The third edition of the social entrepreneurship program UJI Empren OnSocial, already has winning projects, Compark y Connect-T, two initiatives that aim, respectively, to create a shared garage platform and reduce social isolation in adults with mental illness. Each initiative has received 10.000 euros of financing from Banco Santanderthrough Santander Universities, to continue developing their business project, with the support of SECOT Castellón, within Espaitec, Scientific and Technological Park of the Universitat Jaume I.
Compark It is an initiative promoted by Carles Aragon, graduated in Computer Engineering from the Universitat Jaume I, and Boris Escandell, master's degree in English Language for International Trade (ELIT) from the Universitat Jaume I. This initiative's main objective is create a shared garage platform, in which drivers looking for parking can do so in spaces that are temporarily empty.
The platform will allow drivers to rent a parking space at any time and place with total flexibility, reducing the time spent searching for parking. Garage owners will be able to publish parking spaces during those hours when they are not being used and thus obtain greater profitability. All this without the need for a physical exchange of controls or keys: drivers will open the garage door with their mobile phone after receiving a virtual key during the reservation time.
Connect-T It is a project led by Carla Juan, student of the Psychology Degree at the Universitat Jaume I, which aims to reduce social isolation in adults with mental illness through the use of a mobile application. It will be an application that will promote social interaction, provide leisure alternatives and propose daily challenges with which various areas will be worked on.
This project's main objectives are to reduce social isolation, increase social interaction between users of different centers and propose leisure alternatives for adults with mental illnesses. Using new technologies as tools for psychosocial rehabilitation, as they offer many advantages and facilities, provides a means of social inclusion for this population that is excluded, labeled or under the vision of social stigma.
Both projects participated in the third edition of the institutional entrepreneurship program of the Universitat Jaume I «UJI Emprèn OnSocial», promoted jointly by the vice-chancellors for research and transfer and for students and social commitment, specifically through the INCREA Chair of Innovation, Creativity and Learning and the General Foundation of the Jaume I University, managing entity of podcast. The program, in which he collaborates SECOT Castellón, seeks to promote entrepreneurial initiatives of a social and/or technological nature among members of the university community.
To date, a total of 54 entrepreneurial projects promoted by master's and undergraduate students, administration and service staff, research staff and SAUJI Alumni have been selected to participate in the training and mentoring sessions of the program, the fourth edition of which is currently being developed. The program has enabled the creation of six new companies in the province of Castellón, companies committed to sustainability and the social and environmental impact of economic activity.