What is?
The EDP University Challenge is an international EDP competition for young university students.
Today there are 3 editions, Portugal, Brazil and EDP Renewables being present in several geographical areas where the latter company is present (Spain, France, Italy and Belgium).
Who can participate?
This award is intended for the entire academic community of Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy and Belgium. The challenge presented annually may have components such as engineering, management, economics, marketing and communication.
What's the dynamics?


Numbers of Previous Editions in Portugal:
13 years | 13 editions
Previous Editions
You can meet the winners and projects from previous editions of the EDP University Challenge.

The EDP University Challenge is back!
Do you want to win a trip to Silicon Valley? The 14th Edition of the EDP University Challenge will take you there. Form your team and apply!
After the successful trip of the winning team of the 2019 Edition, this year's edition again gives you the chance to go to Silicon Valley, the center par excellence of the cutting-edge technology industry.
Theme for 2020 edition:
"Sustainability"
1. Energy Efficiency
The bet on natural elements in Renewables
Consumeless - the watchword in reducing consumption
- The Mobility Fast Track - we will avoid CO2 emissions
2. Circular Economy
The virtuous cycle in the Development and / or Integration of Artificial Intelligence and IoT solutions applied to the various stages of the circular economy (5 R ́s)
Development of technological solutions that make the implementation of each of the 5 R's more efficient.
- New business models and new services in the scope of renting solar or kitchen equipment
Check the BRIEFING | Check the REGULATION
❗️Important dates:
- Registration and submission of ideas: between February 19 and April 9, 2020
- Communication of the pre-selection of the 50 best ideas: April 16, 2020
- Delivery of final projects: until June 12, 2020
- Communication of the semi-finalist projects: August 2020
- Final Venue in Portugal: September 2020
- Global Final Ceremony: October 2020
- Trip to Silicon Valley: 2021
Prizes
Local Final Prize:
3 winning teams
1.200€ per team
- 400€ per professor
Global Final Prize:
A trip to Silicon Valley for students and teacher.




The 14th edition of the EDP University Challenge program has got to an end! It was launched on March 12, 2020 and, for the 2nd consecutive year, it brought together the 3 companies that promote the project: EDP Portugal, EDP Renewables and EDP Brasil, in a global final ceremony.
Before this moment, in each of the geographies, the 3 teams with the best projects were selected to participate in a local final. The 9 finalist teams met in the global final to dispute the grand prize, a trip to Silicon Valley.
The global winning team
The big winners are from the University of Oviedo with the project: Exploitation of mine water for energy generation and storage.
The project proposes the transformation of abandoned underground mines into renewable energy storage units such as wind and hydraulic, as well as the generation of energy through wind farms. The project contains a study on the mine in Lieres.
Team members: Héctor Álvarez and Guillermo Domínguez Peláez
Professor: María Almudena Ordóñez Alonso.
The team had already been selected for the EDPR University Challenge semifinal held in September. At that time, students Guillermo Domínguez Peláez and Héctor Álvarez González and the coordinating teacher, received a monetary prize. Now, after being elected winners of the EDP University Challenge, this award is complemented by a trip for students and their advisor to Silicon Valley.

The Portuguese local final
This year's edition received more than 50 applications from teams of Portuguese university students. Of these, 15 were chosen, who competed for a place on the podium of the Portuguese semifinal. In a ceremony that took place remotely, these teams took a two-minute pitch to present their work in the last few months. Of these 15 teams, the five with the most interesting proposals were selected, who then had more time to present their projects to the jury.
In the end, the 3 finalists were elected, who received a check for € 1200 for the team and € 400 for the professor. In addition to the financial prize, they will have the opportunity to participate in the global final of this program, together with the 6 finalists of the editions of EDP Brasil and EDP Renewables, held on October 29th.
The project: Re: dy: Reducing Dynamically Costs was the Portuguese finalist in the global final.

The teams:
Project: Re: dy: Reducing Dynamically Costs 🏅
Team members: Laura Somsen, Bruna Cruz and Patrícia Catarino
University: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, IPAM Lisboa
This project aims to reduce the cost of the same energy consumption, through hourly variation in the operation of loads involving a reduction in the network's dependence on consumers' consumption decision and a lower contracted power required for each house. With this project, it is intended to increase the users' adhesion to the application and the number of EDP customers.
Project: Sensor NB-IoT Multipropósito
Team members: Sofia Paiva and Rui Almeida
Professor: Jorge Cabral
University: Universidade do Minho
The NB-IoT Multi-Purpose sensor aims to demonstrate that it is possible to increase the comfort of people who have to be in a room for a long time and also to identify cases of energy inefficiency related to the air conditioning of the space, as well as situations of high concentration of dangerous gases.
Project: Vehicle Smart Grid based on a Multi-Agent System
Team members: Miguel Trinca, João Tiago Aparício and Daniel Castro
Professor: Rui Henriques
University: Universidade de Lisboa
The NB-IoT Multi-Purpose sensor aims to demonstrate that it is possible to increase the comfort of people who have to be in a room for a long time and also to identify cases of energy inefficiency related to the air conditioning of the space, as well as situations of high concentration of dangerous gases.

