More than two thousand students from all over Spain take part in the 6th edition of the Naturgy Foundation Efigy Technology Competition
The objective of this school competition is to promote technological vocations and awareness of energy efficiency among the youngest.
The Naturgy Foundation has selected the nine semi-finalist projects in the 6th edition of the Efigy Technology Competition for the 2023-2024 academic year with more than two thousand students from all over Spain taking part. The initiative, aimed at students in the 3rd and 4th year of Compulsory Secondary Education, aims to promote the values of energy efficiency and encourage technological vocations from an early age.
To take part in the competition, students had to find the solution to a challenge that would help improve the planet through energy efficiency. This educational activity aims to motivate and raise awareness and interest in energy, strengthen the research ability of young people and inspire curiosity and creativity, while developing teamwork and communication skills.
Projects submitted had to be linked to issues such as air quality in cities, energy efficiency, energy innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, energy transition, new technologies and sustainable mobility, as well as energy consulting in vulnerable environments.
María Eugenia Coronado, managing director of the Naturgy Foundation, congratulated the semi-finalists of the sixth edition of the competition, highlighting the success of this new edition and the level of the projects presented. “This new edition of the Efigy Technology Competition, which is already a reference for schools, demonstrates the Naturgy Foundation’s commitment to promoting the importance of energy efficiency in the educational sphere and from an early age, as well as interest in STEM degrees, especially among girls and vulnerable groups”. Ms Coronado pointed out that “our objective is to create a collaborative environment for the energy transition in which innovation and the development of energy technologies are prioritised as the keys to achieving the sustainability of the planet”.
The winners will be announced on 23 May.
Videos of the nine semi-finalist projects are available from today until 7 May on the Naturgy Foundation website and on the Naturgy YouTube channel, where they will be submitted to public vote in a first phase. The team with the most votes from the public on social media will be considered a direct finalist in the final gala.
The young participants from different parts of Spain will present and defend their school projects at a gala event in Madrid on 23 May. On that day, students will be able to exhibit their STEM projects as part of an initiative that seeks to inspire schoolchildren, bringing them closer to the professional world and offering them a space for dialogue where they can showcase their talent and recognise their contribution to the great challenges of the future.
The event will be streamed (Efigy Technology Competition) on the same day from 12:30 p.m., which will allow classmates, family and friends of the participating students to follow the gala live.
The Panel of experts will make their own professional and technical assessments of the projects to select the winners at the final gala. This year it is made up of Ana Belén Sánchez, advisor on Just Transition to the Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Belén Gilarranz, head of institutional relations at the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), part of the Ministry of Science and Innovation; Ana Castro, vice-president for Innovation and Transfer at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); Nuria Rodríguez, director of Environment and CSR at Naturgy; and Manuel Calvo, head of Energy and Environment at the Naturgy Foundation.
Six editions of the Efigy Technology Competition
This new edition marks six years since the Naturgy Foundation launched the Efigy Technology Competition. During this time, more than 8,000 3rd and 4th year secondary students from 104 schools in 15 Autonomous Communities have taken part in the initiative. Around 300 energy efficiency projects have been assessed in total, which have aroused the interest of the social networks with more than 130,000 views.
The Efigy Technology Competition is part of the Efigy Education Programme, through which the Naturgy Foundation offers a wide range of training in the field of climate change and new energy technologies, with more than one million beneficiaries since 2018. This programme has the recognition and collaboration of leading institutions in the field of education and research, such as the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, FECYT and CSIC.
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