New edition of Arantzazulab’s “Challenge Week” with international students

With this project and through an innovative methodology, the aim is to attract new generations to get involved in social challenges through a week-long stay in Arantzazulab.  

20 students from the LEINN arts & global degree at Mondragon Unibertsitatea spent a whole week at Arantzazulab from 27 November to 1 December. From Monday to Friday they worked to come up with innovative ideas on issues related to the objectives of Arantzazulab:  

• What can be done to increase citizens’ trust in public institutions?  
• How can we connect public institutions and young people?  
• How can we enhance the participation of young people in public institutions and in the public agenda?  
• How to rethink and transform decision-making processes with new disciplines and new ways of doing things? 

The learning experience for the students was designed jointly by the LEINN degree coaches and Arantzazulab team. This is how the two representatives of Mondragon Unibertsitatea described the experience:

“Challenge Week” in Arantzazulab. Innovative methodology and unique experience in Arantzazu  

The stay of this group of students is part of the “Challenge Week” inititative in Arantzazulab. Students from different disciplines have been invited to work for a week in Arantzazu to respond to the challenge proposed by the laboratory. The process of the “Challenge Week” consists of the following steps. 

Two weeks before coming to Arantzazulab, the students are introduced to the topic and the challenge; and in order to go deeper into it, the starting materials are shared. The students have to analyse them and capture their initial reflections in a short text.   

Then, on the first day of the “Challenge Week“, the Arantzazulab team presents the challenge to the studetns again in order to kick-off the week with a reflection space. During the first two days, research is carried out and the topic is explored in depth through surveys, interviews, online searches, telephone calls and other exploratory techniques. In this work, students can have sessions to help them reflect with other local actors (innovation agents, public institutions, etc.) to guide their work.  

On the basis of the research carried out, the students come up with different ideas to respond to the challenge. In the middle of the week, on Wednesday, a contrast of ideas is carried out with the members of Arantzazulab to answer questions, identify connections with projects underway both nationally and internationally, as well as to prioritise concepts with possibilities for development. 

At the end of the week, students design the prioritised concepts. In each case, and depending on their discipline, the ideas are presented in different ways: through artistic pieces, designs, representations, texts or videos, among others.  

In this sense, we prioritise using imagination during the process or using innovative techniques and methods for the design and prototyping of ideas.  

Finally, Arantzazulab is responsible for making the ideas developed by young people available to public institutions and local stakeholders.  

Arantzazulab is an ideal destination for this experience, where the students find an enclave that offers a peaceful environment and the majesty of nature, ideal elements for carrying out fruitful projects. The “Challenge Week” is also an experience of coexistence, as the students spend 24 hours together allows them to get to know each other better, strengthen group cohesion and share quality time outside the classroom.

In addition, although the work they do throughout the week is intense and in-depth, the students are also offered leisure time to get to know the history of Arantzatzu, visit its corners and soak up the local culture and values.  

This experience stands out for its added value. For this reason, Arantzazulab organises at least once a year the “Challenge Week” with students from different universities and different disciplines. 

In 2023, “Challenge Week“ with the LEINN degree students 

Thus, in this edition, the students of Mondragon Unibertsitatea have been immersed in this process during the last week of November. It is worth highlighting the plural and global nature of this year’s group of students, with international students from South Korea, Armenia, Kenya, Morocco, Andorra and the Basque Country, among other destinations.  

Divided into four working groups, the process began with research at both national and international level (Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, Andorra, Korea, among others). The students captured information through surveys, interviews and videoconferences. The prevailing concern in all countries was that young people do not feel represented by politicians and public institutions. In addition, they all report very limited knowledge of democracy and public institutions. Thus, the common attitudes collected by the groups were: “we don’t just want to protest, we want to be part of the solution” and “it is essential to develop knowledge of democracy from childhood”.  

After this research phase, they proposed an extensive list of ideas from which each group took two or three concepts to the Wednesday contrast session, which was carried out using the fishbowl technique. Thus, the group presenting their ideas occupied the centre, together with the representatives of Arantzazulab and TZBZ, who reflected on the ideas developed, and around them other students and teachers took observers role.  

When it came to developing the concepts, the students drew on the strengths of the Art and Business degree, and on the last days of the week, interesting ideas were developed using a variety of materials.  

To conclude the “Challenge Week“, on the last day, Friday 1 December, four concepts were presented to the evaluation panel. Made up of 10 people, this panel was composed of members of Arantzazulab, experts and professionals from the laboratory ecosystem (researchers, university professors, innovation professionals). The panel was in charge of evaluating the proposals presented by the students and sharing their feedback.  

The students presented ideas that were very creatively elaborated and taking different approaches: how to influence education to increase the interest of young people in herrigintza -community development- and in politics, the application of new technologies or the development of a community. All the presentations and testimonies about the students’ experiences have been collected in different media: 

After the presentation of each group, the panel of 10 experts met to collect feedback from each group. The week ended with the panel members presenting to each group the identified strengths, challenges, questions and proposals to move forward with the idea.  

Both students and lecturers at Mondragon Unibertsitatea stated that the experience was very positive, and this is reflected in the interviews carried out with each member of each group and with the degree lecturers. 

Expanding the project. A call to be involved 

Aligned with Arantzazulab’s mission, the “Challenge Week” offers the opportunity to gather the reflections and ideas of young people: to understand their knowledge, their experiences and their points of view. For this reason, Arantzazulab is always willing to promote this type of initiative with new groups of students, in collaboration with local and international universities.  

Would you like to take part in the “Challenge Week” with us? Would you like to live an unforgettable experience? Contact us!