20 November 2025
Bilbao Campus
With the aim of bringing engineering and technology closer to the public and encouraging vocations in research and technological development, particularly among women, given the sector’s gender gap, the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Deusto organised a new edition of Forotech. This outreach forum seeks to strengthen and showcase partnerships between companies and the University, connecting students directly with professionals.
The main Forotech sessions took place on 20 and 21 November, with an extended programme continuing until the end of the year at both the Deusto campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastian. The aim is to introduce young people to a sector that, in the words of the Faculty’s Dean, Andoni Eguíluz, “covers a wide range of disciplines, develops logical, spatial, creative, and emotional intelligence, and is essential for most of our business activity”. In his opinion, "engineering and technology are essential to build a fairer, more diverse and sustainable society. We train people to transform the world for the better”.
Workshops, awards and dialogues
On 20 and 21 November, the Bilbao campus hosted technology workshops for secondary school students at Deusto FabLab, round tables, TEDx talks and a film session on technology, in collaboration with Deusto Emprende Week. It also included the presentation of the Inetum awards and the "Vidrala Master Glass" competition, in which students are tasked with developing an innovative glass container.
Among the highlights was a dialogue between the Dean, Andoni Eguíluz, and the Provincial Deputy for Employment, Social Cohesion, and Equality, Teresa Laespada, focusing on progress, challenges, and best practices in equality and employment. In addition, Julia Guiomar Niso, winner of the Ada Byron Award for Women in Technology, recorded a special episode of the STEM Lab Biscay podcast in the University cloister.
From 15 to 19 December, the San Sebastian campus will host free, hands-on workshops aimed at 3rd and 4th-year secondary students, organised in collaboration with DoPlay, an educational project designed to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) among children and young people. The participants, more than 730 students are already registered, will experiment with robotics, virtual reality, 3D design and video games, through proposals such as Smart City Challenge: build your smart city with micro:bit, 3D modelling and animation with Blender or MakeCode Arcade video game design.
Deusto Design Week: ten years of the Industrial Design degree.
As an extension of Forotech, Deusto Design Week will be held from 21 to 28 November to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Industrial Design degree and Deusto FabLab. The programme kicked off on Friday 21 with a talk by Fabio Duarte and Simone Mora from MIT's renowned Senseable City Lab group and the opening of an exhibition of student work and design research projects.
The activities also included, on the 26th, the classic Egg Drop Challenge, a traditional exercise in engineering, design, and other STEAM fields, in which participants must build devices capable of protecting an egg dropped from the top of the FabLab. The week concludes with a special edition of the Deusto Design Talks, in which former students share their professional journeys.
The 13th edition of Forotech serves as a prelude to the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Deusto, which will be celebrated in 2026. The Dean, Andoni Eguíluz Morán, emphasises that this anniversary will serve “not only to celebrate half a century of history, but also to renew our commitment to educating people capable of transforming society through research, innovation, and engagement”. In his words, “technology can be, as well as useful, entertaining; as well as scientific, human; and as well as profitable, responsible.”
Forotech is sponsored by SPRI, Ihobe, Deloitte, Danobatgroup, Provincial Council of Biscay, Emakunde, Caja de Ingenieros, EJIE, Innolab Bilbao, Fomento San Sebastián, Siemens Gamesa, Sabadell Foundation, Vidrala, Alzola and Doplay, and with the collaboration of DeustoTech, Deusto Entrepreneurship and Deusto FabLab.
Further information and full programme: www.forotech.deusto.es
