IV Emplea

The energy of 40 female students, 12 mentors and the team that has made the Emplea project possible for the fourth consecutive year was the defining feature of the afternoon of 29 September in the Paraninfo at the Universitat Politècnica de València. It was a gala event: diplomas were presented, and the three winning projects of this year's edition were released.

Since its launch in 2023, Emplea has established itself as one of the UPV's strongest commitments to female employability and leadership. The programme, boosted by the Vice-rectorate for Employment and Lifelong Learning, supports 40 participants as they tackle the challenges set by 12 major companies. Over several months, the participants receive training in women's leadership from UPV experts in various fields. During this time, the participants work in teams on their proposals to address the challenges outlined by their mentors. The programme concluded on 10 September, when the participants presented the results of their work to the board.

The winning projects from this year's programme

During the Emplea graduation ceremony, the three winning projects were released; they obtained a total of 6,000 euros thanks to the Ford Chair. The first prize, worth 3,000 euros, went to the project proposed by Edwards Lifescience, 'Analysis and optimisation of the workflow in the haemodynamics surgery rooms at La Fe Hospital', developed by Gisela María Huguet Carmona, Patricia Larrea Pajares and María Carmen Rea Mejía, who were mentored by Maite Llácer Alexandre.

The second prize, worth 2,000 euros, went to the project "NextGen Banking: How to Connect with Young Customers in a Hybrid World", proposed by CaixaBank and developed by Martina María López Micó, Carla Martinez Huelva and Valeria Montagud Ribes, together with their mentor, Beatriz Alventosa López.

Finally, the third prize in this edition, worth 1,000 euros, went to the project proposed by El Corte Inglés, "Design of a comprehensive tool capable of defining and optimising the resources required for the omnichannel department". This proposal was developed by Marta Carrión Bernad, Melissa Loya Piñon, Claudia Nadal Almela and Marina Ortells Sicilia, and mentored by Ana Castellano Ruiz.

An afternoon of shared emotions

The closing ceremony of the fourth edition of the Emplea programme was filled with shared emotions, conveyed through the speeches of those who, in one way or another, have been part of this cohort.

Speaking on behalf of her fellow participants, Gisela Huguet recalled the moments they had shared over the past few months and highly praised their participation in the programme. Now, rather than wondering whether they can do it, they are wondering what the next challenge will be.

Ana Castellano spoke on behalf of the mentors, expressing her gratitude for initiatives of this kind and highlighting the participants' work ethic and innovative spirit. For her part, Esther Gómez, the regional secretary for universities, acted as the programme's patron, offering her support to the participants and reminding them that, above all, they must fight for what they believe in and achieve their goals.

Speeches by Asunción Quinzá, Regional Secretary for Equality and Diversity, and the Rector of the UPV, José E. Capilla, brought the programme to a close; having attracted more than 700 women, it is now looking ahead to its fifth edition.