Here I am, here I am. I’m back with a startup that I met a couple of weeks ago in Porto, Portugal. As soon as I saw it, I thought that it would be a nice way to start this tenth year that I’ve been writing this blog. I hope it will not leave you indifferent. (more…)
“Hacia el sur” (English version) (Southward)
The person I introduce you today is special for many aspects. Many of them are related to entrepreneurship and her powerful professionalism, but there are many others that, without being typical of an entrepreneur and without any doubt, are part of her added value. Her name is Ro Venegas and she is the CEO, image, soul and smile of Hacia el Sur (southwards), her dream project.
If you are interested in getting to know a person who defines herself as cheerful, social, extroverted, but serious and hard-working, and whose objectives include personal and professional growth by working with creative people who are capable of building things out of nothing to make people’s lives more entertaining, you just have to keep reading. (more…)
Cows can fly
Last March 2024, the ZUR_EKIN project (which means “with you” in Basque) was presented in the auditorium of the Bilbao campus of the University of Deusto (UD). It is a mentoring program aimed at accompanying and developing gifted students in Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, in which professors from different faculties of the UD (Law, Engineering, Deusto Business School, Education and Sports, Social and Human Sciences) mentor the students.
It is run and managed by the Unit of Support for the Development of High Intellectual Abilities, which is part of the Faculty of Education and Sport of the UD, in collaboration with the Department of Education of the Basque Government. My “good luck” this year, among others, has been to have the privilege of being part of this Unit (in which we have worked, and a lot). Although I have not been in direct contact with the students and teachers of the project, as a Unit, we have developed several lines and tasks of research that we consider very necessary to provide a quality educational response to this type of students.
In this first edition of the pioneer project in the Basque Autonomous Community, around thirty students from different schools have participated. On June 12, 2024 they presented, in a closing session of this edition, the projects they have carried out accompanied by their mentors.
Unfortunately, I could not attend the first part of the event, but I was able to enjoy many of the presentations made by the students in the second part, as well as the round table in which students and teachers participated.
It is great that, finally, visibility is given and work is being done for and with this type of students!
We know that there are things to improve, because nobody is perfect, but today I want to focus on the positive aspects of the June 12 session (we will leave the improvements to work on them). This time, this post is for the gifted students. Their presentations have been very diverse, from projects based on cows that can fly or cows that listen to music to produce better quality milk, to entrepreneurial projects based on the interests of young people or companies that bet on social economy and integrated social value.
I would like to highlight some of the characteristics of this group of young people, who have had the courage to face an audience of students, teachers and families who are very proud of them and the opportunity they have seized:
- Involvement
- Effort
- Collaboration
- Peer learning
- Listening
- Trust
- Very positive attitude
- Appreciation
- Desire for more (to know, to learn, to work, to learn about new topics)
- Extra-curiosity
- Enjoyment
- Ability to communicate orally
- Desire for freedom of expression and to ask questions to learn
The challenges they have worked on, besides satisfying many of their varied interests, have opened their minds even more, have allowed them to open up to new possibilities in an uncertain future for some of them, and have allowed them to demonstrate that they are very capable of solving problems in a creative way and even using totally unknown tools that, at the beginning, are used in very advanced educational courses compared to the ones they are in right now.
Congratulations for your achievements and thank you for teaching us. I am sure that what you showed us a few days ago is only the beginning of your path to success.
Enjoy July.
Hackathon
I would like to share with you a post that I prepared for another blog that we manage from the University of Deusto: Aprender para Enseñar (Learn to Teach). (more…)
The three principles “to get rich”
Answering to some people who asked me… yes, I’m still here, but it’s been hard months and, this time, I haven’t been able to write as much as I would have liked. Besides, I remind you that this coming November 2024 I will celebrate 10 years of this blog, it wouldn’t seem right to stop right now, don’t you think?
Today I want to share with you a video from TEDxAlcoi, by Rafa Fergom. I watched it a few days ago and I liked what he tells and how he tells it. Rafa shares with us the three principles to get rich, get richer, or just, the three principles of social entrepreneurship.
I don’t know if you know TED (I highly recommend them). They are short talks and this one that I share with you today, could not be otherwise. I encourage you to watch the video and listen to Rafa’s words. Among other things because you will discover that sharing is the best way to compete.
Here is a summary of the three principles:
Principle #1
- Helping is a very good strategy to transcend.
- It is better giving to share (love), and not to receive (to expect something in return), because this way of giving activates the flame of entrepreneurship, uncertainty, creativity, growth and development.
Principle #2
- We should do what makes us happy, useful and passionate, because from that way of doing, in return, we will receive something.
Principle #3
- Let’s do something bearing in mind the collective benefit, making other people feeling useful, recognized and valued.
- Let’s believe in the strength of the community. If something is not good for everyone, it is not good for others either.
Thank you, Rafa, for sharing your story and for reminding us that the person is not rich because he/she has more money than anyone else.
I’ll be back soon, I promise.
Thank you for still being there.