PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

UC3M student startup, Solaris Vita, awarded in Europe's largest entrepreneurship competition

2024-07-12
(Press-News.org) Solaris Vita, a startup created by students at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has won second place in the "Innovation of the Year" category at Gen-E 2024, the largest European youth entrepreneurship competition, organized by Junior Achievement Europe. This is the first time that a Spanish university team has won this award.

The promoters of Solaris Vita, Miguel Iglesias (Industrial Engineering graduate from UC3M) and Yann Guichard (Economics student at the University), competed alongside 1,000 other young people from more than 40 European countries who presented their projects at Gen-E, the largest youth entrepreneurship fair, held this year in Catania (Sicily) between July 2 and 5. During the 2023-2024 academic year, almost 400,000 European students created their company and competed to represent their country at this event. 

Solaris Vita proposes an agrovoltaic solution that combines thin flexible solar films with greenhouses and can generate electricity while maintaining agricultural activity. The organic photovoltaics (OPV) used by this startup is an emerging technology that uses thin films of organic semiconductors to convert sunlight into electricity.

This idea arises with a clear social objective: the donation of solar factories to the neediest countries. In addition, this company aims to revolutionize the Spanish energy sector by implementing cutting-edge technology in unconventional spaces. 

As Miguel Iglesias explained, "it has been a long road that began in October 2023 and ended just last week" The founder of Solaris Vita highlighted "the enormous reception that the project has had and the great interest shown in what we are building. This victory helps us to drive our vision forward and reaffirms the importance of implementing innovative solutions in the agricultural and photovoltaic sector".

Spanish finalist 

Solaris Vita has reached Gen-E after winning the National Entrepreneurship Competition, organized by Junior Achievement Spain. This meeting is part of the Startup Programme, which aims to foster entrepreneurial skills in young people such as creativity, effort and teamwork. For David Hernández Cela, from UC3M's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support Service, "the work that Junior Achievement Spain does with the Startup Programme and the other initiatives is vital to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in young people, and at UC3M we are committed to and support these initiatives. In addition, I have been able to live the GEN-E experience in Catania and enjoy the hundreds of young entrepreneurs who have shown their innovations with social impact. Congratulations to all the participants and especially to Solaris Vita, UC3M's representative from Spain, who has achieved a well-deserved second place".

Thanks to the mentoring of professional volunteers from different companies and the support of the teachers, the young people acquired the skills that have enabled them to design their own entrepreneurial projects. Miguel Iglesias has only words of thanks for them: "We can only thank all the people who have supported Solaris Vita and are involved in the project. None of this would be possible if it were not for them".

During the 2023-2024 academic year, 449 young university and vocational training students have developed their projects within the framework of this program, which is subsidized by the Madrid City Council, through Madrid Emprende, and sponsored by Naturgy, Tikehau Capital, Fundación PwC, SAP, BNY Mellon and SpainCap.

The Junior Achievement Foundation is one of the world's largest international non-profit organizations in entrepreneurship education, financial education and career guidance. It develops programs in more than 120 countries and in 30 languages, benefiting more than 10.5 million young people each year. Junior Achievement has been working in Spain since 2001 to empower the talents of young people and equip them with the skills they need to make a successful transition to employability.  

Solaris Vita is a UC3M student project that has had direct support for more than 2 years from the Center for Innovation in Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence (C3N-IA) of the UC3M Science Park, with personalized mentoring, training, workshops and participation in the Explorer and Startup Program.

More information:  https://solarisvita.com/

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How plant cold specialists can adapt to the environment

How plant cold specialists can adapt to the environment
2024-07-12
Plant cold specialists like the spoonworts have adapted well to the cold climates of the Ice Ages. As cold and warm periods alternated, they developed a number of species that also resulted in a proliferation of the genome. Evolutionary biologists from the universities of Heidelberg, Nottingham, and Prague studied the influence this genome duplication has on the adaptive potential of plants. The results show that polyploids – species with more than two sets of chromosomes – can have an accumulation of structural mutations with signals for a possible local ...

Biomarkers reveal how patients with glaucoma may respond to treatment

2024-07-12
Markers in the blood that predict whether glaucoma patients are at higher risk of continued loss of vision following conventional treatment have been identified by researchers at UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital. Over 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma and it is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The condition occurs when the cells in the eye that help you see (called retinal ganglion cells) start to die. The main risk factors for glaucoma are high eye pressure and older age. Currently, all licenced treatments are designed to lower pressure in the eye – also known as intraocular pressure. However, some patients ...

Microbeads with adaptable fluorescent colors from visible light to near-infrared

Microbeads with adaptable fluorescent colors from visible light to near-infrared
2024-07-12
1. A research team at NIMS has successfully developed an environmentally friendly, microspherical fluorescent material primarily made from citric acid. These microbeads emit various colors of light depending on the illuminating light and the size of the beads, which suggests a wide range of applications. Furthermore, the use of plant-derived materials allows for low-cost and energy-efficient synthesis. 2. Conventional luminescent devices commonly utilized thin films of compound semiconductors containing metals or sintered inorganic materials with rare earth elements. However, in a circular economy, there ...

