Young Azoreans win I9.Azores Entrepreneurship Mission in Barcelona - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The Azorean students who won the regional competition I9.Açores – Young Academy of Innovative Ideas 2025 are today completing an Entrepreneurship Mission in Barcelona, Spain.

This Mission began on Thursday, September 4, and aimed to bring young students into contact with different entrepreneurial realities. It also included an educational component, which gave them the opportunity to meet local entrepreneurs and learn about local projects, and a cultural component, with visits to some of the city's main tourist attractions.

During the Entrepreneurship Mission, participants visited DFactory Barcelona, one of Europe's largest technology and innovation hubs, where students had the opportunity to see how cutting-edge projects are shaping the future in fields such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing and robotics.

This was followed by a visit to Estrella Damm, a historic brand with more than 145 years of tradition, where participants discovered how tradition and authenticity can go hand in hand with innovation and internationalisation. A living lesson in brand identity and consistency over time.

The cultural programme also included tours through the Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas, Park Güell and the Sagrada Família cathedral.

This mission involved Azorean students and their teachers who took part in the 2024/2025 edition of the Entrepreneurial Academy, through which they were selected to participate with their innovative ideas and projects in I9.Açores, where they emerged as winners in the different categories of the competition.

Miguel Gago da Câmara and Vicente Tavares, accompanied by teacher Guida Medeiros, from Escola Básica Integrada de Capelas, in Ponta Delgada, are participating in the Basic Education - middle school category. They are the winners of I9.Açores with the "Queijadinha Real" project.

Student Pedro Dias and teacher Maria Helena Dias, from Domingos Rebelo Secondary School, in Ponta Delgada, authors of the winning project "Caméliaessencis," are participating in the Basic Education-Junior High School category.

Secondary school students Iara Silva and Beatriz Teles, from Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Praia da Vitória – CDIJ Fortis, are participating in the Entrepreneurship Mission in Barcelona, guided by teacher Letícia Leal. They are the authors of the winning project “Praia By Boat.”

Tomás Teixeira and Edgar Salvador, accompanied by teacher José Amaral, from EPROSEC – Vocational School of the Office and Trade Employees’ Union of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, are participating in the Vocational Education category. They won in their category in I9.Açores with the “Fertazor” project.

University student Vasco Lima, from the University of Minho, winner of I9.Açores with the “Coletivo Vulca” project, is also taking part in the Entrepreneurship Mission.

I9.Açores – Young Academy of Innovative Ideas is promoted by the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment, through the Regional Directorate for Youth.

This year's edition took place in May, in Praia da Vitória, with the participation of more than 70 young people and 40 business ideas from all the islands of the Region. At the opening session, the Regional Secretary for Youth, Maria João Carreiro, announced that the winners in the different categories of the competition would take part in an Entrepreneurship Mission to Barcelona.

I9.Açores is the culmination of the work carried out throughout the academic year within the scope of the Entrepreneurial Academy, which has seen the participation of more than 6,000 students from all levels of education.