Last year, 300 secondary, vocational, and high school students from all over Galicia participated in this initiative
Following the success of the first two editions, the School of Telecommunication Engineering has already opened registration for the upcoming III Teleco Olympics. In 2024, this event brought together 300 secondary students from across Galicia, giving them their first ‘professional’ exposure to the world of telecommunications, scientific culture, technological research, and innovation.
Driven by 20 telecommunication engineering schools from all over Spain and the Official Association of Technical Telecommunication Engineers (COITT), the Teleco Olympics aim to promote these studies among pre-university youth by showing them how telecommunications are present in daily life and how they can help improve quality of life. Each year, the competition focuses on one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy selected for this edition. This means that students must propose projects that showcase how these technologies can contribute to ensuring access to affordable, secure, sustainable, and modern energy.
Working in teams of up to six, students from secondary education, vocational training, and high school must create a prototype using programmable board kits compatible with the Arduino IDE. The main objective is that telecommunications are well integrated into the project development, clearly demonstrating how their use helps achieve the chosen SDG.
The Galician Final in April, and the National Final in May
The Galician final will be held in April at the Vigo school, where participating teams must present and defend their projects before a jury consisting of faculty, researchers, distinguished professionals in telecommunication engineering, and representatives of the sponsoring entities.
The best projects will be awarded cash prizes, courtesy of sponsoring entities Indra, BorgWarner, and Televes, with the Oesía Chair joining this year as well, allowing the total awards for the local phase to increase from €3,900 to €5,200.
This addition enables the division of the local phase awards for the teams in the secondary school category. Specifically, there will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for teams from 1st and 2nd year of secondary school, as well as for teams from 3rd and 4th year. In each category (1st and 2nd ESO, 3rd and 4th ESO, high school, and vocational training), there will be a 1st prize of €400 for the educational center and €400 for the team; a 2nd prize of €300 for the team; and a 3rd prize of €200 for the team.
Additionally, the winning teams will advance to the national final, which will take place in May.
Registrations until December 6 and a School Visit on January 17
Schools can register until December 6, with more than one team allowed per center. In addition to the experience and the chance to win various prizes, all registered schools will receive a programmable board kit compatible with the Arduino IDE, valued at approximately €75. They will also have the opportunity to participate in the opening day of the Olympics, scheduled for January 17, and get a closer look at the school, ranked among the top 300 in the world according to the Shanghai ranking.