Centro Integrado de Formación Profesional Nº1 de Santander, a member school of FPEmpresa, has been named overall winner in the Higher Vocational Education and Training category at the 5th edition of the Zinkers Awards (the 1st edition to include VET), promoted by Fundación Repsol. The award recognised its project SOLAREST: Corporate Sustainability Plan, a proposal that integrates sustainability into an industrial company operating in the solar shading sector.
The 2026 Zinkers Awards ceremony was held at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and brought together representatives from the education and institutional sectors to recognise schools’ commitment to innovation, sustainability and the energy transition. This year, the awards introduced new categories for Intermediate and Higher Vocational Education and Training, further strengthening the presence of VET within the Zinkers educational programmes.
The winning project from CIFP Nº1 de Santander presented a corporate sustainability plan based on the circular economy, energy efficiency and the use of sustainable materials. The proposal also included the development of photovoltaic blinds capable of generating renewable energy, alongside measures related to employee well-being, ethical governance and the definition of measurable objectives to ensure real long-term impact.
Each overall winning school received €15,000 to develop an educational innovation project at its facilities. In the field of Vocational Education and Training, IES Lacimurga Constantia Iulia, located in Navalvillar de Pela, Badajoz, was also named overall winner in the Intermediate VET category for its Olive-Circular Hub project, focused on designing a corporate sustainability plan applicable to the olive oil sector.
The overall awards were presented by Abelardo de la Rosa, Secretary of State for Education, and Esther Monterrubio, Secretary General for Vocational Education and Training at the Ministry of Education.
Member schools bringing sustainability into the classroom
In addition to the overall award won by CIFP Nº1 de Santander, other FPEmpresa member schools were also recognised in this edition with a €2,500 prize to carry out an educational innovation project and an activity with the winning students.
In the Intermediate Vocational Education and Training category, the recognised member school was EFA El Soto, in Chauchina, Granada. In the Higher Vocational Education and Training category, the awarded member schools were IES Hermanos Machado, in Dos Hermanas, Seville, and IES Azuer, in Manzanares, Ciudad Real.
During the opening of the event, António Calçada, CEO of Fundación Repsol, congratulated all the participating schools and placed particular emphasis on the role of teachers in preparing the projects. “The Zinkers Awards are much more than a recognition; they are a celebration of the transformative power of education and a way of thanking teachers for your commitment,” he said.
Calçada also highlighted that more and more young people have the opportunity to engage with some of the major challenges that will define the 21st century, such as energy, sustainability, climate change, innovation and technological transformation. In this regard, he praised the work of teachers in bringing these conversations into the classroom “with rigour, knowledge and critical thinking”.
One of the highlights of the event was the participation of Jon Hernández, science communicator and artificial intelligence expert, who delivered the talk “The Greatest Educational Revolution in Hist-AI-ry”, focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on learning and the education system.
The Zinkers Awards are part of Fundación Repsol’s commitment to education in energy and sustainability. To be eligible for these awards, participating schools were required to demonstrate the knowledge acquired throughout the academic year by implementing the Zinkers programmes in the classroom, highlighting their commitment to environmental education and sustainable development.
The entries were assessed by a committee of experts in education, pedagogy and sustainability, which reviewed the projects and statements prepared by the students, including learning outcomes, commitments and proposed actions aimed at contributing to a more sustainable planet and generating a positive impact on a global scale.
Zinkers is an educational initiative promoted by Fundación Repsol that provides digital curricular resources for Primary, Secondary and Vocational Education and Training. In the case of VET, FPEmpresa collaborates in the dissemination of the Zinkers VET platform, which provides teachers with content designed to bring students closer to the major challenges of the future through knowledge, academic rigour and practical classroom application.
Zinkers currently has nearly 8,000 participating Primary, Secondary and Vocational Education and Training schools, more than 12,300 registered teachers and over 300,000 students across Spain.
