• CIHEAM Zaragoza is a patron of Pilotaje de proyectos, the second phase of the GARAGE entrepreneurship programme, which has brought together 30 young people for a five-day learning journey across Aragon.
• This is the first gamified programme for young entrepreneurs in Aragon, supported by AJE Zaragoza, Zaragoza City Council and the Ibercaja Foundation.

CIHEAM Zaragoza is a patron of Pilotaje de proyectos, the second phase of GARAGE, the first gamified entrepreneurship programme in Aragon supported by AJE Zaragoza, Zaragoza City Council and the Ibercaja Foundation. In this first edition, 30 young people have travelled across Aragon to tackle challenges set by leading companies and organisations, including CIHEAM Zaragoza.

After several weeks of training and preparation, the participants began their journey on 30 August, visiting towns including Daroca, Gallocanta, Báguena and Anento. During the five-day experience, they left the classroom to engage directly with the territory, combining food-related activities, team-building exercises, a training session and work on business challenges. The experience enabled them to put their knowledge into practice, make decisions in real-world situations and strengthen their adaptability and teamwork skills.

The programme sponsors –Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ibercaja and hiberus– set challenges for the participants. As an international body devoted to the sustainable development of Mediterranean agriculture and food, CIHEAM Zaragoza, set a challenge centred on bringing together science, sustainability and young talent, connecting people, ideas and projects capable of shaping the future of the agrifood sector. As part of this exercise, participants explored new ways of engaging young people in this endeavour, while highlighting the potential of rural areas to foster innovation, create opportunities, and attract and develop talent.

Throughout their learning journey, the teams developed their ideas while facing situations that tested their creativity, analytical skills and ability to turn ideas into concrete solutions. Time spent together, as well as contact with local stakeholders helped strengthen their perception of the territory as a dynamic environment offering opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

The programme concluded on 3 September in Anento, where the teams presented their projects to a jury made up of representatives from CIHEAM Zaragoza, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ibercaja and hiberus. The winning teams will continue developing their projects –one for each business challenge– and will take part in the next phase of project piloting in the coming months.

For the sponsors, the experience has also provided an opportunity to see first-hand how young talent approaches real-world problems, observe their working methods and gain new perspectives that could be applied to their own areas of activity. Raúl Compés, director of CIHEAM Zaragoza points out: “In our opinion this is a magnificent, original and timely initiative. It brings young people into rural areas and puts them in contact with the agrifood system, enabling them to address challenges faced by rural communities. This is particularly important because becoming an entrepreneur and innovating in rural areas can be more difficult. These areas often face a number of weaknesses, while also needing people with skills, enthusiasm, energy and good ideas. Pilotaje de Proyectos can help bring this young talent into the rural world –talent that is needed today more than ever.”

Collaboration with town halls, local organisations, companies, professionals and others involved in the programme has enabled the teams not only to explore the territory, but also to gain a deeper understanding of the areas they visited, spend time there and establish connections with local communities.

The four selected teams now face the next stage, which will include training and mentoring, to help them turn the original challenges into viable, real-world projects.