The EDP University Challenge is an international EDP competition for young university students. Today there are 3 editions, Portugal, Brazil and EDP Renováveis being present in several geographical areas where the latter company is present (Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and England).
The competition aims to bring the students closer to EDP and the business reality and also to recognize and reward the best projects presented.
Participation of students who have completed their training in the previous school year is not possible. Only the participation of students who are enrolled in this school year will be accepted.
No, the participants can only participate with a single project per edit.
Yes. The competition in Portugal is open to all university students enrolled in a Portuguese higher education institution. Exchange students may participate as far as they prove that in the respective academic year they are enrolled in a Portuguese higher education institution.
Participants will be able to send another document that proves their enrollment in their educational institution, such as a certificate of enrollment.
Since in the initial stage of the competition a pre-selection of the best ideas will be carried out, the projects presented should be based on the concept initially presented. This concept can be worked out by the team following different approaches that will lead to a different result. Such changes should be shared with the EDP University Challenge Management Team by sending an email to universitychallenge@edp.com.
To retrieve the group identification code, the representative must send an email to universitychallenge@edp.com requesting the group identification code. A photocopy of the group representative's faculty card and / or proof of enrollment must be attached.
After registering online at the competition site www.portugal.edp.com/edpuniversitychallenge, each participating group will receive an automatic email message confirming their registration. This message will contain a code identifying the group. This code should be saved because it will serve for the process of monitoring the projects and the process of delivery of the projects. This code should not be transmitted to any element outside the group.
For each edition of EDP University Challenge there are previously stipulated dates that can be consulted in the Regulations available on the EDP University Challenge contest site and here.
Teams can be composed of elements from different areas of knowledge, as a way to achieve a multidisciplinary and complementarity quality between them.
Yes, it is possible to carry out curricular projects, as long as they fall within the scope of the theme of the EDP University Challenge contest.
The minimum number of participants per group is 2 elements and the maximum number is 3 elements.
On the contest site www.portugal.edp.com/edpuniversitychallenge you can find a place to sign up and submit your idea.
You will be contacted within two weeks to see if your idea has passed on to the next phase of the contest.
The EDP University Challenge goes through the following phases:
1. Signing up and submitting an idea (theme in www.portugal.edp.com/edpuniversitychallenge)
2. Pre-selection and communication of the 50 best ideas to start the project development
3. Selection and communication of the 15 semi-finalist projects
4. Final Place with 15 semifinalist teams and selection of the 3 finalists of the Portuguese edition
6. Global Final - place indicated in the competition REGULATION
The delivery of the project must be carried out exclusively by online means, through the dedicated page on the EDP University Challenge website. Any doubts about the procedure can be clarified with the EDP University Challenge Management Team by sending an email to universitychallenge@edp.com.
Should the project include a video file or other media format exceeding 25 MB (twenty-five megabytes), the group may upload it on an external platform (e.g. www.youtube.com.). It is advisable to change the video's privacy settings, selecting the unlisted/private option. The video address should be added to the final work.
The work must be submitted within the deadline specified in the competition rules; therefore, it can be replaced and changed until the submission deadline. Only the last uploaded version will be considered valid.
The file to be submitted on the competition site cannot exceed 25 MB (twenty-five megabytes).
The report must be submitted in a non-editable format - PDF. Alternatively, if the group wants to submit more than one file, the report can be submitted in ZIP format. If the group wants to add images or other files that it deems relevant and necessary, these can be included in the ZIP file. As a precaution, if the group sends several files, these should be listed in the report itself.
When registering for the EDP University Challenge, each group will receive an automatic registration confirmation message, which will contain a unique ID Code. When submitting its project, the group must enter that code in the respective field.
To be selected as the big winner, the group must be represented by at least one of its elements. It is not necessary to have all elements of the group present.
No, the groups will not be allowed to use additional elements during presentations (changes in the room brightness or the use of support objects such as tables and chairs). All groups will have the same presentation conditions.
The travel and accommodation expenses of the teams in the final are organized and guaranteed by EDP when carried out in a country other than Portugal.
When the ceremony takes place in Portugal, EDP only assures the accommodation of finalist teams that live more than 100 km from the venue of the Global Final.
The Local Final is an informal event. In the Global Final it is advisable to wear casual formal / business clothing.
In the Local Final, the 15 semi-finalists will present their projects to the jury in pitch format, done in Portuguese (or English, if the presence of foreign students so justifies).
The Global Final is an international event, so the preferred language will be English. The final project documents may be delivered in Portuguese or English, but the presentation of the projects on the day of the ceremony should preferably be done in English.
The Global Final is a global event where the 9 finalist teams of the EDP University Challenge, that is the three finalists teams from Portugal, Brazil and EDP Renováveis will assemble. The location of the Global Final will take place in one of these 3 countries (Portugal, Spain or Brazil). See the Regulation for more information.
The competition has 3 editions, in geographical areas where EDP is present. In each of the geographical areas a Local Final is held with 15 semifinalists. In the Local Final 3 finalists are selected who will present their projects in the Global Final (total of 9 finalists). The Local Final will take place in Portugal, Spain or Brazil. Check the Competition REGULATION for more information.
You can contact the EDP University Challenge Management Team by sending an email to universitychallenge@edp.com
- Registration and submission of ideas: between February 19 and March 23, 2020
- Communication of the pre-selection of the 50 best ideas: March 31, 2020
- Delivery of final projects: June 12, 2020
- Communication of the semi-finalist projects: August 2020
- Local Final: September 2020
- Pitch Bootcamp and Global Final Ceremony: October 2020
- Trip to Silicon Valley: January 2021
No, the production rights of the projects are respected and the projects from previous years will not be allowed.
The research of information about the energy sector in Portugal and about EDP is the participants' responsibility. The analysis and framing form part of the aspects evaluated in the projects and should justify the robustness of the conclusions / proposals reached by the participants. However, information on EDP is available at the briefing on the competition's website.
In the Local Final the prize is monetary, the 3 teams in the final being awarded an equal amount. The total value is divided equally by all the elements of the group. Teachers will also receive a monetary prize.
In the Global Final there is only one winning team and all elements of the group, including the teacher, are awarded the same way. (more information about the prizes in the Competition Regulation).
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