The project ECOGINC – Empower to Change the Game, promoted by the Social Innovation Laboratory (LIS), won the International Green Gown Awards 2020 in the Student Engagement Category. The award, supported by the UN Environment, recognizes sustainability initiatives and projects undertaken by higher education institutions around the world. The International Green Gown Awards contribute to the centralization of the university debate and fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Student Engagement category brings together projects that develop activities in which students and collaborators work together to achieve goals using the “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches, to achieve maximum understanding and engagement in an institution. “We are very happy and honored to receive the Award.
The ECOGINC – Empower to Change the Gameproject, promoted by the Social Innovation Laboratory (LIS), won the International Green Gown Awards 2020 in the Student Engagement Category. The award, supported by the UN Environment, recognizes sustainability initiatives and projects undertaken by higher education institutions around the world. The International Green Gown Awards contribute to the centralization of the university debate and fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Student Engagement category brings together projects that develop activities in which students and collaborators work together to achieve goals using the “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches, to achieve maximum understanding and engagement in an institution. “We are very happy and honored to receive the Award. ECOGINC is a very important project for Facens, especially for LIS (Laboratory of Social Innovation) and FACE (Center for Entrepreneurship). We compete with universities around the world, including YALE, and having this recognition is proof that we are on the right path and proposing aggrandizing initiatives to our students ”, says Raquel Barbosa Rogoschewski, LIS coordinator. ECOGINC is an activity developed by the Facens Social Innovation Laboratory, together with FACE. The initiative consists of a three-day contest, which takes place in a public school in a situation of social vulnerability. In these three days, Facens students are divided into teams with students from the chosen school, who, together, must fulfill the tasks of the contest, forming a real competition between these teams. The objective is to develop sustainable thinking, prioritizing environmental and social awareness, working on topics such as bullying and empowerment, both by students at the University Center and by students at the school.
During the contest, while the students from Facens and the chosen school carry out their activities, the teachers and coordinators of this educational institution participate in trainings in which FACE teaches design thinking tools, so that on the last day, the teachers can assist students on tasks. The idea is that, after ECOGINC, the concepts learned by the school team can serve as inspiration and material for the formulation and content of classes. “I had the opportunity to follow all editions of ECOGINC. If I could sum up the experience in one word, it would be unforgettable. When I chose to be part of the ECOGINC team, I did not know the dimension that this project would gain in the social area, and I am proud to be part of a team that led to re-education on recycling, and the hope that everyone can completely transform the future. the planet through simple attitudes. Believing in a better world must be everyone’s dream, regardless of social class. Participating in the journey of those young people was to be sure that with the right investment, any situation can really be changed ”, explains Bianca Macedo Corrêa, a 4th year student of Production Engineering at Facens.
ECOGINC has already received two honorable mentions for the AEA Award (Brazilian Association of Automotive Engineering) in 2018 and 2019, in the Social Responsibility category, in addition to being a finalist in the International Green Gown Awards in 2019.