The challenge for students from various universities in the country in the 10th edition of the EDP University Challenge was to develop a marketing and communication plan for the Baixo Sabor region. The challenge was accepted by more than 300 students, who responded with proposals for projects aimed at the economic and sustainable development of the region, focusing on Biodiversity - fauna, flora and habitats.

The winning project was the Baixo Sabor Summer School, presented by five students from ISCTE-IUL, who received a prize of €5,000 and the possibility of an internship at EDP. This is a summer school that will work in partnership with local entities and welcomes entrepreneurial students from various areas of education for the development and implementation of multidisciplinary projects.

In 2nd place was a team of students from the Nova University of Lisbon and the Porto University Faculty of Economics, with the Nature Energy Festival by EDP. This is an eco-friendly project that involves the celebration, recognition and harmonisation of Nature and its relationship with human life. 3rd place on the podium went to a team from the Instituto Superior Técnico, which presented a 100% sustainable tourism project allied to species conservation, guaranteeing accommodation, accessibility to the site, cultural and recreational activities, and ensuring the conservation of nature.

For EDP, the 10th edition of the EDP University Challenge exceeded all expectations with the participation of 113 working groups. This year, the 15 finalist teams had the opportunity to participate in a bootcamp promoted by SPARK where they could develop skills in the presentation of their projects and where they prepared a one-minute pitch to present at the gala event. This pitch was later voted on by the public, the pitch with the most votes winning direct access to a place amongst the 5 finalists.

EDP University Challenge is an international competition for university students that now covers Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Poland. It aims to bring EDP closer to the knowledge and talent that exists in the academic world and to contribute to the training of new generations, giving them an opportunity to learn more about the logic of business strategies.

Winner: ISCTE
Name of project: Baixo Sabor Summer School
€5000 prize money for the team and the opportunity of an internship at EDP
€1250 prize money for the lead teacher
Team - Patrícia Ventura, Ana Guerra, Filipa Marques, Maitê Sena and Pedro Pereira
Lead teacher – Joaquim Vicente Rodrigues

2nd Place: UNL and FEP
Name of project: Nature Energy Festival by EDP
€3000 prize money for the team
€1000 prize money for the lead teacher
Team – Sara Aguiar and Luís Santos

3rd Place: Instituto Superior Técnico
Name of project: Baixo Sabor Reborn
€2000 prize money for the team
€750 prize money for the lead teacher
Team – Beatriz Almeida, Joana Faria, Rui Lourenço and José Pedro Portela
Lead teacher – Teresa Cardoso de Gomes Grilo