Desaf·IA awards four teams for their innovative ideas developed with the help of artificial intelligence

These are the winning teams in the Life on Land challenge:

• Hídria — Marc Serrano Clusella and Irene Gomà Placència
• Arrels Vives — Marcos Gómez Barragán and Álvaro Pérez Gallardo

In the Sustainable Cities and Communities challenge:

• CityLens — Judith Esteban Buzón and Isis Pla Juanicó
• HydroRed — Rafa Chávez and Martina Piqué Julià

The two challenges were based on the Sustainable Development Goals Life on Land and Sustainable Cities and Communities. The first focuses on protecting biodiversity, restoring natural spaces and using terrestrial ecosystems sustainably; the second promotes more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable urban environments.

How the competition unfolded

The day began at 10.00 a.m. with the participants being distributed into interdisciplinary pairs and an introductory session led by coach Pedro Olivares, a leadership specialist, who explained the challenges and introduced the use of generative artificial intelligence tools and prompting techniques. The session followed the design thinking methodology.

For an hour and a half, the teams developed their proposals with occasional support from Olivares and the jury. From 12.00 noon onwards, each team presented its solution to the jury and answered their questions. After a brief deliberation, the morning ended with the prize-giving ceremony.

A diverse and expert jury

The jury was made up of Laura Martín Montáñez, expert in the social impact of AI and in entrepreneurship involving drones and health, and Science Communication Specialist at the Computer Vision Center (CVC); Dario Cottafava, lecturer in the Bachelor's Degree in Smart and Sustainable Cities and entrepreneur in the circular economy; Xavier Ariño, Head of the Institutional Projects Office at UAB; Sílvia Piqueras, Director of the UAB Employability Service; and Minerva Estruch, Entrepreneurship Officer at the same Service (Emprèn UAB).

Desaf·IA is an activity organised by the Entrepreneurship Unit of the UAB Employability Service and forms part of the Projecta't initiative, which allows participants to earn ECTS credits.