Sixteen students from the University of the Basque Country (EHU) will take part, from November 16 to 21, in a new edition of the international workshop “Design The Future – Terraforming”, to be held at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The program, organized within the framework of the i2Planet 2025 educational project by IdeaSquare, combines science, technology, and creativity to explore the boundaries of human and artificial intelligence and their role in building a sustainable future. The selected participants are enrolled either at the Álava Campus or, while residing in Álava, at other EHU campuses.

The selected students —eight women and eight men— will spend several days at CERN with the goal of fostering synergies between the university community and the scientific community of this research center. During their stay, training activities will be promoted to provide students with the necessary tools to generate ideas and projects that have a positive impact on the planet’s sustainability today and in the future.

In addition, students will face an international challenge where they must design strategies that can be applied to real-world planetary issues. The aim of this challenge is not only technical but also ethical and social: to balance innovation and sustainability, and to demonstrate that intelligence —both human and artificial— can coexist in harmony with the environment that sustains it.

A transformative learning experience

The farewell ceremony for the students was attended by Ixone Fernández de Labastida Medina, Vice-Rector of the Álava Campus of EHU; David Montero de la Torre, Director of BIC Araba; Mireia Martínez, Entrepreneurship Officer at BIC Araba; and Jorge Tejedor Núñez, Director of Entrepreneurship, Employability, and Knowledge Transfer at the Álava Campus.

According to the Vice-Rector, “this innovative experiential learning program offers a unique opportunity to visit one of the world’s leading research centers and learn directly from its scientists and researchers.”

Ixone Fernández de Labastida added that “during their stay, students will participate in scientific simulations that will encourage them to reflect on the role of artificial intelligence in planetary sustainability and to discuss how to educate future generations in an increasingly automated world from a multidisciplinary perspective.”

She also emphasized that “beyond experiencing an intensive internationalization program, participants will develop key competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and innovation and entrepreneurship skills —essential abilities to tackle the global challenges of the 21st century.”

For his part, David Montero highlighted “the importance of bringing university students closer to the ecosystem of innovation and scientific entrepreneurship, promoting international collaboration and the development of sustainable solutions with real impact on society.”

Designing the future through science and innovation

Another focus of the workshop will be the development of innovative entrepreneurial ideas and projects that offer sustainable technological solutions framed within the circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this, technologies will be extrapolated to a future scenario in order to envision a sustainable civilization on another planet, Terra, and then reverse-engineered to apply the learnings and potential solutions to the challenges we face on our own planet.

As the CERN program explains, “our future as humanity requires replacing traditional thinking archetypes and adopting non-linear, systemic approaches. Only then will we be able to anticipate the formidable challenges our planet will face in the coming decades.”

This initiative is part of the INIZIA Araba Campus program, developed in collaboration with the Álava Business and Innovation Center (BIC Araba), whose goal is to promote, advise, and support entrepreneurs and to foster the creation of innovative and technology-based companies within the university community.