The University of La Laguna and the Tenerife Island Council, through its Education and Youth Department, have launched the sixth edition of Ingenia, This innovation and entrepreneurship project offers up to €2,000 in funding to implement initiatives that address social and environmental problems in the Canary Islands. Developed by the Vice-Rectorate for Students at the academic institution, the call for proposals will remain open until January 20, 2025.
Ingenia provides guidance and grants to individuals with ideas to address the challenges facing the islands related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Selected teams will receive support at various stages, including reviewing objectives, resource planning, phased project implementation, and impact assessment. This entire process will take place during the second semester of the 2024-2025 academic year.
In the program's five years of operation, 45 initiatives have been supported, including several success stories that have continued to develop and grow. These include Acción Veritas, which aims to raise awareness, prevent misinformation, and provide tools to young people; and Cuerpetea, which seeks to promote a positive body image among women over 18.
Ingenia is aimed at people under 31, as well as teachers from schools in Tenerife who intend to promote projects with vocational and university students. Teams will consist of two to five people and must fall into one of the following categories: vocational training students, undergraduate university students, master's or doctoral students, or members of the general public under 31 years of age registered as residents of the island.
The proposals submitted must be social, technological, or environmental initiatives linked to sustainable development in the Canary Islands. The various ideas will be evaluated based on criteria outlined in the guidelines, including the relevance of the problem addressed and the feasibility of the solution. Only projects that achieve a score of at least 50% will advance to a second phase, where participants will present their ideas in an interview and receive a further evaluation.
Course on the SDGs
Within Ingenia, a free training on the development of proposals linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, aimed at anyone interested in this field, who will be able to register until January 1, 2025. Those who pass the course will be able to participate in this sixth edition of Ingenia.
This course follows the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) format and is designed to teach participants how to identify relevant social and environmental problems through the co-creation of impactful projects using innovative and integrative methodologies. Furthermore, the training will provide knowledge on project planning related to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, in accordance with the Canary Islands Sustainable Development Agenda, addressing challenges in our social, environmental, and economic context.
Registered individuals will be able to follow the training in a self-directed manner, through materials of various formats and by carrying out practical exercises expressly designed to articulate the learning.
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