200 high school students selected from among 4,000 schools throughout Spain have competed for one of the 50 scholarships that will take them on a tour of Europe this summer with a high-level training programme.

The 'BE Talent' competition was the final test to select the fifty or so beneficiaries in the 15th edition of this academic initiative. 

Madrid, February 21, 2020.  200 of the most brilliant high school students in Spain have participated in the final selection process of the Europa Scholarship Programme, which took place with the holding of the 'BE Talent' competition to propose creative solutions to the problem of depopulation in Spain.  

Rami Aboukhair, CEO of Santander Spain and host of the students on the first day of the final, said: "At Banco Santander we are convinced that training is, without doubt, the key element in offering opportunities to the new generations; and education, the best tool for them to build their own destiny and be masters of their future".

The Rector of the UFV, Daniel Sada, addressed the students: "you are people who are united to the ideal of leadership in service to your society, your country, your companies, families or communities. If you maintain this ideal, what you are trying to achieve is to change or improve the environment in which we live and it has been given to us". 

The winning project, 'Ruraleando' proposes volunteer activities in villages near their cities: "We have created a platform where villages and volunteers connect and being the first volunteers we intend to revitalize this empty Spain by proposing different activities in various areas," explained the winners. 

The 200 candidates formed teams according to the areas of action that most interested them within the previous proposals offered by the Program: Agriculture and Livestock, Commerce, Culture and Society, Education, Employability, Infrastructures, Health and, finally, Spiritual Experience. 

Each team of eight candidates had to present their work to one of the five prepared panels.  Those selected for the final round presented their projects to all the candidates at the Francisco de Vitoria University, where the winner was 'Ruraleando'. 

The 50 final winners of the Europa Scholarships have gone through four selection processes. This programme is an initiative of the Francisco de Vitoria University and Banco Santander, through Santander Universities, which this year celebrates its fifteenth edition. So far more than 30,000 candidates have participated and 750 participants have received scholarships. 

The candidates are the best students in their class, with an average mark of 9.7. These 200 students have been chosen from more than 4,000 schools throughout Spain. The objective of Europe Scholarships is to promote the commitment of young people to the development of their talent, encouraging the integral growth of students so that they become leading professionals in the future. 

Banco Santander, which has been working with the UFV on various academic programmes since 2000, supports this programme through Santander Universities in order to contribute to the progress of young people, fostering talent and equal opportunities. 

The Francisco de Vitoria University (UFV - www.ufv.es), an institution with more than 25 years of history, currently has 62 Degrees and double Degrees in different areas such as Legal and Business Sciences, Bio-health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Experimental Sciences, Educational Sciences and Psychology, Higher Polytechnic School and Communication Sciences, with a common objective: to train professionals centered on the person. In addition, the UFV is committed to innovation, internationality, active participation of all students and personal demand, with teachers with great academic and professional background. It also has internship programs with more than 3,900 agreements.