Ingenia reaffirms its role as a platform for promoting young entrepreneurship at the Cabildo.

Representatives from the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna and the Tenerife Island Council met on Monday, October 13th, with the teams participating in the sixth edition of the Ingenia program to present each of the projects. This initiative, promoted by the academic institution and funded by the island council, supports sustainable and socially responsible youth entrepreneurship in Tenerife.

Representing the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna were Julio Brito, manager of the institution; Nuria Hernández, director of the University Innovation Agency; Juan Antonio Rodríguez, academic director of the program; as well as the technical team from Ingenia.

Representing the Island Council were its president, Rosa Dávila; the CEO of Training and Youth, Serafín Mesa; the Councilor for Innovation, Juan José Martínez; and the Director General of Waste Management, Alejandro Molowny. They were all able to learn firsthand about the projects developed by the students and analyze their viability and social and environmental impact.

Brito highlighted the evolution of the program throughout its editions and the high quality of the projects presented, emphasizing that "Ingenia is the seed to germinate something bigger," referring to the transformative potential of the ideas driven by university youth.

Dávila emphasized that progress is built by listening to new generations, supporting their ideas, and creating opportunities for them to become reality. “The talent we see here today is the best guarantee that Tenerife has a great future ahead.”.

For his part, Juan Antonio Rodríguez highlighted the educational impact of the program: “This type of initiative not only fosters entrepreneurship, but also contributes to the personal development of the participants and the acquisition of key skills for their professional future.”.

This year's edition features ten projects: Blue Flow, Cárgate en Verde, Comer Bien y Vivir Mejor, Coral Check, Empoderamiento Digital, Herencia y Futuro, InnovaSolar, Númidas, Pequeños Guardianes de Tenerife, and SIGRA. These initiatives cover areas such as environmental protection, responsible resource use, sustainable mobility, social inclusion, and care for people.

In addition, the progress of Imagos was presented, an initiative that participated in the fifth edition of the program and is the winner of the 'Africa Canarias Challenge' scientific and technological projects competition.

Innovation with purpose

Ingenia is a program at the University of La Laguna, launched in 2019 to promote youth entrepreneurship with a sustainable and social focus. In its six editions, it has supported 55 projects led by 218 young people.

Its mission is to train the youth of Tenerife as agents of change, offering them training, funding and support to turn ideas into real solutions, applying the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology.

In 2024, Ingenia received the Best Program Award in the Social category from MetaRed S and the MetaRed S International Award, which recognize its impact on sustainability, governance and university social innovation at the Ibero-American level.