500 young people participate in the international ESIC and BBVA Hackathon

• Reduce Carbon Footprint y Improving Financial Health were the two challenges faced by the participants in this competition.
• Participants have chosen the challenge that most closely matched their concerns to realize an environmentally sustainable project that impacts and improves the carbon footprint at the individual, business and city level or designing a socially sustainable initiative that improves people's financial health.
• One of the novelties this year has been its hybrid format whereby part of the young people have been able to work on the project in person at ESIC and BBVA facilities, and the rest connected online from their different countries and cities of residence.
• The attendees were supported by professionals from ESIC and BBVA, including members of the Ninja community who have been a fundamental part of the exercise, guiding the participants in their projects, from the beginning and until the last moment.

ESIC Business & Marketing School y BBVA have held the second edition of the 'BBVA & ESIC Hackathon: Beyond Barriers', a project that challenges young university students, graduate students and young professionals from 6 different countries to present innovative and disruptive projects in the field of sustainability.

Reduce Carbon Footprint y Improving Financial Health were the two challenges faced by the participants in this competition.

In the first category, The Riels 2 team, formed by Andrea Rojas, Marina Sanchis, Ana Pascual, Nala Usach, Irene Valverde and Miguel Ángel Telliz, won first place thanks to their project 'A small gesture can create big changes'. Second place went to 'Personalización árboles' by The Bang Gank team made up of Larisa Birsanu, Enric Espí, Paula Lucas and Mayerlis Daniela López.

In the Improve Financial Health category , Charizard, made up of Tania Cantó, Adoración Martínez, Manuel Jesús Canales, Rodrigo Jiménez and Roberto Huergo, won first place. In second place was ESIC United, made up of María Marí, Juan Andrés Rubio, Cristina Ballester, María Sánchez, Javier Gómez, Christian Edwin Jiménez and Ángel Iván Martínez.

Participants have chosen the challenge that most closely matched their concerns to carry out an environmentally sustainable project that impacts and improves the carbon footprint at the individual, business or even city level thus contributing to SDG 11 (Sustainable Development Goal); or designing a socially sustainable initiative that improves people's financial health to contribute to the fight against social inequalities in line with the 4th and 10th SDGs.

500 participants supported by 65 coaches

The 500 participants of 'Hackathon BBVA & ESIC: Beyond Barriers' have been supported at all times by 65 coaches when preparing the challenges they have defended in front of the jury. have been supported at all times by 65 coaches when preparing the challenges they have defended in front of the jury composed of Ricardo Chicharro, Front Head Segmento Particulares; Julio Pimentel, Ninja Global Manager at BBVA; Teresa Madrigal, Director of Responsible Business at BBVA and Beatriz García-Figueras Training Manager at BBVA Spain and on behalf of ESIC Agustín Carrilero, Campus Director ESIC Valencia Community and María Guijarro, Research Director of the Campus in Valencia.

In this way, attendees had the support of ESIC and BBVA professionals, including members of the BBVA Ninja community who have been a fundamental part of the hackathon, guiding the participants in their projects or as participants in the teams, from the beginning and until the last moment.

The BBVA Ninja Community is a project designed so that any employee can acquire technological knowledge and skills thanks to the use of gamification techniques, together with the training offered by technology companies and educational platforms, promoting the participation of employees in innovative events such as this Hackathon.

One of the novelties this year has been its hybrid format whereby part of the young people have been able to work on the project in person at ESIC and BBVA facilities, and the rest connected online from their different countries and cities of residence.

"At ESIC we think that learning has a lot to do with personal relationships and people have a lot to say when it comes to transforming the society we are living in and the societies we have to face in the future," said Agustin Carrilero, Campus Director ESIC Valencia Community. "One of the things that the pandemic has brought is the need to reflect, to share knowledge and learn from the things we have done well and those we have done worse. From this Hackathon very interesting ideas come out of the participants, which are necessary and we need to respond to challenges posed by today's society".

David Conde, BBVA's Eastern Territory Manager: "Sustainability has been a strategic priority for BBVA for years. Our commitment to involve the whole of society, making it aware of the need to start taking steps as soon as possible to give our sons and daughters a greener and fairer world is materialized in initiatives such as this Hackathon".

ESIC and BBVA, commitment to sustainability

ESIC Business & Marketing School and BBVA are highly committed to this project that provides participants with the development of important skills sought after by the business world such as: empathy, critical thinking, teamwork and under time pressure, resilience; as well as the project will allow them to learn first hand the importance of adaptation working in multidisciplinary teams and with the confrontation of people from different countries.

ABOUT ESIC: ESIC is a Higher Education institution founded in 1965 that trains in Marketing, Management and Technology, fostering the capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship. Through its areas of activity - Graduate, Postgraduate, Corporate Education, Online Training, Professional Training Center, Publishing and Languages - it contributes to the training of people in knowledge, training them in competencies and sensitizing them in values to respond to the current challenges of the business world at all levels. Its centers are located in Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Galicia, Pamplona, Bilbao, Granada, as well as strategic alliances in all continents..

More information: www.esic.edu

Departamento de Comunicación ESIC Valencia
96 3614811
comunicacion.valencia@esic.edu