The STARS EU alliance of European universities launched the first edition of its Student Case Competition on Monday, April 20th, which runs until Friday, April 24th, at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, Netherlands. The University of La Laguna is participating with a team of four undergraduate and master's students in Tourism: Vivian Madeline Rojas, Adrián González, Ana María Barrera, and Ángel Goya. They are accompanied by Professor [Name Missing] as their coach. Tamara González, Vice Dean of Students and Employability of the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism; and the Professor of Mathematical Analysis and member of the steering committee of the Alliance Rodrigo Trujillo.
The aim of this competition is for participants to work on real-world business cases, focusing primarily on the challenges faced by SMEs and family businesses. It combines collaborative work with hands-on learning and international exchange to foster the development of skills such as teamwork, intercultural communication, and analytical abilities in diverse contexts.
The inaugural STARSEU Student Case Competition kicked off yesterday, Monday, with around one hundred people in attendance, including students, faculty, university staff, and alliance ambassadors. Participants joined this first educational initiative, which brings together the nine member universities. The opening day was marked by the arrival of the participating teams and the start of the program's first activities.
The event began with the registration and reception of the students, followed by an institutional welcome ceremony led by Dick Pouwels, general coordinator of the alliance, and president of the Hanze Executive Council, along with Mira Bloemen-Bekx and Heinrich Naumann.
The ULL team during one of the work sessions.
First contacts
Afterwards, the teams divided into their respective work areas, where they had the opportunity to get to know each other and make initial contact before sharing lunch together. The day continued with a social activity in the afternoon, preceded by a group photograph that brought all the participants together.
The program taking place over the next few days also fosters intercultural communication and analytical skills in diverse contexts. To this end, the participants, divided into nine international teams, will work to develop solutions under pressure, which they will present in the coming days to an international jury composed of academics and industry experts.
Family photo of the delegations from the nine STARS EU universities.
Active involvement of partners
This STARS EU initiative has achieved the active involvement of the nine partner universities, which have sent their teams of students accompanied by their respective tutors, thus contributing to consolidating the international and collaborative nature of the alliance.
The universities participating in this pioneering experience, in addition to the organizing university (Hanze University of Applied Sciences), are the West University (Sweden); Polytechnic University of Braganza (Portugal); Silesian University in Opava (Czech Republic); Aleksandër Moisiu University in Durrës (Albania); Krakow University of Technology (Poland) and Bremen University of Applied Sciences (Germany), as well as the University of La Laguna.
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