The coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty it has brought are also affecting young people, who are concerned about a change of tack in the world they are about to enter. Digitalization of the market has soared, and while demand for many jobs is falling, the call for others is rising exponentially. The confusion is more than justified, but we can’t sit around waiting for things to settle down. 

The business world uses the term “pivoting” to refer to a significant change in a product or strategy to survive in a volatile market. All entrepreneurs will understand that it is par for the course. 

Explorer – Young People with Solutions is the ideal programme for any young person looking to continue studying and gain work experience at the same time. Over the course of 12 weeks, they learn how to develop and market a business idea (either their own or another's), as well as some essential soft skills to help them when self-employed or as an employee.

Now in its 11th year, Explorer is one of the biggest initiatives supporting student entrepreneurship in Spain. With our backing and that of the Santander International Entrepreneurship Centre (CISE), the programme promotes young talent, entrepreneurial spirit and the creation of innovative companies. 

Learning to set up a business is an excellent way of gaining experience, and this programme offers you the opportunity. Applications can be submitted until 18 December at Santander X.

From the end of January, participants will receive the training and necessary tools to develop solid, viable and sustainable solutions to the problems outlined in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

This year combines online training, resources and discussions with face-to-face events at Explorer Spaces, and the programme's co-working spaces in Spain.  

The young explorers will also form part of the Explorer family and its community, forging relationships with their colleagues in a global entrepreneurs network. 

The projects chosen by each Explorer Centre will enjoy a one-week trip next summer to the European Innovation Academy in Lisbon.

Under the guidance of leading experts, the teams will design and present their projects with a view to making them viable in the market. It's a unique opportunity to turn an idea into reality.

Santander's commitment to higher education contributed towards  the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index naming us the most sustainable bank in the world in 2019. We were also recognized as the company that invests the most in higher education worldwide, according to The Fortune 500 Change the World list, produced in collaboration with UNESCO. We back education because we believe it is the best way to help people prosper.