Wittenborg Students Participate in Rural Entrepreneurship Training in Spain

20.05.2022

Project Develops ICT-Based Solutions for Spanish Village

Wittenborg students Mohamed Ibrahim and Mohammod Khan participated in Erasmus+ funded training ‘Rural5Growth: Youth Rural Entrepreneurship Based on ICT’, which took place in Spain over the course of one week in late March. The activity was conducted in Relleu, a municipality with a population of 1,170, located in the province of Alicante, and involved participants from six countries: Latvia, North Macedonia, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands and Romania. Travel and accommodation costs were covered by Wittenborg’s partner organisation Nefinia, which organised the training.

With the goal of combatting youth unemployment and rural depopulation in Europe, the ‘Rural5Growth’ project trains young workers from different European countries to use information and communication technologies (ICT) for the implementation of local solutions, enabling participants to exchange their knowledge with communities.

During the training, the students engaged in multiple activities and mini projects that had the goal of enhancing their critical thinking skills and sense of initiative, as well as their meaningful participation in society. The team discussed multiple ideas on how to contribute to the development of Relleu, attracting more people to live as well as work in the municipality.

EBA student Mohamed Ibrahim explained that throughout the discussions the group identified Relleu’s promotional marketing as the main issue to be addressed. “We came up with at least five key ideas that might attract more tourists to the village via digital marketing. One example is using the village’s hillside walkway path, which can be developed into a bungee jumping spot. I personally saw many opportunities for the creation of start-up companies with the potential to benefit both the entrepreneurs and the village,” he said.

Ibrahim also highlighted that the project put him in contact with students from five other countries, which provided him with broader perspectives. “This project was really aligned with Wittenborg’s style of teaching because, apart from involving students from various countries, its nature was very practical. Plus, I managed to gain valuable experience by approaching entrepreneurship from several perspectives, which is also connected to the EBA degree that I am pursuing at Wittenborg.”