Neighborhood disadvantage and prostate tumor RNA expression of stress-related genes

2024-07-12
About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, the expression of several stress-related genes in prostate tumors was higher among men residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. This study is one of the first to suggest associations of neighborhood disadvantage with prostate tumor RNA expression. Additional research is needed in larger studies to replicate findings and further investigate interrelationships of neighborhood factors, tumor biology, and aggressive prostate cancer to inform interventions to reduce disparities.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, ...

Screen media use and mental health of children and adolescents

2024-07-12
About The Study: This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial found that a short-term reduction in leisure-time screen media use within families positively affected psychological symptoms of children and adolescents, particularly by mitigating internalizing behavioral issues and enhancing prosocial behavior. More research is needed to confirm whether these effects are sustainable in the long term.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jesper Schmidt-Persson, Ph.D., email jesp@kp.dk. To ...

Mediterranean diet and cardiometabolic biomarkers in children and adolescents

2024-07-12
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that Mediterranean diet-based interventions may be useful tools to optimize cardiometabolic health among children and adolescents.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jose Francisco Lopez-Gil, Ph.D., email josefranciscolopezgil@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.21976) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

A chemical claw machine bends and stretches when exposed to vapors

A chemical claw machine bends and stretches when exposed to vapors
2024-07-12
Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have developed a tiny “claw machine” that is able to pick up and drop a marble-sized ball in response to exposure to chemical vapors. The findings, published July 12 in the journal Chem, point to a technique that can enable soft actuators—the parts of a machine that make it move—to perform multiple tasks without the need for additional costly materials. While existing soft actuators can be “one-trick ponies” restricted to one type of movement, this novel composite film contorts itself ...

Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods influences stress-related genes, which may contribute to aggressive prostate cancer in African American men

Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods influences stress-related genes, which may contribute to aggressive prostate cancer in African American men
2024-07-12
BALTIMORE, MD, July 12, 2024 — Those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods have significantly higher activity of stress-related genes, new research suggests, which could contribute to higher rates of aggressive prostate cancer in African American men. The study, which was co-led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), was published today in JAMA Network Open. African American men have a higher incidence of prostate cancer and are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than White men in the U.S. They are often diagnosed with an ...

Melanopsin DNA aptamers can regulate input signals of mammalian circadian rhythms by altering the phase of the molecular clock

Melanopsin DNA aptamers can regulate input signals of mammalian circadian rhythms by altering the phase of the molecular clock
2024-07-12
Overview: DNA aptamers of melanopsin that regulate the clock hands of biological rhythms were developed by the Toyohashi University of Technology and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) group.   DNA aptamers can specifically bind to biomolecules to modify their function, potentially making them ideal oligonucleotide therapeutics. We screened the DNA aptamer melanopsin (OPN4), a blue light photopigment in the retina that plays a key role in the use of light signals to reset the phase of circadian rhythms in the central clock. First, 15 DNA aptamers of melanopsin (Melapts) were identified following eight rounds of Cell-SELEX ...

Challenges and prospects for post-conflict peacebuilding in urban settings

Challenges and prospects for post-conflict peacebuilding in urban settings
2024-07-12
Wars and conflicts leave devastating destruction in their wake. With so many conflicts now taking place in urban environments, scientists are studying how post-conflict peacebuilding happens in these urban settings. Dahlia Simangan, an associate professor at The IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University, has analyzed the case of Marawi, a city in the Philippines, to better understand the urban environment’s influence on post-siege reconstruction and peacebuilding. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of peacebuilding by integrating conventional peacebuilding components and urban characteristics. The findings are published ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Astronomers find the smallest main-belt asteroids ever detected

Mays Cancer Center hosts 47th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, highlighting advances in treatment and care

CT radiomics and body composition for predicting hepatic decompensation

Loneliness and social isolation among US older adults

Loneliness and isolation: Back to pre-pandemic levels, but still high, for older adults

MIT astronomers find the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt

Health and lifestyle factors and dementia risk among former professional soccer players

Stress-related disorders among young individuals with surgical removal of tonsils or adenoids

RSV disease burden and nirsevimab effectiveness in young children from 2023-2024

Brain tumor organoids accurately model patient response to CAR T cell therapy

New method enables protein analysis accounting for population diversity

Breaking new ground in health care: Setting the standard for XR clinical research with the RATE-XR guideline

Unlocking worm strategies: A path to innovative vaccines and therapies

Students are less likely to feel safe at their schools, compared to staff and parents

SwRI announces joint industry program aimed at advancing heavy-duty hydrogen refueling infrastructure

Webb telescope’s largest study of universe expansion confirms challenge to cosmic theory

By age six, children think boys are better than girls at computing and engineering, new American Institutes for Research study shows

Hair growth drug safe at low doses for breast cancer patients

Giving a gift? Better late than never, study finds

Judging knots throws people for a loop

Not so simple machines: Cracking the code for materials that can learn

Finding the weak points: New method to prevent train delay cascades

New AI cracks complex engineering problems faster than supercomputers

Existing EV batteries may last up to 40% longer than expected

Breakthrough AI model can translate the language of plant life

MASH discovery redefines subtypes with distinct risks: shaping the future of fatty liver disease treatment

Three-quarters of Earth’s land became permanently drier in last three decades: UN

Lower-quality public housing is at high risk of flood damage

Study compares soft tissue sarcoma rates among U.S. military servicemen and men in the general population

Toxic air in Texas high schools

[Press-News.org] UC3M student startup, Solaris Vita, awarded in Europe's largest entrepreneurship competition