Fundación Repsol, took place in 2024 and was aimed at undergraduate, master's, and PhD students from all over Spain.

In this Challenge, 1,700 students from 84 universities participated, organized into teams, and submitted more than 380 proposals to address the five challenges set out in the call: decarbonized cities, electric mobility, circular economy, decarbonized industry, and energy transition and society.

After the selection process, 93 students were chosen, organized into 25 teams, who competed for one of the five prizes in the grand final held in Madrid. The finalists shared a hackathon weekend, working intensely on their projects until they became almost business realities and defending them before a jury of Repsol professionals and experts.

The five winning teams, one per category, received a prize of €12,000 and the opportunity to complete a training internship at Repsol.

_{Arantza Hernanz, Director of Knowledge and Education at the Repsol Foundation}

"It is very important to advance in the energy transition and to do so in an orderly and intelligent way, maintaining the competitiveness of our industry and productive sectors. That is why we believe it is key to rely on university talent and we organized this Challenge so that students can contribute their ideas to solve the puzzle of the transition towards a decarbonized economy."

In the University Challenge, more than 1,700 students presented their ideas, although fewer than 100 reached the final.

The winners represent a wide variety of profiles linked to the energy transition, such as chemical engineers, telecommunications engineers, biologists, biotechnologists, computer scientists, journalists, or economists. The award-winning projects propose innovative solutions such as the application of wave energy to decarbonize maritime transport or the recycling of wind turbine blades from wind farms.

The grand final in Madrid

A 48-hour event in which the finalists worked on and defended their proposals before a jury of experts. The five winners each receive a prize of €12,000 and the chance to apply for a training grant at Repsol.

Watch the entire Gala