The University of Vigo has announced the results of awards designed to showcase the contributions of student research in entrepreneurship and innovation through their final projects and theses. A total of 30 research projects were submitted, with 22 awards granted: eight for the best doctoral theses, twelve for undergraduate final projects (TFG), and two for master's final projects (TFM). The awards recognise innovative proposals with the potential to evolve into business initiatives, focusing on factors such as innovation, creativity, viability, growth potential, impact, and the inclusion of a work plan and video presentation.
Doctoral theses highlight innovative uses of waste
In the doctoral thesis category, five first prizes of €1,200 each and three second prizes of €600 each were awarded. The highest-scoring project was presented by Oscar Martínez Rico from the engineering field, for his work titled CircularTex Solutions, a technology-based spin-off from the University of Vigo aimed at valorising textile waste and wastewater through green chemistry. In the scientific category, the top-rated project was by Beatriz Rodríguez Martínez, focusing on the valorisation of potato peels to obtain bio-based compounds. In the arts and humanities category, a thesis on the development and optimisation of decentralised machine learning models in the context of sustainable mining received recognition.
Undergraduate projects leverage social media and AI
For the best TFG/TFM awards, six first prizes valued at €800 each, six second prizes at €400, and two third prizes at €200 were awarded. The highest-scoring TFG was presented by Rubén Ballesteros from the Social and Legal Sciences field for his project 'Es Automático': a design, communication, and web development plan for a brand offering automation services using artificial intelligence. Other notable TFGs included Minerva García Fombuena's project on creating a Digital Twin of Competencies, an innovative solution aimed at preserving talent, promoting digital transformation, and ensuring generational change in public administrations. From the engineering sector, Daniela Sanz Toucedo received an award for her TFG on designing and developing a performance monitoring system based on inertial and biometric sensors applied to padel. Named Padel Analytics, the project proposes the creation of a smart wristband that detects each padel shot, identifies its type, and transforms the data into useful indicators for players.
Master's projects focus on energy analysis and water quality
In the TFM category, the first prize was awarded to Diego Costas Moyano for developing a non-supervised clustering tool based on k-means for the energy analysis of public rental housing, while the second prize went to Pablo Alonso González for a water quality management tool for eutrophic reservoirs.
