Vocento and U4IMPACT Award Five Groundbreaking Final Year Projects

A system that controls water networks, a mathematical Cluedo, a 'breathalyser' that detects diseases, an initiative that classifies breast tumours using data, and an artistic proposal that invites reconnection with nature have been the awarded projects in the second edition of the CREAIMPACTO Awards. Organised by Vocento and U4Impact, the awards aim to bridge the gap between the academic community and businesses committed to change.

The winners were selected from over 600 projects submitted this year, originating from 42 Spanish universities, 20 cities, and 50 fields of study across all areas of knowledge. All of them propose innovative and sustainable solutions, not only to current problems but also to future challenges, demonstrating the passion and commitment of university students towards a fairer and more sustainable future.

"These awards seek to reward the time, talent, knowledge, and effort you have invested in your projects. They all share a common thread: achieving a positive impact and contributing to a better future," said Mariana Ramonell, Director of Sustainability at Vocento, during the awards ceremony held yesterday at the company's headquarters in Madrid.

"For Vocento, participating in these awards is an opportunity to connect with younger generations, to listen to new proposals and ideas, and to understand your concerns," Ramonell assured, adding that Vocento wants to be a "voice for powerful causes that seek to improve society and offer a fresh and non-conformist perspective," providing "visibility, coverage, and dissemination to what we believe in and trust. Sharing your stories and thinking they can inspire other young people fills us with excitement."

Meanwhile, Blanca Travesí, co-founder and COO of U4IMPACT, emphasised that these awards "celebrate non-conformity" and expressed pride in receiving so many projects that "speak of commitment, values, creativity, and the attitude to face difficulties and problems." "These are awards to connect, go together, and reach further," she concluded.

The awards recognised five categories. Juan Arquero Gallego, from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, was the winner in the Sustainability category for his project "Design and Implementation of an IoT System for Monitoring and Controlling Water Distribution Networks," which aims to combat issues such as water loss or nitrate contamination through an intelligent system that controls water networks to optimise their use and detect leaks or contamination. To achieve this, it uses LoRa technology and a microcontroller with sensors connected to a web platform that manages the data remotely.

In the New Technologies category, Sandra Sánchez Sarabia from the University of Alicante won for her project "Detection of Breast Tumours Using Deep Learning." Sánchez Sarabia proposes creating a convolutional neural network model capable of classifying tumours in mammograms as benign or malignant using public datasets.

Tania García Olivas, from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, was awarded in the Social Innovation category for her work "The Crime Mystery," a mathematical Cluedo for fourth-year secondary school students that promotes active and cooperative learning through algebraic challenges. The game has already been applied at the IES Miguel Catalán in Coslada (Madrid), where it improved students' motivation and attitude towards mathematics.

In the Health category, the winner was David Morales Loro from the Polytechnic University of Madrid for his work: "Design of a Portable Breathalyser Chamber for Disease Diagnosis." Morales has developed a breath analyser with a semiconductor sensor developed in the laboratory, which has already successfully passed clinical trials and demonstrated its potential for rapid and non-invasive diagnostics.

Finally, in the Arts, Culture, and Humanities category, Anamaria Cimpeanu's work was recognised. The student from the Complutense University of Madrid explores in her artistic proposal, titled 'What We Remove,' the relationship between humans and nature in the urban environment, using wheat as a starting point. Cimpeanu analyses how this bond has changed throughout history through mythology, anthropology, sociology, urbanism, and culture, questioning the disconnection in cities and inviting reconnection with nature.

Before the awards ceremony, presented by geographer, climatologist, and science communicator Jacob Petrus, young Chema Garabito, who at 21 is the founder and CEO of SperidLabs, and his brother Guillermo, co-founder of the company and director of operations, spoke with Rodrigo Alonso, Technology Editor at ABC.

SperidLabs is an artificial intelligence project that generates digital twins of museums and art galleries, making them accessible from anywhere in the world and forever, thanks to augmented reality glasses. It also offers the possibility of creating exhibitions that have never existed, as the artworks are dispersed or not on public display.

Chema Garabito explained that he had bet on AI because "it is a technology that will dominate everything and can help us all in our daily work," and pointed out that "Europe cannot depend on other countries; it must develop it according to its values and idiosyncrasies." To the finalists of the CREAIMPACTO Awards, he advised "putting as much passion and effort as possible into their projects," while Guillermo Garabito added: "All the culture you can carry with you will make a difference. Surround yourself well and listen."