The patronage of Company Formation University of Alicante known as Fundeun decided this year to recognize Abel García, Vice President of TM Real Estate Group and founder of Lucentia LAB, as well as Juan Carlos Trujillo for their efforts in strengthening the bond between academia and the business world. Their work has helped create bridges that spark collaboration, transfer knowledge, and foster practical innovation in the region.
This recognition emerged during the premiere of the XXIX Edition of the New Business Ideas Awards, an annual event that gathers over 270 attendees at the Santa Bárbara castle in Alicante this Wednesday. The gathering showcases talent, entrepreneurship, and the willingness to turn ideas into real projects that serve the community and the economy.
In his remarks, the president of Fundeun described the organization’s mission as a fusion of the University of Alicante with companies and institutions. He emphasized that this collaboration generates a space rich with diverse perspectives and a readiness to embrace change, bringing people closer while helping young entrepreneurs pursue projects with a grounded, realistic outlook. The value they add is clear in every initiative.
Verne Group chairman Guglielmo Cecchin acknowledged
Rector Amparo Navarro announced that the new Science Park building will be inaugurated this year and will serve as a central pillar of the transfer ecosystem. The winners of the Fundeun Business Knowledge Award were praised for advancing a strong university-business relationship and promoting information transfer and business innovation in the province’s key sectors, including residential tourism.
Juan Carlos Trujillo spoke about the importance of recruiting University of Alicante graduates and PhD students who specialize in niche areas such as advanced data analysis, artificial intelligence, and modeling. These capabilities are seen as essential for stabilizing local employment, creating wealth, and equipping the business landscape with high-value tools.
The evening also celebrated a slate of entrepreneurship ideas. A total donation of 29,500 euros was distributed across the winning projects. The list of winners included:
– University of Alicante Award and Science Park Foundation for the best applied science and technology project: Visual Train, by David Pablo Piñero Llorens and Francisco Flórez Revuelta. The project envisions using game techniques to address various oculomotor and visual perception issues.
– CaixaBank Award for the best project by VET technicians: G2Energy, by Óscar Pujalte Carrasco, Joaquin Carrasco Palazón, and Dickerson Daniel Jara Romero. This project creates a system to optimize photovoltaic plants through fully automatic cleaning.
– Alicante City Council Award for the best diversification project: inferIA, by Alberto Berenguer Pastor, Jose Norberto Mazón López, and David Tomás Díaz. A data marketplace that centralizes diverse data sources and acts as an intermediary to streamline data access for users and providers.
– Q Pharmaceutical Award for the best project in Medicine and Health: gundelife, by Juan Carbonell González. The firm exploits gundelia, a plant with notable nutritional and phytotherapeutic value.
– TM Real Estate Group Award for the best project in new business opportunities related to sustainable residential tourism: Sunscreen H2O, by Laura Martín García de Dionisio and Carlos Millas Naranjo. The concept uses water chamber windows to lower heating needs and double as solar collectors for domestic hot water.
– Padima Award for protecting creativity and innovation through trademarks, designs, and patents: straw litter, by Sara Ramírez de la Iglesia, Alba Corts Fornés and Antonio Segarra de Haro. This project involves manufacturing and selling polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastic pipettes that are biodegradable in nature.
– Sánchez Butron Lawyers Award for the best global strategic project: Anti-Warman, by Joaquín Jiménez Candela, Arturo Javier Sánchez Latorre, and Jaime Carreira Pérez. The initiative aims to reduce heat exposure for workers using a flexible biomimetic tissue developed from polydimethylsiloxane inspired by the silver ant’s feather structure.
– ITC Packaging Award for the best sustainable packaging business model: NarLact, by Miranda Hernández Falcó and Judit María Hurtado Roche. The project focuses on producing lactic acid from orange peels, enabling biodegradable plastics from a major agro-food residue.
– University of Alicante Faculty of Philosophy and Letters Award for the humanities: genredactic, by Joan Antoni Pomata García, Salazar Díaz-María Pedro Luis and Andrés Llorens Angulo. A tourist video game offering an immersive guide to Spain as a sustainable digital tourism destination.
– Verne Technology Group Award for ICT-related projects: [email protected], by Francisco Flórez Revuelta, Pau Climent Pérez and Tamara Mujirishvili. The aim is to assist elderly care through ethical remote monitoring cameras while preserving privacy.
– Cajamar Award for the best project in agriculture and environment: R-produces, by Enrique Chacón Alarcón. The concept combines desert truffles and ecological almonds in a low-maintenance planting scheme for hot summers.
– Alicante Local Development Agency Award for last-mile logistics, food technology, or related fields: bioinval, by Ana Cristina Mellinas Ciller and Marina Ramos Santonja. The project develops additives for food products and packaging by transforming agro-food residues through interconnected processes.
– Quinton Laboratories Award for biotechnology: Simply Appointment, by Manuela Agulló Godoy, Raúl Jaén Mira and Wissal Boujanah. This venture aims to reduce sugar content in foods by replacing conventional sugar in coffee pods with palm powder.
– Alicante Business Women, Professionals and Managers Association Award for the best woman-led project: NarLact by Miranda Hernández Falcó and Judit María. The project highlights leadership by a predominantly female team and showcases a strong, innovative approach.