From 20 to 24 July, students from Ibero-American universities will gather in Quito for the in-person week of the sixth edition of SFERA Experience. Led by Camilo José Cela University, the initiative encourages young people to collaborate in designing innovative responses to some of the main social and environmental challenges facing their communities.
Universidad San Francisco de Quito will host this year’s edition, which will focus on social innovation as a means of building a fairer and more equitable world. Over five days, participants will take part in training, collaborative work and cultural exchange activities, while preparing their projects for presentation at the programme’s international final.
SFERA Experience is a university collaboration platform where students from different countries work in teams to develop proposals aimed at bringing about positive change in their communities. In 2026, the projects are structured around Sustainable Development Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.
The overall organisation continues to be led by Camilo José Cela University, with Universidad San Francisco de Quito serving as the host institution after its team won the 2025 SFERA Experience international final. MetaRed S, MetaRed X and the Organization of Ibero-American States are the official sponsors of this year’s edition.
A week of learning, local engagement and social entrepreneurship
The programme will enable participants to develop skills related to social entrepreneurship, project communication and the presentation of high-impact proposals. It will also include meetings with Ecuadorian entrepreneurs, cultural immersion activities and working sessions with tutors to prepare the teams’ final pitches.
Scheduled activities include a round-table discussion featuring Ecuadorian social initiatives, sessions on entrepreneurship, storytelling and high-impact presentations, an introduction to the Inner Development Goals, and various opportunities for teamwork. The programme will be complemented by cultural visits and meetings with local business and community projects.
The final will take place on Friday 24 July at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. The teams will present and defend their proposals before a judging panel comprising representatives of international institutions, cooperation organisations, universities and organisations working in innovation and social development.
The panel will include Daniel Plaza Herrera, from the Institutional Affairs and Knowledge Management Directorate at the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean—CAF; Yadhira Espinoza-Weaver, Project Coordinator at the Organization of Ibero-American States Office in Ecuador; Sergio Fernando Juárez López, Head of the IFC, World Bank Office in Ecuador; Esteban Veintimilla, co-founder of 1Mentor and Director of Product and Partnerships at QS; Javier Arano, lecturer in Communication Strategies for Social Change at COCOA-USFQ; and Verónica Escobar, Executive President of Fundación de las Américas para el Desarrollo.
Through this new edition, SFERA Experience strengthens its commitment to connecting universities, students, academics, institutions and entrepreneurs from different countries in order to generate shared knowledge and proposals capable of making a tangible impact on communities.
